The tourists have left town and the ski season is winding down….and…as I write this, it is day 10 of a cold South West storm that has truly brought winter back to New Zealand. 

The South Island in particular has been lashed with constant snow, wind and cold temperatures. Just when everyone was thinking of heading to the beach we get the biggest storm in…well actually no one can remember one bigger! 

The locals have been skiing powder until they can’t stand up and the ski patrol is running out of explosives. With nearly a meter of rain in the last week on the west coast, I will leave it up to you to imagine how much snow that converts to at elevation.

The irony is that while late September and October are the best months for backcountry skiing, everyone has moved on to other activities. While a storm of this intensity is rare, good skiing at this time of year is the norm. Do yourself a favor and block out a weeks ski touring holiday on your calendar for September next year NOW. That way when it starts getting warm and your friends ask you to the beach, you can say “Na, I have better things to do” .

Sometimes even Christ needs short-roping!

Sometimes even Christ needs a shortrope. Stefan Sporli hard at work on the summit of La Meije in France last month.  Stefan will be returning for another season of summer guiding and adventures in New Zealand after a fantatic summer season in Europe.

September Ski Touring on Tasman Glacier

Ski touring on the Tasman Glacier in September. Graeme Brown, Mal Law, Phil & Catherine Watson found ideal conditions on the Tasman Glacier in early September. Glacier Ski Touring

* One of the highlights of glacier skiing is exploring the tumbling icefalls. Wandering in these ice towers is New Zealand’s answer to tree skiing.	* Unfortunately Whitney had to share. Just because it is a mountain hut there is no reason not to eat well.

For some more great footage from this trip, check out our YouTube Channel / or Facebook Page

Fundraising

I'm helping Malcolm Law win $10,000 of support from Steinlager Pure.

Here is your chance to donate to a great charity and not even run 7 marathons in 7 days

Malcolm Law is an amazing man who is raising money for charity by organizing running events. If you want to help him win $10,000 from Steinlager go to this link and vote for him. The site is not user friendly, you have to put in your birth date and hit enter to get into the site. Once there type Malcolm into the search box. Or you can vote for the guy who wants to buy a new chainsaw. http://www.purefutures.co.nz

Malcolm and his friends joined Whit for a spectacular ski tour on the Tasman Glacier last week. He's a fit bloke, but even Whit wore him down! check out his comments http://www.7in7.org.nz/2010/09/20/cross-training-done/

Favourite Website

New Zealand Flora - http://hiddenforest.co.nz/

The Hidden Forrest is my favorite website. If you have some time and want to go on a Lord of the Rings type journey, spend some time wandering around these pages of New Zealand’s amazing plantlife. The site is dark and creepy, like crawling around on the floor of the rainforest.

Well that's all from me and the team at Aspiring Guides....we've got better things to do.....!!

Whit Thurlow
Chief Guide