#38 of 100 trips for 100 years - High Points of Silver Peaks 12 March 2023

 

On previous trips to the Silver Peaks we had completed three summits, then five summits and today was the ultimate seven summits.  It can’t have been a completely silly idea because 14 people agreed to join us on this challenge.  With clear skies we left the car park on Mountain Road and headed up towards our first summit of Hightop which at 531m was the lowest of our summits for the day.  From the turn off on Green Ridge the track to Hightop quickly runs out and becomes more of a bush/flax bash gaining 80m of height to the open golden tussock tops. This was our first real opportunity to look ahead to the other six summits and also to get the first team summit photo.

We had been on Hightop a couple of times recently for trips #18 and #26 but not from this direction and it would be fair to say that our climb up and then descent down Hightop back to Green Ridge did not take us on a route we had done previously and involved more bush bashing  as well as taking us through a lovely standing forest of manuka which we nicknamed the Goblin Forest.  Once back on Green Ridge with a few extra scratches, it was a reasonably fast walk to our next summit turn off and an easier climb to the 588m summit We felt like we were cheating a little as the Greengage Track took us right up to the summit, and while the Greengage Track is steep in places there are a few steps and handily placed trees to aid the climb up (and then back down).  For the effort of climbing our second summit we were rewarded with great views of yesterday’s trip #37 to Saddle Hill and Mosgiel.

Back down to Green Ridge and it was onto our next summit, Green Hill for lunch.  The 90m climb up to Green Hill is a little steep in places and takes us out of the bush so we had panoramic views in all directions but mostly we focussed our attention towards the interior of the Silver Peaks where the remaining four summits beaconed.  Lunch was enjoyed in the sun but not for long as we knew that we still had most of the climbing still to do.

On our descent of Green Hill we opted for a slight detour and instead of following the track back to Green Ridge we bush bashed our way down to join Green Ridge further along, missing a section of the track.  Having descended from Green Hill we were faced with 180m climb up to Pulpit Rock.  The track up is consistently steep and also out in the open making the climb hot work.  Most of us took the slow and steady approach to reach the top of Pulpit Rock and still have some energy left to tackle the remaining summits.  At Pulpit Rock we had wonderful 360degree views over the Taieri Plains and inland to the Rock and Pillars, out to Karitane on the coast and around to Mt Cargill and Mosgiel.  We were able to pick out the peaks of Mt Watkin, Mt Charles and of course Saddle Hill which are the other summits we had climbed over the past couple of weekends.

Down from Pulpit Rock and it was only a short walk to our next summit of 744m.  This was one of the shortest climbs today as it is only about 40m higher than the track but is a steep scramble through the scrub and tussock to the narrow top.  We were feeling pretty elated as this was our fifth summit with the remaining two being within grasp. 

We headed back down through the scrub to the track and a fast pace was set towards Silver Peak, our highest summit at 777m.  Again we were rewarded with awe-inspiring 360degree views and for some this was a good place for a second lunch which they hadn’t had time to eat earlier.  Standing on Silver Peak, we had uninterrupted views looking down Christmas Creek and inland to Strath Taieri. The legs were starting to feel a little tired but with only one summit to go there was only one way to go.  

Our seventh and final summit  which was the no named peak with a trig on it and is only 10m lower than Silver Peak but requires a descent from Silver Peak, then a climb up to the trig.  We reached the 767m summit by taking a little used trail off the main track that wound it’s way up through the tussock to the trig.  With a small detour to a little off the summit we were able to see down Cave Creek  to Jubilee Hut in the valley below.  There was lots of smiles as we posed for the final of our summit photos.  We were all buoyed by the knowledge  that we had achieved our goal of 7 summits in 1 day.

The return journey back to the cars was straightforward as we didn’t have to make any detours to summits and we followed Green Ridge down to the Green Hut Site where we had a brief rest and snack (or third lunch for some who hadn’t already eaten all their lunch).  The final hour was a brisk walk along Green Ridge and back to Mountain Road and the cars.  A tiring but enjoyable day that saw us walking nearly 17 km, and climbing 7 summits over nearly 7 hours.