The Cupola Fellowship

This is the account of a private trip organised by a 16-year old member of the Nelson/Marlborough Section of NZAC as a first trip after completing a Basic Snowcraft Course.

By Jasper Davidson,

This adventure was the stuff legends are made of. That one adventure people might spend a lifetime looking for, an adventure where they have the odds stacked against them. But they pull through and have an amazing time and epic companionship.

On this adventure Reuben told us the five things needed for an adventure. First is 'Out of the Ordinary', for us this was summiting Mount Cupola. Then you need an 'Unknown Outcome', our weather window was slim and it was unknown if we would get a chance to summit. Thirdly, you need 'Passion' for what you are doing. We all had the drive and the willingness to give it our best shot. 'Mindfulness' is fourth, we were all aware of what we attempted to do and accepted that this was going to be hard and scary. Lucky last and most importantly in my opinion is 'Companionship', without this you're not going to get far as a team and nor will you be able to fully enjoy the adventure. We had the best companionship I could ever ask for, we were a fellowship. Out on our adventure and on our quest.

Unfortunately this trip started out on the backfoot, a low weather system was shifting towards the Top of the South. The week leading up to D-Day was nerve wracking and nail biting as the weather looked like it was going to bucket all weekend. It looked like the system was here to stay. Throughout the week I looked through every model possible, umming and arring as to whether to go or not. By Wednesday there was a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, Saturday (our summit day) was improving with just showers instead of buckets of rain. As the week went along I conferred multiple times with Glen Aspin as to whether to go or not, by Wednesday evening Saturday had turned to just cloudy. We had a green light and an opportunity, boat rides and carpools were finalised.

Leah picked up Nick and Jasper and we trundled along to St Arnaud to meet up with Reuben and catch our boat into Coldwater. Nerves were high and we were all bubbling with excitement, it really hit home when we boarded the water taxi headed for Coldwater Hut, we were doing this! As we sped up the lake, the dark clouds overhead gave us a glimpse of snow capped peaks down the valley, this was a promising sight.

We arrived at Coldwater Hut, put on our packs and set off for the Travers valley swingbridge, powered along by the thought of delicious looking bagels that Leah had made for the team. Once we arrived at the swingbridge we devoured the lovely bagels. After the break we waltzed up the valley enjoying each other's company and conversation following. Some dad jokes were said, but this was shut down very quickly by a group consensus that they were terrible. The team passed through the Hopeless turn off feeling good, we had another wee break here before we pushed onto John Tait Hut. At John Tait Hut we stopped again and Reuben boiled some hot water and we all had a nice hot drink, by this time the heavens had opened up and it was bucketing hard. We made the final push to Cupola Hut in some serious rain, this made some of the Cupola Track really slippery and dangerous, but we moved on through. For the last 100ish metres or so we walked under headlamps and then we popped up right next to the hut, at this point we all had pretty wet clothes and were looking forward to a hot meal.

The next morning we rose at 5am, not the traditional alpine start but we wanted enough light to be able to see the weather and make a call as to whether we should go or not. Fate had it be that it was a blue sky morning and a perfect view of Mt Hopeless and the North Star shining right above it. We made our move towards the summit, Cupola doused in the dawning sun revealed to us a beautiful sight. As we made our approach we started to see signs of fresh release popping up, Reuben reassured us that we would be okay and safe. About halfway on our approach through the basin we started to see more signs, then to our direct right some rollers came out of a gully. This was not something we wanted to see and put the less experienced people on the edge, again Reuben reassured us and even started videoing. More release happened as the sun's rays touched the north face, we stopped for a bit and watched it. Once things settled down we kept moving and made it to the bottom of the first gully that would take us most of the way up to the peak. Reuben had us do a snow pack check, we got to see all the different layers and see that we had a pretty stable pack and would not be taken out as we were climbing the gully. 

 After the snowpack assessment we made our push up the gully with Nick leading the charge. This gully started out nicely and we could zig-zag up, but after getting a third of the way we had to switch to front pointing and double ice axes. Nick leads extremely well, creating a path of steps for us to follow making it easy for us. We popped out the top of the gully and into this perfect blue sky, this was a great spot to take a break and have some food. It had marvellous views of Mt Hopeless and the surrounding ranges and Mt Travers. We pushed on towards what we found to be the crux of the climb, the last chute towards the summit. This crux had a lack of snow so it turned into a mixed climb with rock, ice and snow. For us this was a nerve wracking challenge that we didn't expect, but Reuben convinced us this was within our goals and sent Jasper up to lead the charge. Reuben guided us up from his spot on the crux and helped each individual with foot placement and pick placement. Following Jasper was Leah, this pushed Leah out of her comfort zone as well, but she pushed through and flew up the crux. After Leah was Nick, Nick was feeling pretty comfortable but was worried about his calves tiring out, but he pushed through the soreness and tiredness. Magical views awaited the fellowship as we crested the crux and moved along to the summit. Once we arrived at the summit of Cupola we were allowed a brief view of the fantastic views surrounding us. Hearty congratulations were all round and summit photos were taken, Reuben impressed us all with a headstand photo.

Cloud began to set in around the summit, so we decided to make our move down to a place we had spotted on the way up to take a break and have some jet planes. With more cloud setting in we made a move down, getting down the crux. Nick and Leah lead the way down the crux. Jasper was feeling pretty anxious about going down, so Reuben set Jasper up on a belay. This helped Jasper feel more comfortable in his abilities to come down. Once Jasper reached the end of his belay he created himself a shelf so he could wait for Reuben to come down and set up the second belay. As Jasper went to turn out and sit down he slipped, with a combined effort of Jasper self-arresting and his belay still being set Jasper was able to stop himself and climb back up to his seat to take two of trying to sit down. This time he succeeded and the rest of the climb down went smoothly. At the hut we rejoiced and recounted experiences, sharing how we felt about the climb over food and hot drinks. A real bond was created over this day and a team of people had shared in an adventure that provided all five elements needed. As a group we made the decision that we would not drop down to John Tait Hut and instead relaxed at Cupola. Later in the evening we had two other people show up to the hut which made things a bit cosy and with the fire cranking gear was dried quickly. As the sun dropped we started making diners and bedding down for the night, the group decided that we should be leaving Cupola by 7am. 

In the morning we all woke at around 6am to Jasper's alarm on his watch and gear was slowly put away into packs and somewhat dry gear adorned. Leah left a bit earlier to make her way down to John Tait and boil some water for hot drinks. That left Nick, Reuben and Jasper to make their way down, they left the hut just after 7. It was a relief to make it down to John Tait Hut as this marked the hardest part of the walk out completed. We pushed along the trail after some hot drinks and a relaxing session sitting in the warming rays of the sun. Mother Nature had given us a beautiful day for our walk. After pushing along and a couple of breaks we made it to the Travers valley swingbridge, marking the last stretch to Lakehead Hut. The group stopped here and we consumed some snacks and water for the last push. Bush and swamp gave way to golden plains as we approached Lakehead, Jasper noted that this felt very much like an ending to the Lord of the Rings. The hut slowly gained in size as we got closer, and a feeling of achievement and completion began to set in for the group. However, we still had to get a little further along from the hut to the jetty so we could be picked up by the water taxi. Once we arrived at the jetty congratulations were given all round and packs lowered to the ground. Reuben decided that he wanted to have a dip, this had been a theme of conversation throughout the trip. To Dip or Not to Dip—that is the question. So Reuben being absolutely mad stripped down and flung himself into the deep cool embracing water, the rest of us thinking what is he doing?

After a short wait our ride home came blasting around the corner, MV Mountaineer from the Water Taxi. How topical. We all boarded the boat, Jasper being glad to be out of the mosquitos that had been bothering him but no one else. MV Mountaineer made a quick stop at Coldwater and then we were off skimming down the lake at max speed. Once we arrived back at Kerr Bay Leah and Nick decided they could not be shown up by Reuben and promptly decided to go for a very quick swim. Proceeding some sort of noise that kindred itself to an exclamation of how cold the water was, Leah speedily manoeuvred herself across the gravely road up to the shower block. Nick followed behind commenting on how fast Leah had moved and then kindred it to walking on legos and it was painful. Some of the group showered and the rest changed, after this we decided to go up to the alpine lodge for pizza and drinks with celebrations. The group then went its separate ways with hugs and well wishes. Leah, Nick and Jasper making their way back to Richmond and Reuben off to Nelson.

At the end of this adventure everyone agreed that this was one for the history books. This had all five elements for a successful adventure and Was the Stuff of Legends.

Trip Participants:

• Reuben
• Leah
• Nick
• Jasper (Scribe)