A couple of seasons ago, a local woman Tash Hamilton put together a Heli-Adventure on the Kepler Track; booking flights for two 12 runners (6 per flight) up to Luxmore Hut. A short-cut on the what is traditionally the 60km Kepler Challenge course, or the 3-4 day Kepler Great Walk… we’d just have to do ~38km section between Luxmore and Rainbow Reach. As if the helicopter ride wasn’t and epic experience in itself, we’d also be dropped on the doorstep of the infamous alpine section and get to enjoy, arguably, the absolute best and least accessible bit of the Kepler Track.
I hadn’t been up on the tops since the 2022 Kepler Challenge so the itch to do so was growing! And it didn’t take much arm-twising to find 11 others to make the mission possible.
We were all set and locked in a date for late October. A couple of weeks later than the last mission, but the long Labour weekend making it a little easier for out of towners to juggle travel and work, plus it would give Mother Nature a little extra time to melt the Winter’s snow. In the week leading up we kept a close eye on the footage from the Hanging Valley webcams. The white snow receding more and more each day, returning the mountain back to its greens and brown tussock covered ridgelines. It looked promising… until it didn’t. 😆
A massive dumping of fresh snow the evening before, and hopelessly low cloud, put a complete stop to our Plan A. The Southern Lakes Heli unable to land in the thick fog, and the unknown conditions beyond Luxmore left us guessing (but fairly sure) that the Alpine section would not be safe to cross. Certainly, even if you were geared up to do so, it would not be runnable!
Some alternative options were considered and despite the initial disappointment, a group of 11 runners, including our son Nath, all set off on foot from the Kepler Track Control Gates for the execution of Plan C3 (or was it 4?)
As it turned out, we had an absolute blast. If there’s one thing to be said for trail runners, they’re adaptable bunch, and are pure stoke for any mountain adventure…. even better in the company of a group of such legends!
Once we broke the tree line and reached the open snow covered trail it was just magical. Even with the low cloud, the ‘views’ were still surreal and stunning. And the absolute freshness and the tranquil calm we got to experience up here is hard to put into words. We knew we’d made all the right decisions though – the snow was plentiful and beautiful, but also flipping dodgy to run in!
An eventual rendezvous at Luxmore Hut bought the split group back to 11. Scott seemed to have an ammusing habit of disappearing, and Amy and Lotte returned from their side mission to the caves. There we refuelled and were treated to the company of Kea; two adult and two juvenile. A brief discussion was had about pushing through beyond the Hut, but reports from returning hikers, laden with gear, described the snow as thigh deep and exhausting to climb through… it had little appeal to a group of trail RUNNERS. So after some quick photos on the unused heli-pad, we set off again, smiles still beaming, back the way we’d come.
Returning to the tree-line a few of the crew decided to ‘bomb it’ down to Brod Bay. Conscious of my poor track record when it comes to trips and falls, and the weight of my camera on my back, I offered to take it slow and Tailend Charlie. As it turns out, speed is not my enemy. I still stacked it.
Apologies to Adam, who was first to my side and the person whom I asked to establish the condition of my throbbing hand (because I knew it was bad and couldn’t bare to look!) Turns out Adam is also of the ilk who cant stomach that stuff… but it was too late, I’d already thrust my twisted fingers forth for assessment and confirmation of dislocation (so sorry Adam!) Grateful for Hannah who turned back and with a more iron clad gut than Adam or I, she calmly repositioned my fingers and taped my hand up, making the final 9ish km run a lot more bearable. We joked that at least the photos were taken before I rendered my hand useless.
Meanwhile Scott had flown down hill with absolute grace and waited patiently, wondering what was taking us all so long.
Cheers to the A+ crew of Scott, Kat, Kaitlin, Tash, Adam, Hannah, Lotte, Amy, Lee & Nath for their awesome company… and patience through the many adaptations and glorious mishap of the mission.
P.S Xray and scans showed four fractures two ruptured tendons and two partial tears. I’m now sporting two splints and an involuntary Vulcan Salute.
Live long and prosper, friends 🖖
