This is just a quick note: I am still alive! I went up Avalanche Peak with Michael.
We had great weather, but didn’t walk the whole route: We tramped up Scott’s Track and went down the same way. There was the even steeper Avalanche Peak Track, but since there was new snow from the day before, the DoC lady told us that no one walked it that day yet… but it would have been doable — other people made it.
The day before we were bouldering at Castle Hill.
We spend the night at a hut close to the road. There we met a nice couple with a baby and a bit annoying friend. They cooked there stuff over a fire — cool — and were a bit alternative. Avalanche Peak itself is a quite busy track: There was a swiss tourist group, a couple from Chch, some tough people who went down the other side, a guy from Israel who was looking for the “fucking snow”, a women who tramped in bra and no t-shirt, a guy with a ridiculous mesh undershirt… besides those more or less annoying people, my knee gave me a hard time on the steep parts. I guess I twisted it the day before…
Finally we went back to Castle Hill to do some more bouldering. This time with great weather… well, I am a little reddish in the face now and my lips feel as if they got a sunburn :/