Training ground for legends (Mt. Cook) – 8 – 11 January 2009

In case you don’t know, Sir Edmund Hillary (the first man to climb Everest along with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay) was a Kiwi, and did much of his training and early climbing in the Southern Alps of New Zealand – including Mt. Cook.

The scenery here is stunning. The first full day we got a slow start and decided to try and hike to Hooker Valley. We made it about an hour into the hike before the rain went from a light drizzle to a full-fledged downpour. Thankfully we were able to take shelter in a hut and ride out the worst of it while we ate our lunch. Net-net, though, the rain pretty well took care of that day.

The next day was beautiful, though, and we were able to hike up to the Mueller Hut. The round-trip time was almost 8 hours, but in contrast to Mt. Roy in Wanaka it was an enjoyable hike. Snow-capped mountains and glaciers dominate the landscape.







The scenery’s not all, though. There are also BUGS!







Plus, there are Keas – parrots that are clever (and annoying). Jennifer found reference to a kea that managed to lock some climbers into their cabin by sliding a bolt on the outside of the door into place. Evidently it watched them come and go and figured out how to lock the door. Here’s a Kea that gets a little too close for comfort:





On the way out of town it rained on us again – so it turns out we made the best possible use of our time.