Adventure Magazine

More documents

Recommendations

Info

I had somehow wrangled my way into this Sinbad mission as the seventh wheel. Not your ordinary climbing misfits, it included many who were among the country’s strongest, or who’d been there before: Jimmy, Sam, Sooji, Ben, Camille and Josh. I’d only read stories about the legendary 300m overhanging face at the head of Sinbad Gully. It was early season, but enthusiasm was high due to an unprecedented weather window. "His paddle was two singles held together with masking tape, but too much force simply spun the raft rather than propelling it forward... which made his estimated arrival time somewhere around 400 years." Our transport options to the river mouth at the base of the gully still left the trip in doubt until we were actually on our way. There was one sturdy double raft, one borrowed kayak, and a number of $20 Warehouse rafts that may or may not have floated all the way to the river mouth. But one should never underestimate how helpfully pathetic Ben can look. Seated in a raft that suited someone half his size, Ben pushed out into Deep Water Basin trailing a second pitiful-looking raft loaded with his pack. His paddle was two singles held together with masking tape, but too much force simply spun the raft rather than propelling it forward. He proceeded to employ a gentle flick on each side while holding his body as steady as possible, which made his estimated arrival time somewhere around 400 years. This all tugged the heart-strings of some giggling guys aboard a fishing vessel, who promptly offered us a lift. We accepted. Fifty metres from where the Sinbad River meets Milford Sound, we dropped our questionable rafts—loaded with our packs—off the back of their fishing boat, professed our eternal thanks, and dived into the pristine water. Soon we had escaped the onslaught of sandflies on the shore and were marching up the DOC track, which led to a dry river bed, a series of slabs, and then up a steep, densely-shrubbed spur. It was basically dark by the time we arrived at the rock bivvy, a few hundred metres from the base of the wall. After the arduous approach, it wasn’t surprising when everyone was dead to the world the following morning—except for Jimmy, who had already packed for a day of ropesoloing when I stirred from my slumber. We were soon at the base of Rainmaker (grade 23). Jimmy had already climbed these pitches and so left me to do the leading, and I happily obliged, linking pitches up a long corner and climbing straight up a crack through an overhanging bulge. The climbing was exhilarating enough, but the setting turned the dial up to sublime. There remained a considerable amount of snow in the top plateau in early January, which the sun melted into a curtain of falling water. With an overhanging wall, this leaves you with the impression of questing up a rock face hidden behind the veil of a waterfall. And with the sun out, any glance behind you is met with banners of rainbow colours. We made it about halfway up the wall before abseiling down. In the meantime, the others had approached the wall but the snowmelt had become too intense. The lesson had been learned, and the following morning we all started at an earlier hour. Jimmy, Sam and I headed up Rainmaker again with the intention of topping out. I followed their leads on the lower pitches, lugging up my camera and two lenses in my flimsy, lightweight pack. The water runoff from the snowmelt had reached epic proportions by the time we reached the upper pitches, but I hadn't anticipated having to cling on mosscovered edges while weathering a soulshuddering deluge. Previous Page: Sooji Clarkson reaches high on the upper pitches of Rainmaker (23), Sinbad Wall, amid rainbow splashes and a veil of water falling from the snowmelt above Above: Josh Cornah runs aground at near the mouth of Sinbad River, having kayaked across Milford Sound from Deep Water Basin. 16//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#228
Top: From the top of Sinbad Wall, Jimmy Finlayson surveys the tops of Mitre Peak, Mt Tutoko and Mt Madeline behind it, and Llawrenny North on the right. Botttom: The crew awakes at our bivvy spot by Lake Terror. ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//17
Page 1 and 2: adventure where actions speak loude
Page 3 and 4: Paved paradise... The value of a wa
Page 5 and 6: LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN WWW.DCBREWI
Page 7 and 8: E N G I N E E R E D I N T H E D O L
Page 9 and 10: @ adventuremagazine @ adventuretrav
Page 12 and 13: At that moment, an intense feeling
Page 14 and 15: The rest of my trip as a virgin-riv
Page 16 and 17: SINBAD, TERROR CREEK and the 11-day
Page 20 and 21: 18//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN
Page 22 and 23: The sky the following dawn, as we a
Page 24 and 25: We headed back to Lake Terror at ou
Page 26 and 27: EXPLORING THE BEATEN TRACKS finding
Page 28 and 29: Isthmus Peak Looking for an alterna
Page 30: Travers/Sabine The Travers/Sabine i
Page 33 and 34: My feet slip with every step. Movin
Page 35 and 36: and leopard, and tiny beetles that
Page 37 and 38: ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//35
Page 40 and 41: Review by Jonathan Kennet Weather:
Page 42 and 43: GUIDED WALKS Adventure Magazine sup
Page 44 and 45: ELKE BRAUN-ELWERT, ALPINE RECREATIO
Page 46 and 47: CRISTINA SIMPKINS, TEKAPO ADVENTURE
Page 48: MACKENZIE ALPINE OVERNIGHT (1 NIGHT
Page 51 and 52: posure X Adrien Petit, is 34 years
Page 53 and 54: FOUR DAYS IN THE PUREORA FOREST A l
Page 55 and 56: 175.5 175.6 175.7 175.8 175.9 176.0
Page 57 and 58: RIDGE FLEX WITH KEEN.BELLOWS FLEX B
Page 59 and 60: A VENTURE to assist safe adventures
Page 61 and 62: Featuring all-new, patented FormKni
Page 64 and 65: The heavy rain and a top up overnig
Page 66 and 67: With snow settling on the mountains
Page 68 and 69:
CLUTHA MATA-AU RIVER 172km by bike
Page 70 and 71:
LAKE DUNSTAN TRAIL The new trail on
Page 72 and 73:
Merrell Moab Speed Men’s - Brindl
Page 74 and 75:
Patagonia R1 TechFace Jacket $279.9
Page 76 and 77:
Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap $44
Page 78 and 79:
sea to summit Jungle tarp $199.99 A
Page 80:
ack country cuisine $9.49 - $13.99
Page 83 and 84:
Ultra lightweight running shoes, ma
Page 85 and 86:
ADVENTUREMAGAZINE.CO.NZ//83
Page 87 and 88:
BACK COUNTRY CUISINE REVIEW - by Er
Page 89 and 90:
FREEDOM CAMPING Story compliments o
Page 91 and 92:
Tongariro Crossing Packages: B&B, S
Page 93 and 94:
SUBSCRIBE AND BE IN THE DRAW TO WIN
Page 95 and 96:
MANBUSH TRAIL - MALEKULA This four-
Page 97 and 98:
vanuatu.travel
Page 99 and 100:
ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES AOTEAROA LET
show all

Adventure Magazine

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?