The NZ Mountain Safety Council
Following the success of their 2018 Tramping Video Series, the NZ Mountain Safety Council (MSC) has made seven new clips detailing the dos, don’ts and be-carefuls of some of the country’s most popular tracks. With a total of 19 short films now on offer, it’s like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, except set in the Aotearoa backcountry instead of Asgard, and everyone is wearing gators and shorts.
Each video focuses on content relevant to the specific track and covers topics like terrain, weather factors, walking times, route finding, risks and hazards, and key decision-making points.
They are definitely designed to reduce the number of “ill-prepared tramper has to get rescued, grumpy SAR dude gives press conference” scenarios, and in this sense, the first set of films was super successful. The MSC research found that 76% of people who watched the videos said they would make changes to their plans because of what they saw.
The new vids are about to drop, and the MSC has given us a preview. Like the first dozen, season two is all about the universal truths of tramping: rivers are dodgy, never trust the weather report, awful climbs are rewarded with spectacular views. Here’s a rundown of some of our favourite moments. (Warning: Spoilers ahead.)
KAUAERANGA KAURI TRAIL (COROMANDEL FOREST PARK)
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Love the family-friendly vibe (good job carrying those packs, kids!) interspersed with time lapses of alarming-looking weather. There’s an especially effective low angle shot of a tramper clambering backwards down the ladder from Pinnacle Rock with a sober voiceover reminding us that most injuries happen on the way back. Isn’t that always the way?
TARARUA SOUTHERN CROSSING (TARARUA FOREST PARK)
A good example of how the videos are not only informative, but an easy way to take a virtual trip into some exceptional places when things like weather and lockdowns see you homebound. The Tararuas are all about big, beautiful vistas, and they are on display here. But big can also mean treacherous, and there’s some classic action/adventure too, including trampers tossed about by gale force winds (which hit the track an average of 160 days per year), and a giddy fish-eye shot of the exposed ridgeline on the way to AlphaHut.
ALPINE ROUTE (MOUNT RICHMOND FOREST PARK)
The longest video in the series, covering the challenging four to five days from Hacket Hut to Mid Wairoa Hut. There are early jump cuts between “isolation”, “rough terrain” and “variable weather”, making it clear from the start that this is a route for trampers who know what they’re doing.
Lots of confronting footage of people negotiating narrow tracks with precipitous drop-offs, skidding on scree and scrambling down avalanche debris fields, and the graphics team bust out the full quadfecta of hazardous weather icons: heavy rain, strong wind, snow and freezing temperatures.
MT SOMERS WALKWAY (HAKATERE CONSERVATION PARK)
This is a choose your own adventure scenario, and the 3D terrain flyovers are just the thing to make your route choices clear. Bonus points for an epic sunrise over the Canterbury Plains.
COPLAND VALLEY (WESTLAND TAI POUTINI NATIONAL PARK )
Commendable for the soundscapes infused with birdsong, gurgling water and melodic strings. The visuals are painted bright in the West Coast colour palette: bright blue glacier-fed waterways, deep green bush, and the pale, mineraled waters of the natural hot springs at Welcome Flat. We enjoyed how the beauty is complemented by drama in the form of raging West Coast creeks in flood.
REES-DART TRACK (MT ASPIRING NATIONAL PARK)
This one starts with a series of slow pans of the landscapes of Mt Aspiring National Park, which is fitting, because it’s a place where you want to stop and take a look around. Lots of specific advice about avoiding flash floods and the pitfalls of a “dynamic landscape” that can change by the day, as well as some solid tips about transport logistics.
GILLESPIE PASS CIRCUIT (OTAGO)
The repetition of the words “fatality”, “skills” and “experienced” are notable. Gillespie Pass features the most vertiginous shot of the series, looking down into Young Basin from above as a trio of trampers zig zag their way wearily upwards. Watch for the first and only appearance of both a jetboat and a fixed wing plane, and listen for the series’ best descriptor: “intensely scenic”. Which is exactly what it is.
LAURA WILLIAMSON
Check out MSC’s outdoor safety series online at mountainsafety.org.nz/videos.
