Itinerary: Purple Hill is beside Lake Pearson before Arthur’s Pass. This is a very steep and sustained run of 1000m elevation to 1600m. We begin with a group warm up jog from carpark to base of the hill. Then the gun goes off and it is every man for himself all out sprint to the top where the racing component of the trip ends, followed by a rest and snack.The group descent is facing the lake and down a long steep scree slope prone to rock falls. Helmets obligatory and walking poles strongly advised. We do it as one unit to minimise possible accidents. You must be aware of anyone moving above and below you and any potential rock fall. At the bottom we approach Lake Pearson in a narrow pinch where the water is only about 100m from shore to shore. We waterproof our bags and use them as floatation to swim across. There is then a short walk back to car park. We can have some beers in Sheffield on the way home.
Leader: Byron Harvey 021-294-7591 [email protected]
Date: Saturday Dec 10, 2022. Meet at Z petrol station Yaldhurst 7.00am. Weather dependant
Equipment: Helmet, some warm clothing for top. small backpack with lunch, two waterbottles at least for floatation and 3 garbage bags for waterproofing. Small towell. hiking poles. Warm clothes to change into. Sun hat and cream. Best to wear rugged hiking boots rather than delicate trail running shoes as scree slopes wreck them. You might consider additional floatation such as an inflatable air bladder.
Preparation: You must be able to swim competently. The water is extremely cold, remove boots before entry to aid swimming. Your heart rate will get very high sprinting up Purple Hill, if you can get up there in 1 hour that is a pretty good benchmark but don’t have a heart attack. If there are people who only want to hike then they can do it as a slower group. Some PLB’s and space blankets for the group will be required.