Mount Taylor, New Zealand Spring 2010 - My first Alpine Solo

[2Pole]

This is the story of my first Alpine Climb, other than a snow skills class, that I did solo when I was studying abroad in Christchurch, New Zealand in their Winter/Spring of 2010. When I did this I was just a little over six months out of an ACL reconstruction after a skiing accident. I do not know if I actually climbed Mount Taylor or the peak immediately next to it, but I do believe that I was somewhere close to Mount Taylor. I actually drove out to what we thought was the area with two American friends. We backpacked halfway up the mountain and spent the night in an abandoned storage crate because I was the only one equipped to get to the cabin, because I was going to climb a peak the next day. I did climb a peak by myself the next day, I did find a cabin, and it was locked. Fortunately, I had an excellent climb up what I believe was Mount Taylor, or something else almost as high. Here are some links to information on Mount Taylor, which is over 2300 meters in altitude. https://hikingscenery.com/mt-taylor-...ervation-park/ https://www.alltrails.com/trail/new-...r-summit-track These photos I took with my GoPro tell the story much better than I can, and I wanted to share them with all of you as my way of introducing myself to the TGR climbing community. Mostly, I am a skier and a mountain biker, so I do not have a lot of pure climbing stoke, but there were no skis on this trip, just ice axe and crampons, both very necessary.



Thanks again for tuning in and may stoke find you all!

[2Pole]

Check me out as a teenager, oh how things have changed...

[2Pole]

Here is a photo of me from the top of the climb we did for the Snow Skills class at Temple Basin, Canterbury, New Zealand (South Island) that prepared me for the Mount Taylor climb: