First Snow Magic in Fiordland
Photograph by Jesse Leake
Gertrude Saddle is a fairly popular, slightly difficulty, hike in Fiordland National Park, New Zealand overlooking the famous Milford Sound. What many people miss is the continued off-trail scramble, occasionally marked by cairns, to the summit of Barrier Peak about a thousand feet above the saddle. I would say the scramble is mostly class II, but the climate of this part of the world is what makes things get really interesting. A fresh layer of soft, wet snow had fallen over the boulders the night before I visited, making the rocks incredibly treacherous to ascend. After enjoying the stunning colors of sunset over Lake Adelaide, the show stopper from the top of Barrier Peak, it was time to head back down. The wet snow coating the boulders was even more hazardous to a misstep on the descent. Safely reaching the saddle without a fall was just half the battle. As the trail dropped deeper into the valley, a thick fog rolled over the trail. Certain sections traverse steep smooth wet granite with only occasional markers to lead the way. Navigating through a dark fog is extra challenging as a headlamp often makes visibility even worse. After many wrong turns and close calls, I finally reached the easy part of the trail that didn't require every ounce of concentration and felt the relief of fast walked miles below the fog back to my car. The image shared here is a panorama from the summit of Barrier Peak that I took right at sunset. You can see the light coating of snow on the mountains in the distance which was similar to the snow I had to deal with on the way down.
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