Mt Cook - New Zealand

Michael Chare said:

Has anyone been to Mt Cook in NewZealand and are willing to share the
experience.

Now _that_ is a 'long walk in'!
;^)

Jim Ford

Hooker Valley - fairly flat and straightforward, but with stunning scenery.
The most worthwhile of the local walks, IMHO (with the possible exception of
the Mueller Hut). You won't need a map. The track is well marked, and anyway
you can just follow the large groups of Japanese walkers from the Hermitage
Hotel.

I've not done Sealy Tarns, but I know that it is steeper. Again, you won't
need a map, the track will be well marked. I strongly suspect that the track
is a little quieter.

As far as a day in Snowdonia: the weather will (probably) be more
dependable, especially over the relatively short distances involved. If the
weather is bad, it will stay bad, but sunny days are usually quite settled
too.

The standard walking map in NZ is 1:50,000 not 1:25 000, but on these
tracks, frankly you can navigate off the sign posts and DoC leaflet. There's
a good info office in the settlement.

Sorry this is brief - I'm on my way to work.
M.

"Michael Chare" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Has anyone been to Mt Cook in NewZealand and are willing to share the
experience.

I am considering a little walking (or tramping as the locals apear to call
it) maybe to the Sealy Tarns or up the Hooker valley. Nominal 4 hour
return walks.

Can I treat it like a day out in Snowdonia? Can you buy scale maps
(1:25,000) on which you can determine your position with a GPS?

--
Michael Chare

"Michael Chare" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Has anyone been to Mt Cook in NewZealand and are willing to share the
experience.

I am considering a little walking (or tramping as the locals apear to call
it) maybe to the Sealy Tarns or up the Hooker valley. Nominal 4 hour
return walks.

Can I treat it like a day out in Snowdonia? Can you buy scale maps
(1:25,000) on which you can determine your position with a GPS?

The Sealy Tarns Walk is well within the capability of anyone who can get up
Snowdon and the views are spectacular. We took a group of D of E kids up
there in 2000 and I got a superb photo, but I'll have to post that later.
Some of the routes are daunting as you would expect with mountains the size
of Cook, but there's still plenty to do. The maps are pretty good
(1:50000) - you can get them from DoC offices/shops.

Graham

"Graham Seed" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Michael Chare" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Has anyone been to Mt Cook in NewZealand and are willing to share the
experience.

I am considering a little walking (or tramping as the locals apear to
call it) maybe to the Sealy Tarns or up the Hooker valley. Nominal 4 hour
return walks.

Can I treat it like a day out in Snowdonia? Can you buy scale maps
(1:25,000) on which you can determine your position with a GPS?

The Sealy Tarns Walk is well within the capability of anyone who can get
up Snowdon and the views are spectacular. We took a group of D of E kids
up there in 2000 and I got a superb photo, but I'll have to post that
later. Some of the routes are daunting as you would expect with mountains
the size of Cook, but there's still plenty to do. The maps are pretty good
(1:50000) - you can get them from DoC offices/shops.

Graham

Thanks for the replies.
Is it easy to tell where you are on one of the maps using a GPS?
Do the maps use a grid system as in the UK or Switzerland, or are lattitude
and longitude marked?

--
Michael Chare

Michael Chare said:

Has anyone been to Mt Cook in NewZealand and are willing to share the
experience.

I am considering a little walking (or tramping as the locals apear to
call it) maybe to the Sealy Tarns or up the Hooker valley. Nominal 4
hour return walks.

Sealy Tarns is a great walk. You can shorten it by parking (assuming
you have a vehicle) at the car park near the White Horse Campground
(saves the walk along the valley from Mt Cook Village). If you are a
strong walker, the additional section up to the Mueller Hut is worth the
views of Mt Cook on a clear day. Both tracks are well marked. DOC do a
pamphlet "Mueller Hut Route" available for NZ$1 (about 30p). I did the
Mueller Hut round-trip in a day (in Jan 07), but most people seem to
over-night at the hut. When I got up to the hut, the seasonal volunteer
hut warden was a nice chap from Norfolk.

Mueller Hut Route
http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/trackandwalk.aspx?id=36345

Sealy Tarns
http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/trackandwalk.aspx?id=36337

My "Mueller Hut Route" pamphlet says the height gain between the Village
and Sealy Tarns is 488 meters.

I haven't done the Hooker Valley route. The short walk to Red Tarns
from the Village is great, and views are great on a clear day.

Quoted message said:

Can I treat it like a day out in Snowdonia? Can you buy scale maps
(1:25,000) on which you can determine your position with a GPS?

The Sealy/Mueller Hut track is well marked (and as someone else said
there are plenty of Japanese tourists to follow). You can buy all sorts
of maps & guides, esp at the DOC office in Mt Cook Village.

I can recommend the Lonely Planet Tramping in NZ
http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/findproduct.jsp?exportID=PRD_1501
ISBN: 9781740597883

Allan (in Settle, but besotted with NZ)

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the replies.
Is it easy to tell where you are on one of the maps using a GPS?
Do the maps use a grid system as in the UK or Switzerland, or are
lattitude and longitude marked?

The current issue of maps (known as the 260 series) uses NZMG, which is
similar to UK grid referencing (but on its own arbitrary 1km grid). Whether
you can use your GPS, I guess, depends on the software. I don't use one
often, and when I do it's calibrated to the NZ grid reference system.

You won't need one, especially on these routes.

M.

In message <[email hidden]>, Michael Chare
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the replies.
Is it easy to tell where you are on one of the maps using a GPS?
Do the maps use a grid system as in the UK or Switzerland, or are
lattitude and longitude marked?

<Http://www.stanfords.co.uk/stock/aoraki-mount-cook-westland-tai-poutini-
89342/>

"Detailed topographic map of the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park and the
Westland/Tai Poutini National Park. Contours at 50-metre intervals and
colouring according to the type of the land cover (snow, ice, shrubland,
etc.) give excellent representation of the terrain. Extensive overprint
provides tourist information: hiking trails, different types of
accommodation including campsites and huts, places of interest, etc. The
map has a UTM grid and map ticks indicating latitude and longitude in
steps of 5"

Regards,
--
Neil Pugh

In message <[email hidden]>, Mark Houghton
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

You won't need one, especially on these routes.

Personally I always like to get hold of a map if I can.

We recently went to Monte Baldo in Italy. There were good signposted
paths everywhere, and a map was not really necessary for navigation. I
think I took the compass out once, just to check that we were going in
the right direction off the ridge (never trust foreign signposts!). I
don't think I looked at the GPS at all, I just wanted a track log.

I like a map for, inter alia, (that's your actual Latin! - see thread
somewhere above) pre-planning my route, looking back on it afterwards,
plotting my GPS track & putting a name to places on photos at a later
date.

Regards,
--
Neil Pugh

I spent 3 days at Mount Cook back in January.

I did the Hooker Valley, Seally Tarns and the Mueller Hut.

You won't need maps for these walks other than the simple map included in
the Park Headquarters leaflet.

The routes are well signposted, and the first two are BUSY!!

The Hooker Valley is very easy. The walk to Seally Tarns is very steep, but
not particularly difficult.

The Mueller Hut walk is the best walk in my opinion. You follow the route to
Seally Tarns (the tarns
themselves are a bit of a dissapointment, but the views great) and continue
up very steeply to
meet a a great ridge which you follow (a bit of scrambling) to the hut. The
views over the Mueller Glacier are incredible and
I saw several icefalls/avalanches.

After Seally Tarns the route becomes far less busy. You can continue a
little way to the summit of Mount Ollivier,
the first mountain Sir Edmund Hillary climbed (as a lad, I'd guess). I
didn't do this when I went as it was through snow
from the hut and I wasn't really equipped.

Naturally, the conditions vary on all these walks depending on the time of
year and I can only speak for the
New Zealand summer. The Mueller Hut/Seally Tarns route is prone to
avalanches between April and
November, so probably best avoided at that time!

Oh, by the way, the times given at the National Park headquarters and in the
leaflets are way out, in my experience.

For the Mueller Hut they reckon 4 hours up and 3 hours down and even
recommend staying overnight in the hut. I went
up and back in about 3 and a half hours and I'm an old bloke of 52!

You'll have a great time at Mount Cook - the views are tremendous.

There are more difficult walks in the area, obviously, but you'll need a
guide for those and there
is a guide center near the hotel.

David Gibbins

"Michael Chare" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Has anyone been to Mt Cook in NewZealand and are willing to share the
experience.

I am considering a little walking (or tramping as the locals apear to call
it) maybe to the Sealy Tarns or up the Hooker valley. Nominal 4 hour
return walks.

Can I treat it like a day out in Snowdonia? Can you buy scale maps
(1:25,000) on which you can determine your position with a GPS?

--
Michael Chare

The message <[email hidden]>
from "pennineway" <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

For the Mueller Hut they reckon 4 hours up and 3 hours down and even
recommend staying overnight in the hut. I went
up and back in about 3 and a half hours and I'm an old bloke of 52!

From where I am sitting you are a young lad of 52. :-)

What do the park people base their times on? Most of us at least
understand Naismith even if some cannot keep up with him so what sort of
height gain and horizontal distance are we talking about.

--
Roger Chapman
Nearest Marilyn still to be visited - Great Orme.
89 miles as the crow flies,
considerably more as the walker drives.

"Michael Chare" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the replies.
Is it easy to tell where you are on one of the maps using a GPS?
Do the maps use a grid system as in the UK or Switzerland, or are
lattitude and longitude marked?

Looks like others have answered theses questions. Our D of E groups did
their expeditions on similar tracks without using gps and had no problems.
You might have problems if you lose the track in wooded areas, but then your
gps wouldn't be much good in trees! Not many woods around Mt Cook iirc.
Here's that photo
http://graham4228.fotopic.net/p13702117.html

Graham

"Roger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The message <[email hidden]>
from "pennineway" <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

For the Mueller Hut they reckon 4 hours up and 3 hours down and even
recommend staying overnight in the hut. I went
up and back in about 3 and a half hours and I'm an old bloke of 52!

From where I am sitting you are a young lad of 52. :-)

What do the park people base their times on? Most of us at least
understand Naismith even if some cannot keep up with him so what sort of
height gain and horizontal distance are we talking about.

I found that everywhere I went in New Zealand published walking times were
way over the top.
eg Mount Manganui is supposed to take 45 minutes to the top. Even I did it
in 25, and you know how unathletic I am...

Coming out of the Siberia Valley I almost worried when I had 30 mins to meet
a jetboat that a sign said was 45 mins away, but it wasn't a problem. Except
of course that I had to suffer the sandflies while I waited for 10 minutes.

"Roger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The message <[email hidden]>
from "pennineway" <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

For the Mueller Hut they reckon 4 hours up and 3 hours down and even
recommend staying overnight in the hut. I went
up and back in about 3 and a half hours and I'm an old bloke of 52!

From where I am sitting you are a young lad of 52. :-)

What do the park people base their times on? Most of us at least
understand Naismith even if some cannot keep up with him so what sort of
height gain and horizontal distance are we talking about.

You can make the walk longer by going from the village, but if you choose to
go from the end of the Hooker Valley Road it's only about 2km with 500m of
ascent to Sealy Tarns. Thats what...40 min + 50min going up and 40min coming
down. So that's two hours for you and three for me ;-)

Graham

The message <[email hidden]>
from "Duncan Gray" <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

I found that everywhere I went in New Zealand published walking times were
way over the top.
eg Mount Manganui is supposed to take 45 minutes to the top. Even I did it
in 25, and you know how unathletic I am...

Not that I recall.

ISTR a certain chocolate bar that might have had trouble with such times
though. :-)

--
Roger Chapman
Nearest Marilyn still to be visited - Great Orme.
89 miles as the crow flies,
considerably more as the walker drives.

In message <[email hidden]>, Roger
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

The message <[email hidden]>
from "pennineway" <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

For the Mueller Hut they reckon 4 hours up and 3 hours down and even
recommend staying overnight in the hut. I went
up and back in about 3 and a half hours and I'm an old bloke of 52!

From where I am sitting you are a young lad of 52. :-)

What do the park people base their times on? Most of us at least
understand Naismith even if some cannot keep up with him so what sort of
height gain and horizontal distance are we talking about.

Now look here sonny........:-)
--
Bill Grey

Quoted message said:

What do the park people base their times on? Most of us at least
understand Naismith even if some cannot keep up with him so what sort of
height gain and horizontal distance are we talking about.

It's around 4km and 1000m ascent from the campsite at Whitehorse Hill.

Not 4 hours!

M.

"Mark Houghton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What do the park people base their times on? Most of us at least
understand Naismith even if some cannot keep up with him so what sort of
height gain and horizontal distance are we talking about.

It's around 4km and 1000m ascent from the campsite at Whitehorse Hill.

Not 4 hours!

M.

With Naismith that would be (approx) 4x12 mins + 100 mins going up and 4x12
mins coming down so approx 200 mins altogether, so 4 hours is not
unreasonable for anyone just wanting to go up and down (assuming a high
level of fitness and a desire to walk at a fast pace). Add on photography (1
hour), gazing in awe (2 hours), eating (1 hour) etc etc....

Graham

The message <[email hidden]>
from "Graham Seed" <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What do the park people base their times on? Most of us at least
understand Naismith even if some cannot keep up with him so what sort of
height gain and horizontal distance are we talking about.

It's around 4km and 1000m ascent from the campsite at Whitehorse Hill.

Not 4 hours!

M.

With Naismith that would be (approx) 4x12 mins + 100 mins going up
and 4x12
mins coming down so approx 200 mins altogether, so 4 hours is not
unreasonable for anyone just wanting to go up and down (assuming a high
level of fitness and a desire to walk at a fast pace). Add on
photography (1
hour), gazing in awe (2 hours), eating (1 hour) etc etc....

Except that Naismith gives overall time including reasonable stops for a
full day out. I haven't reached a sufficient stage of decrepitude to yet
consider that more than a half day out and half days don't need a meal
break, so deduct 20 minutes. :-)

--
Roger Chapman
Nearest Marilyn still to be visited - Great Orme.
89 miles as the crow flies,
considerably more as the walker drives.

Graham 'With Naismith that would be (approx) 4x12 mins + 100 mins going up
and 4x12
mins coming down so approx 200 mins altogether'

Well thats 3 hours 20 mins - not far off my 3 hours 30 mins!

Certainly not the 7 hours recommended.

"Graham Seed" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Mark Houghton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What do the park people base their times on? Most of us at least
understand Naismith even if some cannot keep up with him so what sort of
height gain and horizontal distance are we talking about.

It's around 4km and 1000m ascent from the campsite at Whitehorse Hill.

Not 4 hours!

M.

With Naismith that would be (approx) 4x12 mins + 100 mins going up and
4x12 mins coming down so approx 200 mins altogether, so 4 hours is not
unreasonable for anyone just wanting to go up and down (assuming a high
level of fitness and a desire to walk at a fast pace). Add on photography
(1 hour), gazing in awe (2 hours), eating (1 hour) etc etc....

Graham