Full Cirque.
Ticking all The Remarkables classics in 24 hours.
From ISSUE 105 2023
Words Will Rowntree| Images Edward Norriss.
The Remarkables holds a special place in my heart. People who know me will read this first line and moan, “here he goes again…”, but it’s not just special to me. The jagged ridgeline has captured the gaze of millions, graced many a local businesses logo, and inspired at least a dozen cheap tattoos for the transient backpackers that Queenstown sucks in and spits out every winter.
For skiers in particular, the standalone mountain range offers a plethora of technical ski lines. Once the minefields of jagged boulders fill in with Aotearoa’s finest white gold, the challenging, steep couloirs, faces and bowls become skiable, offering a wide spectrum from fast, flowy freeride zones to steep, ski mountaineering routes.
By far, the stand-out feature is The Alta Cirque. This natural arena encases the frozen Lake Alta on all but the eastern side, the terrain increasing in elevation from the south-facing Alta Chutes, wrapping around into the east-facing Big Chutes and finishing with The Grand and Petit Couloirs, framed by Single and Double Cone.
Some of my favourite winter days have been when the weather, snow and stability align, and the Cirque lets us in for a day of skiing what is, in my humble opinion, some of the best terrain in the Southern Lakes. It’s a spectator sport, with the lake providing a perfect viewpoint for all of the major lines. There’s nothing quite like hitting the compression onto the snow-covered ice, then turning to watch one or more of the regular local rippers follow suit. A quick catchup on the lake, side-step a 40m-long, crude penis in the pristine snow surface, and head around for another lap.
I have been skiing and working at The Remarkables for eight years now, and during 2020 was thinking about possible challenges close to home. Inspired by friend and mentor, Gordon Menzies, I came up with the idea to ski all ten couloirs in a day, and do it under my own power, with no mechanical assistance other than driving the car to the carpark.
Pete Oswald, free-skier, rad dad and stalwart of The Remarkables’ ski scene, was the logical partner and instantly keen to get on board. We teamed up with a Queenstown-based film crew and set to work planning the day out, hoping to get it done in August 2021.
It was a tougher nut to crack than I thought; with avalanche stability the primary concern. The entire Big Chutes have failed from a single skier before, hitting the lake with enough force to break the 50cm-thick ice into car-sized chunks. We needed enough snow to be able to ski fast and fluidly, but not too much that safety was compromised. We also had to know that the lower and mid snowpack didn’t have any lurking persistent weak layers. Once that box was ticked, we needed to move fast enough to beat the sun and its destabilising effect on the new snow.
To put it all together, the plan was to skin from the base area and summit Single Cone, ski the top section of The Grand, climb & ski The Petit, before skiing the rest of The Grand. Then work our way through the six Big Chutes, before finishing with the two main shots within the inbounds Alta Chutes. This then needed to be aligned with a film crew and a functioning ski hill that would likely be completing control work with explosives.
Conditions and logistics seemed to finally line up in 2021, before the great Wednesday that never happened slapped the life out of every skier in the South Island. After another lockdown dashed our hopes and dreams for five weeks, we decided to postpone our mission until 2022.
Fast-forward 12 months, and instead of Covid, it was an extended period of warm and windy weather. What had started as fantastic June and July transitioned into a large-scale, northwest-powered, fan-bake oven. August flew by with no viable windows and everyone in the team was frustrated to say the least. Multiple false starts had been trying on all of us and I desperately wanted a shot at getting it done.
September arrived, and just as we were contemplating canning it once again, the day finally arrived in the forecast. A straight southerly, 15- 20cm overnight with cold temps and moderate winds. The temps were supposed to stay cool throughout the day, with winds easing. This was our best chance of getting it in the bag. Unfortunately, the film crew had burnt up their available time with all the rigamarole of August and they couldn’t make the day work. It was a gut-wrenching decision to go without them, but Pete and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
The day arrived and it was just the two of us. We had a duffel bag with food, water and cans of Coke to leave on the lake, a radio to talk to the patrol staff and we were away. We left the car at 4.30 in the morning, with the storm just clearing. The frigid, strong southerly still blasting through the ski area had me concerned right away; I knew it could be loading the north-facing Grand Couloir, our first objective and one of the most consequential.
We decided to continue to the Alta Col and make a decision there. The nerves were bouncing around as I tried to run through a structured decision-making process. I was painfully aware of my commitment to the project and how much that was likely to be influencing my thoughts.
The snow became colder and lighter as we gained elevation. Although windslab was forming and we could trigger small slabs on test slopes, it was very soft and I was confident I could ski cut my way into the upper couloir. At the Col we had a healthy discussion about the conditions, and, for Pete, the danger level was too high at that stage. I felt that the slab quality would decrease the higher we went and we agreed that he would return to the lake and keep eyes on me while I descended (if conditions allowed). Once we parted ways, I set some parameters in my head for what I needed to find before I gave myself the green light to commit.
The sun came up and kissed the eastern slopes of Single Cone with a soft, pink alpenglow. Cloud still shrouded the summit, but it peeled away as I gained the base of the final step before the top. It was a stunning morning and a special moment. With the summit came the view into the Grand and the key decision-making point. Thankfully no significant slab had formed, as the snow was so light and dry!
I ski cut my way through the exposed upper slopes, pushing fast-moving sluff down into the line, which was a great test for any potential slabs lower down. I made it down the upper section with some controlled turns, and went straight back into climbing the Petit Couloir.
From there it was into some of the most technical skiing and climbing, with a 2-3m icy choke that I was able to navigate without using a rope. After the crux, it was time to open it up and set the tone for the day with some big, fast and long turns to the lake to where Pete was waiting. We linked back up and settled into the swing of things.
From that point on it was a race against the sun, as we ticked off Terminator and Exterminator with high energy and more phenomenal conditions. By the time we were getting around to Intimidator, the sun was starting to take effect and I was glad to be finished with the primarily east-facing terrain. At this point, Pete decided to take a break and I skied Intimidator solo, with a crew watching from the lake.
From here the stability and conditions were no longer the problem, but fatigue had become enemy number one. By the time I got to Jesuus Teevas I’d ticked well over 3000m of elevation gain and descent, and was starting to feel the burn. I kept a consistent pace, stopping only to fuel up on the lake.
Friends and staff from the ski field were in support mode on the lake, and their presence was much appreciated. While it was disappointing the film crew hadn’t made it, the atmosphere felt more grassroots and I was stoked with the vibe.
After finishing the second-to-last line with Pete, I really hit a wall and was feeling emotional that it was just about done. From that moment on, Coca Cola will always hold a special place in my heart, as chugging a 250ml can was absolutely game-changing. Energy levels came soaring back, and with a massive crew of support, we all kicked off up the skin track for the final ski down Escalator.
Two years, 3500m, 11 hours and some quality turns later, it was done. It had been a long and tumultuous journey, and I’m really glad to have ticked it off. It’s a reminder that we can search for challenges in the mountains in many different ways, and for me was the perfect combination of uphill endurance and downhill enjoyment!
A huge thanks to Pete, an absolute gem of a human being. To Rosie, my other half, and to all of my compadres at Remarks Patrol. Lastly, a big thanks to The North Face, Mammut, ATK Bindings, Black Crow Skis and Small Planet Sports for all their support.