After moving to Christchurch, I began researching what climbs I could look forward to completing in Arthurs Pass National Park. During that process, I came across this webpage web page discussing some classic traverses in the area. Amongst them is the Mount Bealy Avalanche Traverse. After experiencing the Phipps -Temple Traverse on a previous adventure, I was curious to see what else the nearby peaks held.
To make the end of the trip easier, I chose to park at the trailhead for the Avalanche Peak Route . That way, I would prevent a walk back to the car along the highway after making the traverse. The walk to the Mount Bealy track only took around 20 minutes from the parking area, and then I was on my way to take on one of the classics of Arthur's Pass National Park.
The Mount Bealy track is steep and rugged. While climbing this hill, I realized that DOC does not maintain these more advanced trails with quite the same vigor as the more commonly tramped nearby trails. As a result, it also became clear that Arthur's Pass is mainly focused on being a tourist destination. For a national park, this seems strange to me when contrasting it with my experiences back home. Whether you feel the same or not, the track to the Mount Bealy treeline will be an adventure for the experienced or the novice. As a side note, though, I would not recommend the Mount Bealy track to a novice.
After breaking out into the alpine area, the trail goes from mud and root scramble to walking on gravel. Until the top of Mount Bealy, this is about all I experienced, except for a few spots where some scrambling required minor use of hands. But as far as the route goes, once I passed the classic "this is the end of the maintained trail" sign, I began the quest to conquer the Bealy Avalanche Traverse.
My favorite part of the Bealy Avalanche Traverse came after descending from Mount Bealy. There are several Gendarmes that have two options to pass through. You could do as I did and go over the top of them. Or, two, you can drop down around 100 meters and go under/around them. If you came here for a scramble, go over them. The climbing is of moderate difficulty, and in all honesty, if you want to do the Avalanche Bealy traverse, then it is worth the effort.
Besides that section of Gendarmes, the Avalanche Bealy traverse felt pretty uninspiring. I came up here hoping to return and write some glowing text about how happy I was to have taken on this objective. But, alas, I was left wanting more when I reached Avalanche Peak.
If you come up here, approach the route as a strenuous hike and not, as I was hoping, as a challenging scramble.
Sometimes, what we seek in the day is the least pleasing part. On my journey along the Bealy Avalanche Traverse, I came to the top of Avalanche peak and the end of the technical journey. Not only are the views beyond fantastic, but I also met another expat American from Montana who just happened to be sitting on the summit. During our discussion, he said something like, "I miss home, but I have no desire to return," and for the first time since being in New Zealand, I finally felt like someone else was thinking about what I am every day.
Maybe I didn't get the "epic scramble" along the Bealy Avalanche Traverse I sought. But I certainly gained some valuable advice from a fellow expat from the day.
