Summer time surgery(s)

In the past five years I’ve had just one summer season and the other nine were spent immersed in the dark depths of the winter blues, so the thought of altering this strange lifestyle was not necessarily high on my priority list especially after coming off of such a successful snowboard season and sitting pretty on the World Freeride Qualifying Tour Priority List:

2012 WFQT Priority List.  I was sitting in 5th, reppin for NZ and the USA

After a few subtle, or not so subtle knee-pop-out-of-the-joint maneuvers back in November, I was recommended to get an MRI by legendary physio-therapist Gin Bush.   Within two weeks I was on a plane to Auckland knowing that the photograph would hold determine whether I would be Europe bound by New Years or if I’d be going back under the knife.

Air-born river recon for the Canoe! (Low-res IPOD Photos)

Sure as shit, the results came up positive with a medial meniscal tear, but fortunately, because the tear was clean and I’ve got dangerously sexy knees, the surgeon recommended a repair, meaning that I would hopefully have a 100% healthy meniscus for the rest of my life rather than option b minus.  Also, because it was repairable he was able to apply for urgent care within the NZ Public health system, meaning that I could expect to be on my ass within 4-6 weeks (pretty amazing when you hear of other people on ‘the list’ for years…)

Waiting to see the surgeon in Auckland in the ER with a temperature of (39.6C / 103.3F)

The decision was an obvious no-brainer but the stress leading up to the MRI triggered a dormant yet re-occurring abscessed tonsil in the back of my throat.  Having experienced a peach sized lump in my throat thrice before I knew what sort of agony was in windpipe-line, but lucky for me, I was already at the hospital with time to spare, so diagnosed two problems at once checking myself into the emergency room.  With an empty IV bag dangling from my arm, penicillin/pain prescription drugs, and looming knee surgery, I was prepared to get on my way home to kick off what was left of this summer season surprise.  But, I was wrong.  This time the infection didn’t react to the penicillin and at about 2:00 AM on the fourth morning of the cycle, I decided I was no longer comfortable with the size of my airway nor with the fact that I could barely open my mouth, so I used my remaining speaking capability to hook up an ambulance and wound up in the Dunedin Hospital by about 9:00 AM the following day.

To put this into perspective for those of you familiar with the east coast, it was kind of like checking into a hospital in Florida, getting discharged with an antibiotic prescription and a plan for knee surgery, flying to Maine and when unable to sleep that night, calling the ambulance and getting a ride to the hospital in New York City.

Not stoked…

So, I spent the next two and a half days in the hospital, getting pumped on morphine, extremely large liquid antibiotic injections and intravenous fluids!  Oh yes, I forget to mention this took place over Christmas…and the medical student who popped the peritonsilar-abscess in my throat also popped her peritonsilar-abscess cherry – lucky me!   But, to be perfectly honest, I thoroughly enjoyed the hospital trip and was absolutely humbled by the empathetic Christmas Carolers that strolled through the Head and Neck Ward on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Breakfast at the Dunedin Hospital!  

Following my Christmas banger in the hospital and my weeklong antibiotic injection hangover, I put forth a supreme effort to enjoy my first summer in a long long time!

Stevenson’s Island New Years Party.  Boat/Canoe/Heli access only

 

Lots of biking to strengthen the legs

Carbo loading

Oceanic Adventures…

Wazza gets some on a rarely surfed West Coast river mouth

Casual double overhead swell running at a 16 second period

Ya, it was pretty good….

 Just another bait ball of Kahawai 

Hover-boarding

Milford 

Just another canoe trip in NZ….

Doyle sends it into the Matukituki River 

Welcome to Wanaka!

Unfortunately this photo rather than the one before made the local newspaper.  

Then of course the time came for me to hang my hat and get comfortable with horizontal living for about six weeks.  I flew to Auckland and walked into the hospital on two good legs, knowing that it’d be six months before that may happen again.  But knowing I was in good hands and the NZ government was footing the bill I was willing to make the necessary sacrifice.

Post-op at Ascot Hospital.  Let me just mention their breakfast was superb!

Fortunately the surgery went to plan and I am now three weeks into my recovery with good progress already under way.  I have really great flexion thus far in my knee and have already accomplished heaps of projects that wouldn’t have otherwise been attended to.  Although my blog has been a bit of a boring space lately, I plan to keep fresh posts coming up, though it may not be from current activities because my reading list and things to do list is really not that exciting…

Big shout out to everyone who helped me out during my multiple hospital trips and recovery – Kaz, Schwarter, Gav, Hayden, Waz, Sofi, PG, Lucy and everyone else!

Glenorchy Races

 Welcome to Queenstown!

New Zealanders are quite keen on their summer time festivities.  Whether it is a concert in a vineyard – Rippon, the world famous Hokitika Wild Foods Fest or the Glenorchy Races, Kiwis come out in droves, dressed appropriately or inappropriately and ready to party.   Just after New Years, I was fortunate to have some old friends from Burlington, Vermont pop into Queenstown the evening prior to the 50th Anniversary of the Glenorchy Races.  Not knowing much about the race itself but familiar with the Kiwi attitude I assumed it would be a classic event to break in their first days in QT.  This is kind of what it looked like:

 

 

 

The jockey took a serious thrashing from White Lightning 

 

 

Billy and Zach (Spirit Animal) in the house!

 

 

First heat of the hotly contested Ladies Gallop!

Dance Hall down by the river

 

Epic evening Sunset with Bill and Christine

 

 

I had to bounce early the following morning because another surf trip was on, but I believe this crew will be back to NZ soon, hopefully touring their freshly cut album:

 

 

Check their MySpace page as well for a bit of fresh tunes:  Mastabon, Spirit Animal

Win a Trip to NZ with Mons Royale

Convincing friends to travel halfway around the world to visit NZ is surprisingly difficult.  It’s expensive, they have to get time off, their girlfriends won’t allow it, and they’ve got too many commitments…  Does this sound familiar?

What if you had the chance to win an all expenses paid trip to NZ including car rentals, accommodation and ski passes?  Mons Royale, the hottest merino underwear company is putting this contest on through facebook – just  check out the video below to find out more.  If you win I’ll even introduce you to Ria the blonde bombshell.

 

Or if you don’t like to leave your life to chance – check out this killer AirNZ deal from the states.  With peak oil looming I recommend taking those long haul flights at bargain prices!

New Zealand – a playground for big kids

 

It wasn’t much of a sunrise but the adventure ahead lit up the lush sheep paddock airstrip as we bumped and bobbed down the green runway in the single prop plane.  With just a single hole in the grey-bird morning skies the destination in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park seemed impossible.  My trusty pilot Rog cranked the G’s and corked the plane up into the hole and we were soon basking in the morning sun surrounded by the Southern Alps.

 

 

Within 25 minutes we had crossed the great divide and were screaming through some of the most remote valleys in NZ.  Like water we were soon swallowed by the West Coast and touching down on the Tasman sea shore at approximately 7:30 AM on Monday morning.

 

Just another case of the Mondays….

As this was the last day of the NZ Whitebaiting season, there was more than plenty of work to do.  After our morning toast and tea we all suited up for the tasks at hand such as hauling 10-meter stands out of the river, organizing fishing gear, cleaning buckets and general end of season maintenance.  As the tide and hours pushed on so did the rest of the crew as the flights in and out must be timed with the ocean.

As the plane roared overhead loaded up with a season’s worth of memories and good people, I settled into the West Coast lifestyle knowing that Waz and I had another full week to surf, fish, dive, hunt and mission.  The evening’s surf session just on dark was short and punchy but we both got our share of waves peeling off the reefy point break solidifying the reasons why we were both there.

The rest of the week was chock full of 5 star meals such as fresh venison stew, roast pork, fresh seafood chowder, smoked trout, pulled pork and pumpkin curry, crayfish pizza and of course a few drams of whiskey.  Seeing as the season was coming to a close, it was only appropriate to eat what couldn’t be flown or boated out later on…

The nearly non-stop rain also kept us indoors for a good portion of the week making kitchen creativity a good sink for our energy.  Being held captive by the weather soon got old and in the height of one of the wildest storms we donned the wetsuits and floated down the river and out to sea in search of waves and crayfish.  We certainly got our fair share of both but we also ran into a playful pod of Bottlenose dolphins keen to perform for our hoots and hollers.  (Video to come soon!)

(Swell)

With the weather pattern opening up again I realized eight or nine days had slipped by and I had to hit the play button for life on the other side of the mountains.  Rather than stick it out for another week I hitched a ride out of the coast just as quick as flew in.  Flying above one of The Hobbit film locations was not much consolation as I came to the realization that the trip was over.

 

Film Location for The Hobbit

Looking back, it was certainly an epic week and I’m looking forward to the next trip back in.  If you’re interested in a trip, check Helisurf.co.nz for a glimpse of what’s possible. 

Backcountry Glacial Gardening

Last month I was invited on a trip to a zone that I previously didn’t know existed.  The backbone of the NZ Southern Alps is primarily accessed near the most popular peaks, but the sections that are most distant from the few and far between kiwi style roads and towns are rarely visited.  This is what makes places like the Garden so special.

 

The details and photos will be kept undercover for the time being, but I will release the full photos and stories around May of next year.  If your curiosity gets the best of you, like Splitn2 – Aotearoa backcountry developments on Facebook to see the story when it comes out.  Below you will see a couple of the shots from the trip and the boards we were riding:

 

160 MK2 w/Sparks Bindings – hand built by Splitn2

On the journey back to camp after a 12 hour day on the glaciers

40 hr hibernation –  in which I did not step foot outside the tent

Brewster Hut with The Daily Dump

 

A couple weeks ago I posted about our trip to Brewster Hut earlier this season.  Lachlan Humphreys of The Daily Dump Snow Report was an integral member of the team and recently put this video together from the trip.  As described, it was a warm up for what ensued.

 

Stirring the Rad-Pot with RAD Film Productions

I’ve had the pleasure to get to know the producers of RAD Film Productions over the past two seasons in Japan as they have come in hordes to test the bottomless supply of Japanese pow-pow.  Earlier this season I was asked to host their athletes during their stay in New Zealand.  I accepted the offer in a heart beat knowing the Danish skiers and riders were a talented bunch and definitely knew how to play the internationally acclaimed game – drink the beer.  Although the boys didn’t put a complete section together for their film, FRIDGE (See the teaser here), they were able to put a clip together for a tv series.  They recently premiered FRIDGE in Copenhagen and it looked fun!  Check it out:

 

 

Klaus Elmer, the videographer also recently sent this clip along from one of our afternoon’s up at Treble Cone.  Nothing special, but a fun kiwi pow day, tussock drops and all.

The Clubbies – Episode 3

 

I had the pleasure of spending a bit of time with Shane O this past season shredding lines in the New Zealand Clubfields as well deeper in the backcountry.  In the final episode of The Clubbies you get a glimpse into the eyes of a snowboarder who’s seen more terrain in NZ than most see in a life time.

Una

Upon departing Fox Glacier, I put a phone call into Kiwi snowboard legend, Shane Orchard to see what he was up to for the weekend.  As I expected, Shane was departing on a mission Sunday morning to a mountain in Lewis Pass that potentially had never been snowboarded before.  Andy and I jumped at the prospect and after dropping Lachlan off at the airport, we hunted out the best late night car bivy location in the area.  The following day was spent crushing coffees, newspapers, earthquakes and pad thai, but by 5 we were soon on our way out into the middle of nowhere.  Not only did we spend over two hours on dirt roads, but 2/3 into the trip we had to unlock a gate with a secret password to access the wilderness area!  Only NZ…

A late night arrival limited our view of the peak, but with an early start planned and clear skies in the forecast, I knew it wasn’t mandatory.  We cheffed up a gourmet dinner of avocado and baked beans and I pitched my trusty cocoon in the background.

The 5 AM start came early, especially after only 5 hrs sleep and not more the night before, but the ice cold streams woke me right up.  When we entered the main drainage and Mount Una came into view, I was stunned.  I knew I was in for something burly, but Una just looked scary.

Two hours of stream navigation, bush bashin’ and rock hoppin’ had us at the snow line just as the sun met us for the day.  Avalanches had smeared the slope with class 3+ debris. Since major slide paths were the only way up, we were happy to see they had all been cleared out.

The climb was steep and provided a good chance to break in my crampons and ice axe I had brought down from home…This couloir was certainly a no fall zone, but just a warm up for the summit ridge…

After topping out of the main couloir at around 1:30, three of us decided to make a bid for the peak as seen above.  This required dropping into a back bowl and climbing about 400 meters from the north west.  As we approached the final 100 meters, it was clear there would be an exposed crux move that would require solid foot placements and a bit of agility. Following the crux the last 40 meters topped out with critical exposure on both sides.  What I thought was a no fall zone earlier was nothing compared to the summit ridge.  It was perhaps the burliest ridge I’ve ever stood upon and mistakes would have had severe consequences especially on the icy slopes.

Looking South after the final climb to the summit (You don’t want to see the front face)!

Shane proved his navigation skills in this hairy situation, suggesting we drop into the next back bowl-hike out-drop into another backbowl-hike out and then get back onto the front face…This sounded like a committing and lengthy plan, but negotiating any more of the knife edge ridge without ropes was not really in any of our comfort zones.  We dropped into one of the nicest lines I’ve ridden this season, a south facing couloir spilling into a huge bowl.  I was stoked to ride it first, especially considering the fact that I was perhaps the first person to ever snowboard that line!

Shane O doing what he does best – exploratory snowboarding

The hikes out proved demanding and tested our navigation skills due to unrideable terrain and a setting sun.  Fortunately, we dropped into the front face with a bit of light and made it to the start of the river around 7 PM.  With an hours hike out, we made it back to camp by dark, finishing a 15 hour circuit.  The rest of the team was stoked to see us before sun down and we quickly broke camp and made the journey back down the road.  Andy, who suffered a thumb dislocation and I decided to drive as far as we could into the night, but by 3 AM, we pulled over for some shut eye.  My bivy under the truck proved to be warm and dry!

Livin under a van down by the river.

Thanks to the crew for the inviting me on the trip and please check out more of Joe Harrison’s photos here.  During my week of recovery, I spent some time looking into Mt Una and discovered this historical aerial photo online….

Burly…

Splitboarding on Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier is a small town on the West Coast of New Zealand nestled between the Tasman Sea and the some of highest alpine peaks of the Southern Alps.  Because the glaciers flow so close to sea level there is supreme access to the alpine terrain, which is just a short and scenic chopper ride away.

While the windy and claggy weather sorted itself out up top we consumed coffees, checked weather charts, fired emails, packed and repacked the bags ensuring nothing would be left behind.  When we got the call that it was on, the pace picked up as all the moving pieces began spinning in sync like chopper blades.  The heli pad was alive with another group weighing baggage already harnessed and booted up – clearly they knew what they were up to.  In bare feet and with gear all over the place, we must have looked like a bit of a junk show, but were soon loaded up into both choppers and hovering above the west coast rain forest ascending into alpine glacial territory.  With a smirk as wide as the circ below, my first chopper ride was just as I had imagined, though when we came into land by Pioneer Hut it became clear the load was too heavy for the wind and flat light lodging my stomach in my throat with each g-force turn.

After a quick re-shuffle of the crew down the glacier we were able to make the drop off with a lighter load at our new home base, Pioneer Hut.  The professionally guided group in front of us roped up on their way from the drop zone to the hut; I took this to mean that the crevasses lurking below the snowy surface may be more menacing than originally anticipated.  After settling in and heating our first brew we headed out on an evening tour to survey the area.  This provided a good chance to get used to the splitboard system and test the snow conditions, which were changing to ice rather quickly.

The first evening was full of banter with the guides, Gary Kuhns and Jim Blythe, both legends in their own respect.  Gary had taught my Avalanche Stage 1 course the year prior and is regarded as one of NZ’s most active ski mountaineers.  Jim’s carved out a niche guiding clients to the most exotic ski destinations in the world, a career most envy though few ever achieve.

The following days were spent touring around the glaciers on hard icy snow.  Andy literally showed us the ropes on glacial hauling techniques, roping up, knots, and best practice travel techniques.  It was instantly clear upon arrival that we were far from help and mistakes could turn into critical problems within seconds.  Having never been on a mission with either Andy or Lachlan also tested our ability to navigate the terrain of each other’s experiences and minds while sliding between burly couloirs and bottomless crevasses.

One of the major reasons I put forth the effort to get to the glacier was to ride the biggest and steepest lines of my season no matter what the conditions were.  I didn’t head into the glacier to put anyone’s safety at risk, including my own, but at the same time I didn’t go there to passively observe what may have been some of the best lines of my year.  This is where I discovered that perhaps we were not all on the same page and called into question my lack of participation in pre-trip objective planning.  Rather than charge off into the unknown, potentially jeopardizing safety and new found friendships, I accepted the wisdom erring on the side of safety with a mellow approach to the terrain on tap, soaking it all in for another time.  Little did I know, I would get more than what I was looking for two days later on a separate trip to a remote and desolate mountain that has probably never been snowboarded with New Zealand’s most experienced snowboard mountaineer, Shane Orchard.  Check back for the story within the week…

Keep an eye out on The Daily Dump Snow Report for more images and video from our trip.  Thanks to Andy and Lach for making the trip possible, and all the good fellas around Wanaka who lent me critical pieces of gear as well.