Just one last time

So since we got 40cm of fresh snow in the mountains last week we ventured into the backcountry one more time - last weekend for the last few snowfields that were still open.

We bivyed out in the parking lot of The Remarkables (brrrrrrrr was it ever cold!) and I learned a new feature of my camera: taking pictures in the dark. While my technique definitely needs to be perfected this is one of the first shots (the lights are Queenstown):
Next Morning we went up to Lake Alta (same place where Ben and I did the mountaineering course) but this time we went over the ridge:
... and dropped into the Wye Creek basin.

And were rewarded with beautiful slush skiing/snowboarding in the afternoon.
The SPF70 kept me from getting a sunburn on my face but I forgot to put any sunscreen on my arms and got a nice burn on my lower arms from pulling up the sleeves. That will teach me - hopefully :)

Leigh made a movie about the trip which can be viewed here.

On the way back it was very obvious that spring has arrived. The colors were just amazing! (But I think only people from Alaska can appreciate that - Leigh said: "What colors?")
We took a detour through the historic village of Clyde:
.. and then took a gravel backwoods road back to Dunedin.

We went past Waipori Village (Waipouri meaning "dark water" in Maori and being a reference to the tannin-stained waters of the heavily wooded Waipori River catchment) - a small village nestled into the steep native forest slopes of the Waipori River valley about 1 hour from Dunedin.
The local fire station (Waipori Fire Fighter Brigade):
To supply the City of Dunedin with power a small hydroelectric station* was built and completed at Waipori Falls in 1880. A dam then needed to be built to feed that station and Waipori Village came into existence in 1902. The damn was completed in 1924 and created an artificial lake, Lake Mahinerangi.
The river valley below that station looks like an excellent place for packrafting :)

The village today is "no longer needed in connection with the power scheme and has been developed in terms of the Unit Titles Act. The individual units are generally used for holiday homes, with some permanent residents. The body corporate is responsible for the upkeep of the tennis courts, water and sewerage reticulation schemes and the sealed streets of the village. A swimming pool is located by the power station which is available for use by the people of the village."(http://www.cluthadc.govt.nz)

* In 2007, hydroelectricity accounted for 55% (in GWh) of all generated power in New Zealand. Including geothermal (8%), biogas (0.5%), wood (1.2%), and wind (2.2%), NZ generated 67% of its electricity from renewable resources. The remaining non-renewable 33% came from coal (7%), gas (26%), and wasteheat (0.1%).
(from http://www.med.govt.nz/upload/37882/A-table1.xls)