Peak 1: Devil’s Rampart
I headed off to the mountains near Lewis Pass for the first of the 52 peaks this weekend; The Devil’s Rampart (1740m).
Being the first peak in the 52 Peak challenge, I wanted it to start with a bang and in stunning weather. It totally came true, it was beautiful weather (30C+) and there was barely any wind in the valleys; nor on the tops. After picking past Nina Hut in a couple of hours, we continued onto Devil’s Den Saddle Bivvy which was where I started my peak attempt.
The ridgeline was very rocky plus the tussocks got the best of me on the way up, rushing against the low evening sunlight; so managed to scrape through to the summit ridge and scrambled back down to the safety of the hut before dark. Not bad after an 8 hour scrambling hike through roots and river crossings.
The Lewis Pass is an area of New Zealand that I’ve not yet really discovered, I’m sure I will do in due course as there are literally hundreds of peaks nestled here between Hanmer Springs and the West Coast.
M.
Whooo … tough underfoot stuff … makes some of my runs look very woossy