Youtube video of Truck accident

Here is a link to a truck accident video that I attended as part of Arthur's Pass Rural Fire (I'm one of the yellow helmets in yellow overalls). The truck contained bitumen (180degrees), which was spread down the bank at the scene. Our role was mainly in communications between the site and the road, and clearing a track to transport the patient to the helecopter. The helecopter had to fly in under overhanging wires, and up the river valley to access this spot. It was extremely fortunate that St Johns just happened to be there and acted immediately.

Full credits to the guys who produced this video, I think they did an excellent job.

To view the video click on the link on the righthand side of the screen.

Temple Basin - Leader in Backcountry Education

Photo: Grant Guise and T- Roy Temple Basin 2007.
With a storm hitting the country its a good day for staying inside and writing my first Ski Field review.

I thought I'd start with somewhere I know well, which is my local skifield in Arthurs Pass - Temple Basin. You can find out all their info at www.templebasin.co.nz so there is little point in me repeating the info contained there, and I can get right in and give an honest INDEPENDENT review.Please note that as this is my first review, there are no comparisons available yet, so you may feel my ratings are a little unfair in isolation! This should change as subsequent reviews provide greater comparisons. Also, I have a strong tendancy towards backcountry use, so my reviews will probably reflect that a bit. My review is based on my impressions, and are simply my opinion and not a personal criticism of skifield staff.

So here goes. Firstly my ratings.10-outstanding 1-extremely poor.

10/10 Backcountry/Mountaineering. Not surprising I guess, but Temple basin is an absolute mecca for 'inbound' backcountry - meaning you can experience the solitude and isolation of the Southern alps, while your safety is assured by the ski patrol.(unless you choose to ignore them! Not reccommended!) Temple basin gives access to Mts Casidy, B'limit and Mt Phipps which are all excellent climbs of lower technical alpine skills (ice axe and crampon use). There are often Education courses run on backcountry skills such as Avalanche awareness, mountaineering skills and backcountry skiing clinics.If you are a fit and keen mountaineer than the road will not pose much of an issue. Accommodation is reasonable. At first I thought it was a bit expensive, but then you have to consider a few factors like freight, and running the goods lift, and balancing out good years and bad years. So yeah $60 is reasonable (includes meals).There is potential for greater growth into the Secondary Education sector.

8/10University Student/Backpacker
Temple basin also has a long association with the University of Canterbury and there is a University lodge on the mountain (of which I know very little, except its probably cheaper for the uni students to stay there). For a backpacker travelling alone temple basin is an excellent place to meet others in a friendly relaxed environment. You can self cater keeping the cost a bit lower and there is a student rate.

5/10 Overseas visitor
Ok there are a few factors here to consider. People expecting a 'ski resort' would be well advised to stick to Mt Hutt or Mt Cheeseman even. There you can park on the mountain and virtually ski from your car.You can also sit in the Cafe (cheeseman) and watch your kids playing in the snow. I've met many a bewildered tourist on the track surprised at how far up they had to walk! Gear is another issue here. You probably want the right kit, and often travellers don't have hats gloves and clothing to suit. Last week I met a lovely young lady in a mini skirt with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth! The walk up can take anywhere from about 45min continuous walking, to 2 hours depending on how much you need to stop. Larger groups tend to take longer too. Many of my groups of 30people take over two hours and you need to allow for that time in your day. The group need to stay together and keep an eye on each other. There is potential for harm to anyone wandering away from the track. The time factor may be an issue for travellers wanting a quick fix before they rush off to bungy jump off a stump.

3/10 Local Family
I'm assuming mum, Dad and a couple of kids. No! Don't do it! The kids wont appreciate that they were the youngest on the mountain - they just wont like it. The lodge itself is boring for them and it is not an atmosphere geared to younger kids. The cost factor wouldn't be worth it either, plus the lost time in the walk and loading/unloading the goods lift. Yes its a unique experience - something to look forward to when they are a lot older! My suggestion is to go to Porters or Cheeseman, where younger kids are welcome and can ski for free - a lot less stressful. In balance I have seen a few organised families who have planned and prepared for Temple well, and I'm sure those families would rate it a lot higher than my 3/10.

Cheapest/most expensive
Jetplains 20c, Bottle wine $29

The Good
The backcountry access under ski patrol advisory is outstanding. You can tour around the basin and ski fresh tracks all day, and not see another group. You can mix up a little climbing and skiing too, so that you have the best of both worlds.

Skiable terrain - there is something here for everyone. The majority of runs are intermediate to advanced with tight shutes, and some technical faces.

Another major bonus is the crowd factor - as in there just isn't one! There maybe ten others on the hill, rather than avoiding others (like you might at a big commercial field) you actually go looking for people to ski with. This is a major drawcard for anyone who has had a gutsfull of lines and crowded cafes - at temple you simply head into the lodge and make yourself a coffee.

Once in the lodge you are warm relaxed and comfortable in your own little mountain world - Really easy to relax and forget the stresses of everyday life.

The lodge is friendly and relaxed with good hearty food. The staff all have to work as a team to live and survive in their unique environment so there is often a bit of friendly banter going on. There is also the club factor, those really keen can join and extend their involvement longer term if desired. The downside is that there is the occasional club member who views customers as intruders, which is their problem.

One final, but critical factor is weather. Temple basin, as with all alpine fields has its fair share of bad weather. However the basin is located in a North Westerly facing basin, so often can be quite good in a Southerly, while everywhere elese in the Cragieburn range is pouring with rain Temple Basin can be lovely and sunny, so it defenetly pays to check whats happening with the weather. I've had some famtastic 'rainy' days at Temple, and I think if you live in an environment that get seven metres of rain a year- you just have to get out and do it anyway.

The Bad
Temple is all natural - which means no on piste skiing. You generally need to be of higher ability and fitness to ski the variable conditions than can exhist. When its good its great, but equally when its crusty, and you've committed your time to Temple you need to develop other interests apart from skiing. Also some years are good and some aren't and Temple may not even open for the season.

Another factor is the rope tows. Not my favourite way to get up the mountain in my opinion! I'm always worried about pulling the ropes off and getting my fingers and poles caught in them - something I frequently do when useing them! To me an adult lift ticket for $60 is too much for a rope tow.

Obviously the walk has its downside too, limiting for people with mobility issues etc.Walking down again dosen't take long, but can be pretty hazardus when icy. It is often a good idea to take your time and carry a headtorch and ski poles if attempting the road later in the day.

The Ugly
Temple Basin is on Conservation land. Every year they have to get a concession to operate there forcing them to work within DoC boundaries. The 'road' itself is not really considered to be a road, but gets used every year. Run off on the road has created some minor erosion in the area. The toilets are on septic tanks, so there is no water contamination. In general environmental impact is minimal, and besides what would the keas do if there was no Temple Lodge???

Perhaps the ugly are the ill informed who attempt the road ill-prepared,and go expecting 'something else' and are surprised not to find a french style resort village at the basin. However for the ski mountaineer, temple basin is their Shangriela!

So thats my first Ski Field Review. I welcome comments, and I hope people find it useful???? Please let me know.

New Zealand Ski field Review The Beginning

Today I ran the goods lift at Temple Basin, and then later in the afternoon skinned up to Temple Col. All day I chatted to friendly like minded people(most of whom I vaguely recognised). Then I skied down and dropped into the lodge to chat to folks about their day. I just thought to myself ; This is such a cool friendly happy place.

Then on the walk down I got to thinking of a dad and mum i'd met a couple of weeks back who were walking up the track with their six and eight year old girls. Dad was away ahead with the eight year old, who was crawling through the wind and blowing snow and NOT HAPPY. Mum was even worse off, left behind to encourage the weak and stumbling six year old. I helped out as much as I could, but the difference in experience got me thinking....

What if there was an INDEPENDENT review of what ski fields are really like? And what type of person would really enjoy which particular fields? So the idea was born... The New Zealand Ski Field Review ... By Snoel.

So what would this review have in it? Well, this got me thinking also. Whats the most important factor? Prices versus facilities? Lift ticket costs? Seasons passes? Discount rates for families, single adults and children's ages. For example as a family often it makes a huge difference costwise if under tens ski for free, as I found at Porters a couple of years ago I could take my three kids and only pay for myself (which I didn't cause I just skinned) So yeah the days we had there were free!(Thanks Uli).

As an Ex husband/ holiday dad/ partner to Julie / but often skiing alone/ I can view these skifields from a few different angles. For example for me Porters is great, cause you pay a $10 single ride lift ticket and ski the backcountry for the rest of the day. Whereas Julie loved the facilities at Coronet, cause they were friendly and chatted to her(while I was off skiing the backcountry)so for her facilities are more important. Also Ruby (my eight year old daughter) loved Cheeseman because they had a few really cheap lollies that she could afford with her pocket money. Often ski fields are too expensive for eight yearolds! (not cheeseman though - she skied for free and ate raspberry licorice until the money ran out!). I think back to my days in Southland skiing the fields in Queenstown - If i'd only known about how good clubfields were back then - !

And one last thing a review should have- the good, the bad and the ugly! Sounds like fun. So Snoels New Zealand Ski field Review!!!

What I thought I'd do is start with the five fields that are so close to me and work my way to the others as the opportunity arises. Watch this space!!!

Photo: Cadronna Backcountry

Life goes on..

I've had a couple of great days skinning and skiing. Firstly after the race Grant, Jane and I headed up the tows at Porters and skied from pt1997 down into Crystal Valley. This is fantastic steep terrain where a bit of width under boot probably paid off (for a change). Then back up to the ridge and skied into the Goldney stream catchment for another 300m or so. Grant and Jane carried on and did a huge lap probably 500m, while I was content to do a shorter lap after the race.

Today Grant and I went searching for a hoodie he had left at Temple last year! No luck, but we did manage a couple of laps, then did a bit of a transceiver search, which proved useful revision (especially for me).

The photos are Grant and Jane above the Goldney catchment, and the 'blastshield' from the x wing sequence from star wars has found a new application!! That's me experimenting with a new stretching technique! But hey! I'm not wearing the race suit!

Porters speed up!

Ok today was the first race of the SkiMonNZ 2008 series, and as predicted I came 5th. In balance there were some highs and lows during the race, but in general it was a fantastic experience.

Firstly it was great seeing everyone from the series last year with a few notable missing persons such as Gary McPherson (Queenstown). Everyone looked fit and well and ready for a fast race.

The course was three short laps. The longer first one was only 100m, then two laps of 85m, so it was going to be quick.

Right from the word 'go' we were off and running. Gena, Duncan then I all ran to the first skin track, then settled into that order for the first climb, although Duncan passed Gena going into the first transition, but then had a slower transition down the bottom, allowing Gena to re take the lead, and then I passed Duncan during the second lap (things were looking good at that stage, but not for long!). After the skiing down for the third lap I put my skins on for the last up hill and my right skin was frozen, and just wouldn't stick. I kept going, but the problem caused me to slip back, slow and then finally towards the top of the 85m lap I was reduced to taking my skis off and running! At that stage Tim, Duncan and another guy called Nigel flew by and I came in 5th.

It was all over for me in about 27minutes. Gena was impressive with really good consistent transitions and just heaps of power. He Lent me a race suit, which was pretty hilarious.

There are some photos of the race Taken by Grant on my camera

Training at Temple

With the race coming up on Saturday I didn't want to do too much today. After work I headed up to Temple and did some laps at Casidy tow.

First off I set out a 100m vert skin track, and skied that.I also assessed the avalanche risk in the area as the patrollers had not opened it today. There had been a (class one) wet slide. The powder was just over ankle deep.Any activity was likely to be smaller sluffing, which had not occured on my first descent.

After that I wanted to see how i'd go in race conditions, so did my skin track three times, with five transitions. The first lap took 8mins! On the second lap I fell and had to take my glasses and put them into my jacket. so the second lap was completed in 21mins! So then the race was on as I wanted to complete the last lap in under 30mins. And I managed to finish in 29.30mins. Obviously with slight margins like that falling can cost a couple of minutes, so it is better to lose a few seconds on the down hill, and ski safely, rather than tumble and completely blow the race. Phew! Full on eh?

The good news is the transitions went well, and I sorted a few issues with gloves and whether to take off the up or down hill skin first when transitioning to down hill... I'm not going to tell yet! Don't want to give things away, but it makes a world of difference!

Things are looking fantastic at Temple too, with very few rocks showing. It was great to meet up with a few more of the locals up there too. Tim and Carena were up there and of course Ben is the manager. The photos are Ben doing important management type stuff, and the bridge to Casidy tow with new snow loading.As for training tomorrow- do I work on reducing my lap times, or do I start the rest process? Did I leave training too late???? Surely 3 days is plenty!

Training at Porters

On Friday I headed down to Porters to check it out for the race this Saturday. I must say I like Porters. The staff are friendly to backcountry types like me, and there are lots of families enjoying the t bars that extend to the top of the mountain. The thing I tend to forget about the place is that its quite steep! That should make this first race a bit of a slog.The good news is we have a storm forecast to bring some snow this week, so (hopefully) it won't be too icy. Here are a couple of photos of the place. The t bar and the views.

Mt Aiken

We still had some fairly stable weather here today, and not the rain as predicted. I took the opportunity to attend to work matters. I also had an unexpected visit from family which was pretty cool. Unfortunately I also learned that a friend had drowned in the Chathams. After this I needed to blow some cobwebs out so amped myself up on plenty of food and hit the trail. It was great to be away from the crowds, but also in walking distance from the house. I used a new pack today - a deuter AC snow lite. it has straps on the sides for skis, as you can see in the photos. The terran was pretty mellow, so I did some transition training.

Ski tour Cheeseman to Olympus

Today I did a slightly longer tour for here. I decided to tour from cheeseman along the Cragieburns to Mt Olympus, which looks into another ski area. For company I had Tussock who wore his backpack containing rope and water. Conditions were pretty stable, and I checked in with the patroller at Cheeseman before leaving. The return trip as about 11km with approximately 1500m ascent once you count laps done. I had some good runs into the Ryton valley and also on the way back into Tarn basin. Unfortunately I didn't take enough food and I got rather tired on the way home -( low blood sugar levels, making me feel slow and a bit dizzy) point to remember for next time!And I'm glad I wasn't too far out in the back country.

Conditions were good although I stayed away from cornices, as there had been some activity on the lee SE side. Generally the skiing was better on the SE, and much of the NW was iced up. I needed crampons and ice axe a couple of times at higher points - Summiting Cheeseman(2031m) and then again Olympus (2094m).

All gear went well. It was frustrating at times as the snow conditions fluctuated between beautiful powder, wind accumulated drifts and bare ice. So skis kept having to come on and off, as did crampons, and some of it I just boot packed.I'm sure it could be done a lot faster than 5.5hours.

On the return trip it snowed a little, but generally visibility was good.The photos are me, Tussock at the top of the tows at Cheeseman, and terran at the top of the Ryton wich was great.

The Inside outside look at my house!

Porter's Speed up is coming up!!!

The first Ski mountaineering race of the season is approaching next Saturday. Between work and family stuff recently I haven't had all the time in the world to prepare, but it's good to have been out on the skis as much as I have! I'm a lot fitter than last year, but so is everyone else! I have better gear than last year... but again everyone who is keen on these races have upgraded to race set ups now so the front pack will be as competitive as ever.

The race formatt itself is a good introductory offer for new racers and also for the season. Basically its three short laps - so thats five transitions! Whoa boy! Its going to be a bloody great sprint out front with the faster competitors lapping the slower ones.

As for me, my down hill transition seems a lot faster now that my boots seem to be co operating after lamenting their performance. They seem to have adjusted their attitude and I got them working a lot faster to click down into ski mode. First time racing on Dynafit bindings too, so its going to be interesting. As for as a placing goes its hard to say... As long as I don't miss the race start ( like the 2007 Cragieburn!) Get lost (Ohau) or fall off the mountain (Cragieburn 2006)Things should be pretty sweet. I'm happy if my transitions go well with all the new gear. As far as a placing goes maybe top five????? Depending on who turns up of course!

Nic and Finn's Big Bunny Slope Air!!!!!

Finn doing a jump after just three days skiing. Good on you boys. You do your father proud. Love you heaps.Nic did a really good one too, but frustratingly it won't upload. Sorry Nic.

Today was our last day of good weather for this storm cycle, so we made the most of Mt Cheeseman. Finn and Nick Skied the mountain, and Ruby had a lesson. I even managed to sneak away for a wee skin later in the afternoon with Grant and Gina, who drove down from Auckland yesterday (literally - and summited Ruapehu on the way!) Once Gina told me he had done a 2000km drive in Russia non- stop! Anyway we skinned from the top of the tows over towards Mt. Cheeseman, but then dropped into some tarns down a coliour along the way. Grant made a gutsy choice and was rewarded with a mixed bag of deep powder and ice while Gina and I took a less aggressive option, which was consistent heavy powder to the Tarns. A good short lap. We also bumped into Duncan Sheratte in the morning. He had driven up from Chch at 4 am to skin some powder and was returning to get some work done for the day!!! I hear a rumour Duncan has a blog now!!! Wow these SkiMo blogs are beginning to get popular!!! Photo: Gina and Grant before dropping off the ridge.

School holidays!!!

Just a few photos from the school holidays all taken at Cheeseman Skifield. The children are all a bit older, now and Finn and Nic are skiing the mountain. Ruby enjoys making friends on the bunny slopes. I managed to slip away for a few minutes for a little skin to the tops. Cheeseman is great for the kids.

My little girl is eight!

School holidays and the children have arrived! The boys wasted no time in getting onto the skis. Tonight we had a special tea for Ruby's birthday - a candel light snow dinner followed by chocolate birthday cake and a few presents! Happy birthday Ruby!!!! Love Dad.

Er well... More Snow!!!!!

Today I awoke to bluebird Sky's and no wind (as a gale was forecast) so I quickly packed a lunch and headed to Temple. It was their opening day today and the trail was already well blazed before I skinned up it. The snow was still powder and despite temperatures of minus two. Phew!

Temple was pumping - Great to see the tows going and folks shredding!!! I'm stoked for the staff, who work extra hard up there to make it all happen, along with all the volunteer effort that goes in!

For my part I checked in with patrol and then headed for more laps in Casidy's - I think about four in total in knee deep powder. After a break I headed up in variable conditions to Temple tow and then Page Shelter, which I was surprised to find occupied with the fire going! Its normally way colder than my fridge in there! The guys were working on downhill.

As for gear today I suffered the usual problems masses of compacted snow creates to boots and bindings -ie totally locked up. I'll reserve judgement, as my f1s did their 'i'm not going to lockdown for downhill thing' or came unstuck at that really critical turn. Very frustrating when you've worked so hard to get those turns! But then again maybe I'm expecting too much from them, after all they have been modified- and would probably have far less flex with their tongues back in them! I think I'll try that, and see how it works.

Here are a few photos from the day. The guy drinking paint is Ash.

More Snow YAHOOOOO!!!

Today at lunchtime I skinned and skied State Highway 73 to the top of the Pass. The trick to this, as I have learned over the last couple of winters is to wait long enough so that there is 10-15cm coverage at least at the sides of the road. This should be enough to close the road to traffic, as was the case today. Then you need to get as high as you are going to go before the road crew bring up 'the big orange grader/grit spreader'. This machine totally stuffs the whole thing up and once it has been over the road a couple of times - all the snow is banked at the sides and it is full of gravel - killer on your skis! It is advisable also, when skiing down to just straight line the whole thing as there is no base for turning. With this knowledge it would be pretty cool to ski the viaduct!! Why not - provided the road is closed! That could be a great objective if the road is totally closed for a half a day.

More snow at Temple

After work today I went and ran some laps at Casidy tow. There was about 10cm of fresh, so it was cool to be the first to rip it up! I think they are fixed to open this coming Saturday.

Another thing that happened today was I just caught the news about the Chinese Olympic Torch on Everest, and the controversy surrounding the expedition (I know that was 2.5 months ago!). At least it was Tibetan climbers who summited. For those who dont know ( probably no one) the Chinese closed the climbing season and posted snipers at camp two to stop protesters! Lethal force was apparently authorised! The media coverage was totally locked down, so all the coverage there was, is some happy smiley faces and about seven torches being waved. The irony is that it was cloudy, so apart from the thick jackets, you couldn't really tell it was the summit. The China's occupation of Tibet is so un justified! I'm looking forward to the Olympics as the ultimate sporting event on the planet, but China really need to give Tibet back (and pay rent). There is more on this on Graeme Kates site www.softrock.co.nz

Anyway back to Ski Mountaineering! I've been going over some gear modifications lately:

BOOTS

I've been having some lockdown issues with my F1s, which most people would be aware of. Basically to lock down into down hill mode you have to clean snow out of the groove and then push so hard your hand bruises. I sanded the groove for less resistance and this has helped. I might sand them a bit more, but I don't want them to become too loose either!!! It's frustrating as this issue is really slowing my down hill transitions. On the positive side I've saved a lot of weight on the f1s by taking out the tongue and disposing of the powerstrap. I also sawed off some of the sole, and replaced with a bit of closed cell foam. This system seemed to work well with my Lasers too.

SKINS

Here I've shortened them 20cm back from the ski end and Incorporated the 'Grant Guise' bottle cap and bungy cord attachment system. To use this I had to cut a groove into the tips of my skis. This system rocks! It is much easier to get on and off too. The skins now glide better with plenty of traction in 'normal' conditions.

POLES

Skate ski poles with new straps - quite long : about 140cm. They seem to give a lot more power from the upper body.

PACK

A deuter race pack with all the extras stripped off. I've added a loop and a bungy cord, so that it can carry skis on the bootpack. The system works really well.

Non of these modifications are original and all have mostly come from Grant Guise who in turn learned them through experience and from others. However the difference they make are incredible, as it doubles the distance you can do in a day. I used to feel absolutely stuffed after a day skinning and now it feels more like just going for a run. You can check out Grant's site at www.skimonz.co.nz

New Snow at Temple

With the recent dump of snow I went skinning up at temple. Basically to the top of Temple tow, then up to the Tarns, then over to just below Mt. Casidy. Strong wind prevented me from summiting. The photos are the cairn above temple tow and the building from across the valley from under Casidy. The staff at Temple were extremely nice and Ben made me areal coffee, which I must say went down well. Temple Basin is just awesome for ski Mountaineering!!!!