3 years ago I accidentally reached my 1st Mountain Goat on Billies Knob. So, nearing my second, I realised that I could not in clear conscience achieve my 2nd MG on a peak that did not contain a caprine reference.
A quick look at the maps showed up 2 possibilities, both named Goat Hill. The first [ZL3/WC-309], a 6-pointer above Arthur’s Pass looked fun but challenging, given the mid-winter season. The second [ZL3/TM-257], an easy one-pointer in plantation forestry above Richmond, Nelson would be far easier if access was granted. And so with Arthur’s Pass the preferred option, and an access permit for Tasman Forests in Richmond in-hand as a backup plan, we headed north.
Challenge number one is getting there. Snow falls overnight before our departure, four passes standing between us and Goat Hill. The Lindis Pass is, surprisingly, open, but every subsequent pass closed. We head off with nothing more than hope, rewarded as Burkes Pass opens not long before we arrive. At Springfield the next morning, the sign still reads ‘Chains Essential, No Towing’ for Porter’s Pass so we head back to a roadside reserve for a cuppa until the dribble of 4WD utes coming the other way becomes a stream of tourist campervans and truck and trailer units. Sure enough the sign now reads ‘winter conditions, proceed with care’.
Descending Burkes Pass
Crossing the fourth and final pass at Arthurs without issue. As predicted the snow stuck to the east of the divide and there looks to be like ideal tramping conditions all the way to the tops.
We spend our second night on the road at Otira. Most NZ alpine townships are picturesque, tourist affairs. But both Arthur’s Pass Village and Otira, bracketting the Arthur’s Pass, are first and foremost functional. Their job is to get trains and vehicles through or over the Alps - all else is secondary. So we spend the night listening to the slow beat-frequency between the idling engines of four linked diesel locomotives that are based at Otira, intermittently interrupted by the roar and judder as the get attached onto a train to help haul it up the 400m ascent through the Otira Tunnel. This was the first ever section of electrified railway in NZ, supposedly because the heat generated by steam engines ascending the tunnel incline would have cooked the cargo. Sadly, for those wanting a good night’s sleep, the hydro plant and accompanying electrification were removed with the switch to diesel.
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Goat Hill - (maps CC-Attribution, LINZ)
Goat Hill [ZL3/WC-309] is a typical Alpine 6-pointer - at 1656m, standing 1256m above the valley floor. In this post-glacial landscape, the initial ascent up the truncated spurs to the flatter tops above is steep - 800m in 1.5km through first thick podocarp forest and later 400m of stunted sub-alpine scrub. Thankfully the track is well cut and well maintained - though the start is hard to find.
Otira valley - road and rail headed for their Alpine crossings
Once above the scrubline, the remaining 400m ascent is far easier. Initially ascending through a tarn-dotted tussock landscape to gain the main ridgeline.
Barrack tops
Then a slower, careful traverse of the boulderfields to where the broad ridge swings east to the summit of Goat Hill. Below, Otira looks little more than a well-constructed model-railway.
Otira township
The easy going ends with the swing east and the final climb to the summit. The ridgeline is very narrow and very exposed, interrupted by several tricky ‘bites’ and minor gendarmes.
Final ascent to Goat Hill
The crampons have been coming along for the ride for a couple of months now, and finally get their first use of the year - sidling the dark southern face through the obvious snow-chutes to bypass much of the tricky ridgeline.
Activating Goat Hill. Mt Stewart, Phipps Peak, Mt Rollerston on the horizon
I’m on the summit and set up by about 11:20am - 40 minutes early for a change! Running the 10w Discovery TX-500 into my usual EF40mHW - supported on a 6m SOTApole. The strong, gusty wind of the previous night has passed and the sun is shining. Despite the temperature presumably 10-degrees or so below zero (it was zero in Otira, 1200m below), it makes for a pleasant activation.
40m is a little disappointing with just 6 ZLs coming back to an initial 10 minutes of calls - weekdays can be hard to qualify sometimes. But a switch to 20m gets another 9 in the log, mainly VKs, before a second go on 40m brings in number 16. No DX, but a good steady stream of calls - by ZL standards at least. And it all earned me my second goat!
Otira - Taramakau confluence - activating Goat Hill
I pack up at midday, having failed to locate my lunch anywhere in my pack and head down. Head full of joy at reaching MG2, I remind myself that the summit is only the half-way point, and take especial care on the icy traverse back to the safety of the broad ridge. It would be a shame to fail at the last step - the journey home!
Thanks to the chasers who’ve been there for the last 2000 points and 440 vertical kilometers. And looking forward to the next 2000. But maybe not today.
Activating Goat Hill
