Adventure Magazine

We knew the first leg of the overnight trip to Crow Hut in Arthurs Pass National Park
was going to be a challenging day. We mistakenly believed the 1.1km climb to the top
of Avalanche Peak (1833m) would be the pinnacle of the day. How wrong we were. The
700-metre descent off the ridges approaching Mt Rolleston and down the scree slope to
Crow Valley will go down as one of the most demoralising, exhausting and gut-busting
tramping experiences I have endured in a long, long time.
Even though it was January with its long daylight hours, we had agreed to an early start.
So, the shadows were long as the team stepped into the shady mountain beech forest with
just a hint of a cool morning breeze. Morale was high. There was even banter. Absolutely
no hint of the battered and bruised bodies that would collapse next to the Crow River some
8-hours later.
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