A Wellington Section climb of Nuns Veil, November 2018 Words and pictures Carolyn Ellis As with many alpine trips, the weather forecast for the Mt Cook area was the focus of attention in the week leading up to heading to the South Island. To maximise the chance for success a helicopter was booked and the plan was to get dropped up the Jollie, travel up Pinnacle Stream, climb Nuns Veil, descend and exit out the Gorilla - obviously with a camp or two along the way. Our group of four headed down from Christchurch to spend the night at Unwin. The following day was not looking promising with low cloud and, after discussion with the chopper pilot, the plan was altered to get dropped up the Gorilla instead of the Jollie. After being dropped off close to the rock bivvy at the bottom of the glacier we started to climb with the intention of camping high in preparation for the summit attempt the following day. The weather stayed cloudy but it was pretty warm climbing up. The weather started to close in more and the day was ending, so we set up our camp and settled down for the night. When the alarm went off the next morning a quick look outside revealed improvement in the weather conditions, so it was time to head off to the summit. The snow conditions weren’t brilliant, fairly soft underfoot. The sun came up while we were walking and in a bit over three hours our group was on the summit enjoying the 360 degree view. We spent a bit of time taking photos before heading down to break camp and descend to spend the night down in the rock bivvy. We made it to the rock bivvy and managed to get our tents up just as the rain started in earnest. The following day saw us heading up towards Mt Bruce, where we got up on to the ridgeline for a peek down into the Jollie, before packing up for the trudge down the Gorilla, then around to the lake to catch a boat. We were four happy climbers as we hopped into the car and back to Unwin Lodge for another couple of nights, before returning to Wellington via Christchurch. High camp Our sunrise view A tarn on our return from Mt Bruce On the summit of Nuns Veil Powered by volunteers We’re always thankful for volunteers and members stepping forward to help the section run smoothly. A lot goes on to keep our club going, virtually all powered by volunteers. On the back page is our “Club on a page” summary. It gives an at a glance description of all the things we do, how and why. Feel free to print a copy and pass it on to anyone who might be interested in becoming a member or volunteer. And if you’d like to learn more about how you could get involved, please email us at wellington@alpineclub.org.nz. Role Name
