The big fellow - Mt Aspiring

One hundred years ago Mt Aspiring was climbed for the first time by Jack Clarke, Alec Graham and Major Bernard Head, and so over the weekend in Wanaka there was a celebration of this in the Lake Wanaka Center on Sat. evening.

I made this photo exactly a year ago while helping on a bird survey of the Matukituki river little realising that a local friend John whom I admired very much had just fallen off the south west ridge [top left]. On the celebration night as above his surviving companion Martin gave a very good presentation on Aspiring in the context of environmental art/photography, and to honour John. Hopefully it was a healing experience...


Most of the public see the big fellow from Glendhu Bay. That's him in the distance on the right...


Tele shot from Glendhu...


In winter from the Snow Farm...


Another good spot is from Rocky Top - a popular walk near Wanaka...


The evening started with extracts read out from Head's diary, then local farmer John gave a fascinating presentation on farming in the area - his family back 3 generations. Next there was a presentation on the history of the huts on the mountain, including historical footage of the transportation and building of Aspiring Hut. This interested me greatly as there were shots of people who mentored myself in
the mountains when I was a youngster. After an interval an old friend Geoff gave the keynote from the perspective of having climbed it well over 70 times guiding. Then having run out of puff I came home a bit early [but late] opting to miss the modern day interpretation of climbing [but there was an earlier brief narration from a guy who has skied [gulp] the route of the first ascent - the West Face]

All-in-all though local folk singer Martin stole the show, for me at least, with his poem he performed on the antics of keas on a hut roof.

Doing this post has shown me I've not really made many photos of this iconic mountain on my door step. Maybe that can be a goal!