infonews.co.nz
INDEX
TOURISM

Kiwi skier completes epic alpine adventure

Wednesday 9 November 2011, 1:27PM

By 100% Pure New Zealand

581 views

Day 2: Erik Bradshaw on the St Arnaud Range
Day 2: Erik Bradshaw on the St Arnaud Range Credit: 100% Pure New Zealand
Sunny day at Lake Lucidus - a morain lake in Mt Aspiring National Park
Sunny day at Lake Lucidus - a morain lake in Mt Aspiring National Park Credit: 100% Pure New Zealand
Erik Bradshaw reaches the Arawhata Saddle with the West Coast below
Erik Bradshaw reaches the Arawhata Saddle with the West Coast below Credit: 100% Pure New Zealand
Descending Mt Brewster above the Makarora River - Mt Aspiring National Park
Descending Mt Brewster above the Makarora River - Mt Aspiring National Park Credit: 100% Pure New Zealand

Kiwi adventurer Erik Bradshaw has made New Zealand alpine history as the first person to ski the length of the Southern Alps.

Bradshaw, 43, began his journey from St Arnaud - in the Nelson Lakes region - on 8 August and finished 10-and-a-half weeks and 800km later in Fiordland on 26 October.

His high altitude journey along the spine of the South Island was a test of physical fitness, equipment, local mountain knowledge and alpine safety skills that took him to the vertical metre equivalent of climbing Mt Everest six times.

This is the first time the Southern Alps have been traversed on skis and only the second ever winter traverse.

Kiwi ingenuity

To complete the journey Bradshaw had to make the best use of his Kiwi ingenuity - he invented new ski equipment including a unique exoskeleton binding made of carbon fibre and titanium that fitted over a normal walking boot to transform it into a ski boot with crampons.

He also needed an intense and detailed personal plan to cope with extreme winter conditions in the Alps.

"Without doubt it is the hardest thing I have ever done. I had to know what would work and what was too dangerous. If I was too timid I would never succeed, but if I was too bold I wouldn’t make it home again," Bradshaw said.

"Developing a good understanding of how my body worked was critical as I pushed myself very hard for 12 hours per day, skiing and climbing then camping in sub zero temperatures. Waking the next day and repeating day after day. To do that without setting tired, sick or injured required a careful and innovative approach."

From miserable to breathtaking

Bradshaw completed the traverse in several stages, taking time out to restock and repair equipment whenever the journey brought him into contact with civilisation.

At one point he broke a pair of expensive European skis and had to call on that Kiwi ingenuity to make a replacement pair with the help of friend Richard Harcourt during a supply stop.

During the traverse Bradshaw survived sub zero temperatures and raging storms in a tiny tent.

"Sometimes it was miserable, in a small tent coated in ice being flattened by a storm knowing you are a long way from home. But other times it was breathtakingly beautiful with towering snow capped mountains, blue skies and amazing snow," he said.

"When I first thought of attempting this ski traverse I thought it was a crazy idea, but as I developed new ski equipment and experimented with how to travel fast in the mountains I realised I could succeed with great preparation and focus. In the end, the hardest part was maintaining the optimism and mental drive to keep pushing over what is a huge chain of steep mountains."

Travel highlights

Some of the highlights were in remote areas such as the Snowball and Volta glaciers, the Upper Hunter and Te Naihi rivers and the Garden of Allah and Eden Ice plateaus.

"It was a real treat to visit such places and some areas such as the Te Naihi have probably never been visited on skis before. And, we have fantastic powder skiing in our mountains that I hadn’t experienced before."

Mountain climbing

Erik Bradshaw started backcountry skiing when he was 15 and has been a keen mountain climber since he could walk. He has climbed and skied throughout New Zealand and the world including the Antarctic.

In 2006, along with partner Christine Ryan, Bradshaw was awarded a Royal Humane Society Bravery medal for the rescue of trampers in the Matukituki (Lake Wanaka) alpine region.

The pair established and operate a tourism specific software business Ibis Technology which provides fully integrated, real time, comprehensive management systems for some of the biggest New Zealand tourism companies. They have a 15-month-old son and live in Queenstown.

Background: The Southern Alps

Covering an area greater than the European equivalent, the Southern Alps extend from Arthur’s Pass in northern Canterbury to Haast Pass at the head of Lake Wanaka.

It is the highest mountain range in Australasia and includes Mt Cook, New Zealand’s highest peak, at 3,754 metres [12,316 feet] and 15 other peaks above 3,050m [10,000 feet].

Numerous glaciers descend from the permanently snow-clad mountain tops, and major rivers, including the Rakaia, Rangitata, and Waitaki which flow across the Canterbury Plains in a distinctive braided pattern.

The Southern Alps extend through several South Island regions including Canterbury, West Coast, Lake Wanaka, Queenstown, and Fiordland.

There are a huge variety of opportunities for tourists to experience the Southern Alps, from scenic flights, short and long treks, mountain biking, glacier cruising and heli hikes, to winter sports on the ski fields.