Once or twice a winter, a strong Easterly or South Easterly front pushes snow into the McKenzie Basin. Snow falls to low levels, often affecting SH8, and leaves Mt Cook Village and Tekapo township with 20cm of snow on the ground. When this event happens it is time to head into the Two Thumb Range. There is the saying ‘winds from the east, three days at least’. So if there is an easterly day of storm conditions it may well be followed by gentler easterlies and good ski conditions. Cold clear skies and morning easterly cloud will mean ice cold conditions in Camp Stream (which is somewhat of an ice box) and you may well find the valley full of squeaky dry powder.
Camp Stream Hut is an old musterers hut, which is now maintained by the Mackenzie Alpine Trust. It rustic (no insulation, concrete floor and a little drafty), but the Trust has installed a new wood burner and stocks it with firewood. Despite the drafty hut, the woodburner makes it pretty cozy when its on! There is plenty of flat space next to the hut to pitch a tent if the hut happens to be full – it is getting more popular with ski touring parties, so consider this if you’re plannign to stay overnight. The hut has 5 bunks, and it’d be a squash with 5 people and gear. A donation to the Trust is requested to support the expenses for maintaining and servicing the hut.
The most expeditious access is from the Roundhill Ski Field access road, following the Te Araroa walking trail . Research the ski field backcountry access rules and information before you go. Do note that this access point faces north, and the snow can heat up during the day, so bear this in mind.
This road is private and owned by the ski field, and there is a gate on the ‘flats’ at the 900m contour which gets locked when the ski area is closed:
- For a day trip, you can leave a vehicle at a carpark where Te Araroa crosses the road, but it is important to be back at the car before 5pm!
- For overnight trips, you are required to leave your vehicle at the 900m contour park. A good tactic is drive up and dump your gear at Te Araroa carpark, then return your car to the 900m carpark. Hitching should be easy you’re there around 9-10am when the ski area is operating. Alternatively a bike or running shoes to get back up the hill… Its further than you think!
The land on either side of the road above the 900m mark is public conservation land.There is also public access from Mt Gerald Station. This passes up and over to Camp Stream via Rex Simpson Hut. However, for a day trip, this is route would be considered too circuitous and long. The distance from the road is far enough from decent ski-able terrain to preclude a day trip. So that route is really only suitable for multi- day trips. (But, there are wallabies on that route, which is kinda cool..)
The beauty of the access to Camp Stream from Roundhill is that within 15 minutes from the road (given good snow) one can be in Camp Stream with a multitude of ski touring objectives at hand. If there no snow on the route, expect about 1.5-2hrs hiking each way between Camp Stream Hut and the Te Araroa Carpark.
There are multiple aspects, ridges and faces to ski with easy to moderate terrain.
The route out retraces one’s steps, or, alternatively, ski out to the road, to join the Coal River Easement near Mt Gerald Station. For more information and details on this easement, review Walking Access NZ’s web page www.wams.org.nz
Another ‘loop’ option is to tour up Camp Stream, over Stag Saddle, and down to Royal hut, to return via a different valley. The best snow conditions for this might be when the snow is firm and fast. In soft conditions or deep powder, a lot of pushing and polling may be required to get down the reasonably gentle valleys.
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