Conical Hill - Organiser: David Blunt
Following an earlier cancellation of this trip it was a case of second time lucky as nine hardy club members set out in a chilly minus 2 degrees on the track to the Lookout Range east of Mt Owen. After fording the Tadmor River and traversing some farm and cleared forestry land, it was into the native bush and then uphill on a marked DOC track. A stop for morning tea was made in a small sunlit clearing and with everyone nicely warmed up, the uphill climb continued to the top which was reached just before midday. With hard crusty snow on the ground and a clear blue sky, conditions were ideal for enjoying the all round vista with a view down the Dart River Valley to the Twins and Mt Arthur on one side and across to the heavily snow coated Nelson Lakes peaks on the other. Then it was back a short distance to the prominent granite rock outcrops for lunch and a Rosy Glow reward. Despite an earlier declaration by Alice that her current diet excluded such decadent delights, the words of Oscar Wilde "I can resist anything but temptation", turned out to be prophetic. After some classic poses for the camera by the big boy on the rock outcrops, the return trip was made back the same way to the cars which had been left about 6 hours earlier. A most enjoyable day was capped off by stopping at Valerie's Tapawera farmlet where afternoon tea was served on a lovely sunny verandah. Many thanks Val. Those present were: Kath Ballantine, Mary Honey, Christine Hoy, Valerie Neal, Margaret Page, Alice Patterson, Lindsay Twiname, & Ian Pavitt whose welcome presence ensured that the trip organiser was not the odd man out.