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Steve, Katherine, and Norah | all galleries >> New Zealand 2004-2005 >> Mountaineering in Mt. Cook National Park > Kathy near the Red Buttress
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Kathy near the Red Buttress

Day 8 we did some more instruction in the hut in the morning before the weather cleared after lunch and we decided to climb a pitch on the Red Buttress above the hut. We tramped up from the hut and made our way around the large bergschrund near the top. We had to traverse sideways very carefully through the soft snow, kicking good steps as we went. We built a T slot anchor and Lisa climbed up one pitch (50 m) and anchored in. Steve and I were tied in together and climbed in tandem. The trickiest part for us was going sideways along the slope to the beginning of the rock. There was a huge cavity we kept punching through and it was a little difficult to get over. Things were easier once we started climbing on the rock. It was a little cumbersome to climb in our plastic mountaineering boots, but the foot and hand holds were good enough that it wasn't a problem. We abseiled down using two ropes to get over another bergschrund. Bergschrunds are a pain!


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