Canterbury University Snow Sports Club

• Sleeping bag
• Hiking boots – these should be tough and sturdy with good ankle support, and ideally somewhat waterproof. They will get a lot of punishment.
• A beanie/woollen hat – your head is the biggest heat-sink in your body
• A good raincoat and overtrousers
• Thermal top and leggings – polyprop or merino
• Wool/thermal socks – 1 pair per day plus a pair in reserve if the weather looks dodgy
• Torch – a head-torch is ideal, but any good torch will do. Bring spare batteries!
• Spare underwear
• Gaiters – optional, but they help keep snow, stones and grit out of your boots
• Indoor shoes – something to wear while your boots are drying out. Ideally they should be able to handle a short trudge through light snow/ice between the lodges.
• Indoor clothing – jeans, t-shirt, hoodie, etc. Something comfy to wear while your outdoor gear is in the drying room, basically.
• T-shirts – merino shirts rule, but cotton shirts are fine.
• Jersey/hoodie/windbreaker – wool or polarfleece
• Gloves – a few different types if possible. Fingerless gloves are particularly handy for doing fiddly work (rope splicing) in Antarctic winds.
• Sunblock and chapstick
• Toothbrush, toothpaste, toiletries, etc.
• Camera – if you have one
• Sunglasses
• Towel – because every hoopy frood should know where his towel is.
• Snack food – energy chocolate, scroggin, muesli bars…
• Drink bottle/hydration system.
• First-aid kit – optional
• A hunting knife/pocket knife, some light rope/string/twine, and some duct-tape  – not essential but they can prove useful, especially on work parties.

Winter-Only:

• Skis/Boots/Poles or Snowboard/Boots – duh.
• Avalanche transceiver, shovel, and probe – optional unless you’re going into the backcountry.
• Snow-shoes/skins – optional
• Ski helmet – optional
• Ski goggles
• Ski jacket and pants
• Ski gloves
• Nutcracker, harness, glove protector – if you don’t have these they can be hired/bought on the mountain relatively cheaply.
• More thermals – you can never have too many thermals

Summer-Only:

• Swimming togs – in case you want to prove how hard you are by swimming in the mountain tarns
• Hiking shorts – shorts and thermal leggings are an excellent combination for hiking up the walking track
• Old clothes – stuff you don’t mind getting covered in paint/engine-oil/grease.

Tips:

• If you bring a cardboard box of beers and they’re not in your pack, put them in a plastic shopping bag. That way the box won’t get soggy in the rain/snow and fall apart, spilling your beers everywhere (in which case the guys at the goodslift will probably drink them). The plastic bag will also prove useful for keeping your rubbish and wet/dirty clothes separate from the rest of your gear when it’s time to leave.
• Goon (cask wine) is a popular student bevvy at The Basin. It’s the cheapest alcohol in town, the packaging is very light and collapsible, and the plastic bag can make a handy pillow.
• If you have one, bring a hiking pack rather than a suitcase. They’re way easier to carry up from the goodslift to the lodge, and can come in handy for work round the field too. It’s also a good idea to bring both a main pack and a daypack. Furthermore, it’s worth wrapping all of your clothing in your main pack in plastic rubbish bags (or ideally a proper survival pack liner, which you can buy for around $5 from DoC and most outdoors stores) to stop them getting wet if it rains (especially your sleeping bag — getting into a wet sleeping bag sucks!). Remember, the weather at TB is often the inverse of the weather in Christchurch.
• There is effectively zero cellphone reception at Temple Basin. There are the occasional hotspots which you can find around the place, but they are unreliable. The nearest solid reception is 5mins drive away in Arthur’s Pass village.
• There is wireless internet at Temple Basin, though it’s not always reliable and it may cost you to access it. Check with the mountain manager for more info.
• If you brought your own car, don’t forget to keep your keys on your person (rather than in your main pack) when you walk back down the hill. It sucks when you arrive at the bottom of the track and realise that your car keys are still in your bag 800m up the road at the goodslift.
• It’s not a bad idea to have duplicates of your most important clothing (socks, thermals, shoes etc) in case it gets wet.
• When you arrive at Temple Basin by car, the first thing you’ll see is the car park sign and the start of the walking/4wd track on the right. Drive 800 metres past the sign to the goodslift, and drop off your gear with the goodslift operator. Then drive back to the carpark and park your car, and start walking. The walking track should take 45mins for the reasonably fit, to about an hour for the rest of us. The first third of the track is a 4wd track, the middle part is the zig-zag up through the rocks and tussock, followed by the last homeward stretch known as ‘Columbo St’, along the ridge towards the lodges.
• There have been a number of thefts from cars left in the carparks in recent years. Never leave valuables in your car. If your vehicle has 4wd and good ground clearance, you can try parking it a short distance up the 4wd track, where it is less likely to be noticed by thieves. However make sure to park off to the side of the track so you don’t block other vehicles coming back down. Also note that you’re more likely to get snowed in up the 4wd track if it dumps while you’re up the hill, so don’t try this if you absolutely have to be in class first thing on Monday morning.