With a forecast for horizontal snowfall, Peter Laurenson and Shaun Barnett step into a powdery paradise to capture proof that the Tararua Range has mountains too. Despite moments of crawling on hands and knees through thigh-deep snow, Peter uses his years of skilled camerawork to illustrate the magic (and reality) of winter tramping.
What happens when a party of three suddenly becomes a party of four? A tramping weekend takes an unexpected turn for Chris and a group of trampers when a mysterious dog appears on the trail. Upon realising they’ve found someone’s missing dog, Chris bravely faces his childhood fear of dogs and the team figures out how to safely return the canine home.
Does the success society has at making life safer merely encourage us to take bigger risks? Uncle Jacko ponders how this question pertains to the backcountry, as well as explores bothy bags, hammocks and the Ngāi Tahu Cultural Mapping Project. He signs off with a friendly message to the blokes reading this column: people learn by doing, not watching.
Beautifully captured by photographer Peter Laurenson, an extended version of the Tararua Ranges' northern crossing brings a tops feast for Peter and his mate, Simon, and just the right amount of challenge for these two keen trampers.
Copyright is held by the writer/creator. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-NoDerivs 3.0 NZ
