In May this year I was invited to join the Geraldine Tramping Club on their day trip to Mt Dobson. This was such an incredible opportunity as outside of winter Mt Dobson is not easily accessible to the public and permission must be obtained from both the farmer, who's land you cross, and the ski field management. So when the offer to join was extended to me I couldn't help but jump at it.
I travelled to Geraldine with my friend, and joined the other club members at the designated meeting place. We then drove on through Fairlie to the Mt Dobson access road. Once through the main gates we followed in convoy through numerous locked gates until we finally reach the ski field car park.
The weather was perfect, blue sky and sunshine as far as the eye could see, I couldn't help wonder how amazing this place would look in the middle of winter covered in snow.
From the vehicles we started climbing up past the base building, past the beginners area and on to the upper cat track. As is to be expected the rocky terrain was covered in small tussocks and alpine plants. At the cat track we had a brief rest to take in the surrounds and catch our breath from the steep climb.
From our resting spot we looked directly up to the weather station at Pt 2064 and we made a bee line straight for it. The terrain here was a mix of large, small and hard packed rocks. From this vantage point we could see all the way to Lake Opuha and along the Two Thumb Range.
We then carried on along the wide ridgeline, on a mix of mixed rocks and cat tracks, passing Pt 2046 before dropping down to a low saddle below the summit of Mt Dobson.
The final climb to the summit, at 2095 metres, was straight forward, even though there was no easy cat track to follow. Resting at the top, we sat enjoying lunch in the sunshine and soaking in the marvelous view.
With a stomach full of food, and a head full of views we carried on, initially dropping down to another saddle which sits at the top of the ski field. From this point, some of the group decided to follow the chair lift and return direct to the car park and base buildings, while a few of us opted for another climb to Pt 2063 and even more views. At the top we were looking directly down to Lake Tekapo, with the village at one end and the Godley River at the other, while a lively debate ensued trying to identify the peaks surrounding Aoraki/Mt Cook.
Eventually we vacated our spot and headed down towards the ski field and the cat track back to the car park.
This was a fantastic day out, with an amazing group of people to a place that isn't often visited outside the winter ski season.
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