One of the best relatively short walks in Arthur’s Pass, heading up to Temple Basin ski field filled a couple of hours with wonderful views and exploration of an old school ski field out of season.
From the Temple Basin car park it’s a straightforward walk up the track, which starts wide but thankfully soon narrows to something slightly more interesting, though still rather repetitive compared to a bush walk.
It offered increasingly good views back across the valley, including of Avalanche Peak which I’d headed up that morning.
The ski fields opened in 1929 and though a goods lift was opened in 1962 there is still no road access to the fields, instead you need to walk up as I did, though I suspect it’ll be a little tougher in winter with snow and ice.
The red hut looks the oldest, and is certainly the most scenic with a mountain backdrop, while a couple of newer ones are found behind further up the mountainside.
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