Mount Brewster - Martin Hawes
Martin Hawes, one of the directors here at Mount Aspiring Guides
The track to Brewster Hut wastes no time in saying which way you are going: you
leave the car, cross the river and then its straight uphill. At 2575 metres, Mt
Brewster is over 2 000 metre above the road and fortunately there is no valley
slog to start. There is an honesty to this track. It takes you directly where
you want to go - upwards, and no messing about.
Early in December, Karen Jackson and I left the car at around 5:30 pm on a
beautiful summers evening intent on a climb of Mt Brewster. The sweat poured
(four Heinekens the night before) but by 8:30pm we were at the hut and happily
eating a bowl of pasta laced with broccoli and mushrooms (it sounds disgusting
but one of the mysteries of climbing is how food that at home you wouldn't even
look at can taste so delicious in the mountains). Brewster Hut is sited in a
lovely alpine meadow at about 1400 metres, surrounded by tarns and craggy peaks,
the perfect place to drop a pack and enjoy the last glow of sunset with a brew.
A short sleep and we were up at 2am and gone by 3am (another mystery of climbing
is how anyone who has ever done one early alpine start ever agrees to do
another). By torchlight we walked up tussock and scree, crossing small streams
which, worryingly were not frozen. Dawn found us at the start of the snow and
our fears were confirmed - no frost. Step plugging has never been my idea of a
holiday but the perfect morning and the mass of Brewster looming overhead in the
pink glow of a new day kept the excitement levels high.
We crossed the glacier, threaded our way through a couple of slots and started
up the headwall to the ridge. This was a steep slope of reasonably firm snow.
Moving together, mostly on front points we landed on the ridge at about 8am. The
view was superb, dominated by Aspiring and Pollux amid a sea of peaks that I had
not yet climbed (why is life so short? - so many peaks and not enough time).
The ridge snaked above; at times a fine arête with big drops both sides. We
started up, moving together mindful of the idea that if one fell, the other was
meant to jump over the opposite side of the ridge to hold the fall (it sounds
great as a theory, but the practicalities might be a bit different). The snow
was loose, uncompacted - hard work and requiring concentration. We took turns
kicking in steps, compacting each before trusting it with our weight.
Then the summit, a small snow rounded peak just ahead. Well, I thought full of
confidence, that wasn't too bad. Nick Cradock had told me that it was a bit
awkward at the top - we had cruised it. But, like many mountains, Brewster had a
surprise or two left in store. From the top of our "summit" reared another very
steep rocky ridge, festooned with snow flutings that were periodically sliding
off.. Through the little bit of mist that ghosted past, it looked worse than
awkward.
I don't like the look of that, said Karen.
Neither do I, I said fairly quickly.
We never talked about turning around but both of us were thinking about the
prospects of defeat. However, we'd come too far not to have a closer look. From
up close it looked a little better so with me belaying, Karen lead off.
The ridge was steep, with just enough snow to cover much of the rock, but not
enough to get any purchase. As Karen struggled up, she pushed off most of the
snow leaving a thin layer of ice. The bits of rock that were dry were mostly
loose. Karen edged her way up, her only protection being two rather hopeful
slings and good technique. High exposure, rotten snow, minimal protection, steep
loose rock made for a great 20 metre lead that I could only admire when I
followed.
Another snowy summit above - but more false hopes. Across a small dip in the
ridge finally was the real summit with a thin snow covered ridge that with its
flutings looked just like photos that I had seen of peaks in the Andes (with
about the same quality of snow sometimes found there). We picked our way gently
across and up to arrive on the summit at about 10 am.
A cold breeze and a bit of mist coming and going meant no lingering on the
summit. We headed back down the ridge, sometimes pitching, sometimes moving
together. An abseil down Karen's lead (we didn't even discuss back climbing it)
with two slings put in for back up (I really like solid anchors when I'm rapping
in the mountains).
The rest was plain sailing except the snow, warmed by the sun was even softer.
Back at the hut, content with a great day's climbing, we brewed and lounged in
the sun for a couple of hours. Then it was packs on and back to the road in time
to get to Wanaka for hamburgers.
Mt Brewster is a great climb. It's strange how mountains that can't be seen from
the road never attract much attention. Yet in many ways Brewster is a classic.
The area is truly lovely and the site of Brewster Hut is magic. The mountain is
easily accessible from the road at Haast pass, making it perfect as a weekend
climb (we took a little over 24 hours from the car back to the car). The
climbing has got a bit of everything and although conditions will differ
according to the season, it will always have enough challenges for most of us.
PS I think that Brewster is the only mountain of any significance that I have
climbed that Paul Scaife hasn't. Now there's a challenge for him.

Cheers, Martin Hawes