Alpine Club Reciprocity

Mt Aspiring Hut– GPS  44.4773105 ° S and 168.6591337° E
Getting to this hut was pure New Zealand fun. The old farm road to the trail-head fords several small streams, any of which could turn into a decent obstacle overnight.  The last stream was deeper than expected, as steam rolled out from under the hood of my camper-van to the squeal of slipping belts. There was also the cattle crux, which involved coaxing sleeping cows off the road. Pulling into Raspberry Flat car park at dark, I saw about 5 other camper-vans that had passed the small road trials on the journey in. In NZ it’s not uncommon to see vehicles equipped with snorkels on their intakes (and it feels like one in 5 vehicles is a Toyota Land Cruiser) …but nobody in this lot had anything of the sort. Just two wheel drive camper-vans.

I was there in May, which is the segue month from autumn to winter in the southern hemisphere, but in their summer months the Aspiring Hut is equipped with gas I believe (.. which is amazing for a hut. There are 38 bunks, a large kitchen space, open communal area, water tank, flushing toilets, and a fireplace…pretty plush.

This historic stone hut is located in the heart of the Matukituki Valley, about 2 hrs walk from Raspberry Flat.

 One of the most beautiful walks through a valley I can ever think I’ll see.

I watched the landscape change across the 8km approach to the hut, things that were once so distant and out of site coming into plain view.

The super rad thing about this hut is that’s it’s owned by the New Zealand Alpine Club. And the NZAC and the AAC are close good friends. Normally this hut is priced at $30/night, but as a NZAC (and AAC) member, you get 50% off their hut fee… so, $15 a night for the snazziest hut I’ve ever been in….got to love the Alpine Club Reciprocity!
Here’s the view from where I slept during my one night there.

My initial stop at the Aspiring hut was brief, as I was on my way up to Liverpool Hut (another 7 km away).

The last kilometer of which climbs 500 m through the bushline up roots and rocks…like a very long and wet ladder.

The Liverpool hut was a godsend. Having met a group of worldly folk on the approach, the cold alpine hut was quickly warmed by great company, and their homemade wine (aside-the Liverpool hut is not owned by the NZAC…it’s just a another badass Alpine Hut).

In the night, I set up my camera on a snowman I made, and took a set of timelapse photos looking down the valley (lights from Aspiring Hut are visible along the distant valley floor in a few of the photos).

The next morning I set out hard and fast through waste deep snow in a feeble attempt at soloing up Mt Barff. A horribly named mountain..  Anyway, I reached the ridge line where I was just starting into some hard ice, and I was done.

Slogging through the snow for 4hrs destroyed me (along with my lack of acclimation to higher altitudes). My decent back to Liverpool hut took 20 min, floating down the mountain in big ski like bounds.

I rested and ate a quick snack, and then booked it off the mountain back to Aspiring Hut.

I was beat, carrying more gear and for further than anything I’m use to…realizing I need to be in better shape.

That night at Aspiring Hut was very memorable. I met a couple from Georgia working remotely in NZ, and two bothers from the North Island.

I set up my camera outside that night, taking another set of time lapse images. After letting it shoot for a few hours, I woke back up to the feeling of moisture in the air. Running outside, clouds had rolled in, and a slight sprinkle was just starting. Good timing.

The next morning my muscles started feeling their good old selves again. And my return trek to Raspberry Flat took only 1.5 hrs. A vast improvement from on the way in (stopping to snag a few photos kills speed records).