“If you start to slide I’m out”. Brownie was on the uphill side of the van with his hand on the door handle. I was concentrating on the drive and with the void on my side, jumping out was not a option.
The old Hiace was four wheel drive but the problem was the gearing and the crap tires. First gear wasn’t low enough so I had to brake and when I lost traction, the ABS came on and control became elusive.
Brownie had met us on our arrival to the Mt Olympus summer car park two days previously. After the rough, rocky, incredibly exposed, eye-popping drive up in the van he was the first person we met. Dressed from helmeted head to toe in black, he had white Maltese crosses on the shoulders of his jacket. The Dark Knight.
“You’re sticking out”
I get back in the van and have the impression that I’m about to topple down the mountain as he indicates for me to advance, ever closer to the drop.
“That was quite a drive up” I say as I get out of the van. “Seemed rougher than I remember”.
The Dark Knight shrugged “That’s how it is”
“I’m not complaining, I’m just saying it felt rougher”
“Sounded like a complaint to me. We don’t have a Complaints Department here. At least it’s not me” and off he went!
I reversed the van back a metre from the edge.
Mt Olympus, Playground of the Gods, is a top spot for freedom loving back country skiers. Great people, great facilities, great terrain. Get yourself up there!
This trip had a ski fields theme as the weather remained too bad and the winds too strong to allow us access to the big mountains. We had full kit for glacier camping but the closest we got to using it was pitching the tents in the ping pong room at Ohau. We skied what we could, enjoying each others company and the priviledge of travelling through the beautiful South Island.