Well our 2013 tahr hunt into the Westland side of the Southern Alps has taken place, got out last Thursday. It was a direct contrast to our hunt last year which took place a month earlier in a different watershed with brilliantly warm fine weather and easy hunting. We were just too early though for the rut so the big bulls stayed way up and out of sight. This year we got in just as the first of the winter snows arrived with a vengeance, hitting us on the second day into camp. Although the storm weather was predicted, we had planned enough time to get in, set up camp and sit it out with plenty of days in hand for hunting as the weather improved. Our mountain radio service gives accurate forecasts each day (as well as the ability to pass and receive messages or to phone direct using the radio link). No cell phone coverage but we had a sat phone and a couple EPERBS for safety.

This was a tahr hunt through our Department of Conservation ballot system, 20 blocks set aside over a 12 week period, only allowed to use a helicopter for access during this period and only landed at specific camp sites in each block, no huts available and no open fires allowed.

Four in our party, myself (getting too old for this now), my younger and very fit nephew, his hunting friend Murray who is built like a mountaineer, and a 70 year old Alaskan, Jim, out for his first hunt in NZ - not guided but just accompanying us on our annual expedition. We all agreed it was the toughest time any of us had ever experienced in the mountains in all our collective years of hunting but we managed to survive, and because of the remoteness and weather it was survival mode. The risks were high and the chances for disaster were right there, no-one would have survived a night out if injured and our ability to help anyone ourselves would have been limited. No access for a rescue chopper during the storm and aftermath. Fortunately our gear was good and our tents held up to the rain, wind and snow. Apart from when in our bed at night, our feet were constantly cold and we had no way of drying or de-icing gear, had to pour boiling water over boots in the morning to thaw them out enough to get on.

Plenty of animals seen, two chamois appeared just beside our campsite as my nephew and I were waiting for the other two mates and gear to arrive in on the second chopper lift. Managed to stoke some rounds into our rifles and get a look at the chamois as they jumped up on a rock in the scrub about 70m from us, but just a nanny (good head though) and yearling so we held our fire.

The weather was looking grotty as we got into the camp site early on Saturday but we managed to get in an afternoon hunt after setting up our camp despite bitterly cold wind with a bit of icy rain. However this was only a small taste of what was to come. As forecast we got high winds, thunderstorms and heavy rain overnight on the first day turning to hail by early morning, a very big drop in temperature, forcing out all the warm clothes as we greeted the second morning. No hunting possible on Sunday as the high winds and sleet continued with snow starting to fall later in the day. Next morning dawned cold with snow having abated temporarily, but all of us having been up at 3am shovelling snow away from our tents and checking tent pegs and guy ropes. Unfortunately our Alaskan friend had to attend the call of nature at that god forbidden time too!

No leaving camp again on the third day either although Murray set up his Tikka 300WinMag for Jim over a boulder at camp to take a young bull tahr we spied over 300m away up high on the mountain left of our campsite. Ballistic range dialled into the Nightforce scope was 320m read from Murray's new Swarvo binocular/rangefinder (steeply uphill). Jim took the shot sending the 30cal 165gr A-Max bullet on its way and the bull was well hit, running down out of the gut it was in and then sitting down in a patch of low mountain scrub in the snow. We could see it moving its head around and thought it was bleeding out. It got to its feet a couple of times but sat down again. Turns out it was hit through the flank with the mushroomed bullet found in the skin on the other side, energy enough to hurt it into staying down. My nephew and Murray braved the weather and climbed to the bull to retrieve the head and cape, my nephew first missing then getting in a finisher with his 7mmRM when the bull got up and ran as they approached. They made it back to camp cold and knackered after beating their way through snow and icy conditions for half a day. More snow fell and the cold relentless wind continued during the night.

Next day, Tuesday dawned fine and clear with a promise of good hunting, no sun ever hit our valley floor or campsite during our time in there although came tantalisingly within about 50m but on the other side of the nearly un-crossable river. My nephew set out downstream where we had observed tahr and chamois moving about each day, river bed impassable so having to battle the "monkey scrub" as we call it in NZ, along the valley side. He got bluffed out and although in range of some good animals, would just not have been able to do a retrieve. He got back to camp as the light was falling covered in snow and frozen.
Murray and Jim had headed off up river out to the side of the impassable stream carefully picking their way through the snow and boulders. Didn't make it too far before Jim could go no further but within range (300m +) of a bigger bull tahr high up on a tussock spur. We had observed from camp this animal and a couple of nannies feeding on this spur every day. Again Jim took the long shot with Murray's rifle in deference to his own 7mm Mag which he did not carry from camp. Another solid hit but the bull still able to move out of sight. Murray climbed high and got in another 4 shots to send it cartwheeling into an icy stream and waterfall. He had to leave it and get back to camp before dark. I had followed their footsteps a short way and attempted to climb out of the valley up into another high basin I had got into on the first evening in but the snow and treacherously icy conditions beat me and I did not want to risk a fall and injury at this stage which would have ruined our hunt and could have been fatal. I was able to watch the aforementioned shooting from back at camp.

Wednesday dawned fine again but I stayed in camp with Jim while Murray using crampons and an ice axe with no rifle went to retrieve Jim's tahr shot the day before. Despite some fingernail hanging stuff he could not locate the fallen animal in the now very iced up creek despite checking it out from top to the river below twice. Plenty of windblown snowdrift coverage and overhanging ice shelves in the creek so just could not see into all the places. Murray was very crestfallen on his return to camp just before dark. My nephew in the meantime had crossed the river just above camp, getting wet to the hips, and climbed a scrub ridge to get a shot across a basin at a reasonable bull. Two ranged 300m+ shots from his 7mmRM with 162gr SST bullets and the animal was down. One bullet was recovered under the skin and perfectly mushroomed with a good shank left in place. While watching the bull drop on the second shot he noticed a nanny cartwheel off the bluff and hit the snow below, although he had not noticed a nanny behind the bull when he fired it appears to be collateral damage, unfortunately falling where he could not retrieve it. He got to the bull through snow up to his waist, skinned it out and got back down to camp just before dark, iced up and knackered. We carried small two-way walkie talkie radios so could keep in contact most of the time with each other.

That was the sum total of animals we got although we saw some good bulls and other chamois. We sat phoned out on Wednesday to arrange for the chopper pickup on Thursday as the weather forecast was for more heavy rain and high winds arriving. Chopper arrived in on time and glad to get out and see the sun again, feet starting to warm up in the chopper after a week of cold. Area had 500mm rain forecast for the following couple of days after our departure.

The chopper pilot was one of our friends who joins us each year for the opening of the duck season so he flew up the river a bit when he picked up my nephew and Murray and they spotted Jim’s missing tahr irretrievable in an icy pool in the little creek. Also flew in and had a poke round in another branch of the river downstream and saw some more good bulls and chamois.

Needless to say our Alaskan friend Jim won't be recommending this type of hunt to his friends back home but he enjoyed the experience and had been warned beforehand that this was to be a kiwi hunt take it or leave it. Had we been a week earlier the weather would have been good and the animals there ready and waiting. It was just the luck of the ballot and the weather.

Murray has some deer shooting planned with Jim down in Otago and back over in Canterbury so hopefully he will get in some warmer and easier hunting before the trip back to Alaska.
Below are some of the photos I took, will update with a few more as they come to hand from the others in the party

Great story and pics, Eagle27! That weather is a worry, esp. as I may still get over there this month.

Have been caught in a very similar situation.

It is indeed survival, and the ability to think and plan that gets you through.
Tough conditions that make a beautiful place, fearful.

I enjoyed that read. The adverse conditions experienced are never written about by the ranch and chopper hunters though.

quote:

Originally posted by gryphon1:
I enjoyed that read. The adverse conditions experienced are never written about by the ranch and chopper hunters though.

That's because generally the ranch or guided hunts using choppers do not (cannot) take place under these conditions.
We did discuss this when we were holed up in our little shelter being buffeted and bashed by wind and snow where we all agreed that for visiting hunters with limited time and experience, the guided hunts or even god forbid, helihunts, were logically the only way to go - hunting in good weather with return to a good base each night.

Outside of the ballot blocks there are areas where hunters can operate from huts but the same dangerous conditions will apply that we had last week on our hunt in terms of exposure to the elements when out in the field. As we were flying in to our campsite, there were other groups preparing for flights into the three or four huts that are in the other rivers in the same general area where we were. Interestingly they too were calling up for extraction flights like us before further bad weather hit and they also had had little success too due to the extreme conditions.

Just luck of the game as to what the weather will be like but you really have to be prepared for the worse especially if tenting. A safe hut with a warm fire is another story (which we dreamed of)!

I have to admit that we were often 'concerned' during our stay in the mountains and we tried to avoid discussing too much the possiblities that could eventuate had our gear or health failed. Probably do it again next year

At least everyone made it out ok and bonus game killed even though some were not retrieved which is a shame but does seem to happen.

I can see from these great pics it was a mighty rugged area to hunt in. AND Colorado sure don't have all the Rocky Mtns!

Glad you made it and even see a smile there too.
Thanks for sharing,
George

Very much enjoyed your report.
Sounds like a Grand adventure.

Thanks for sharing a fantastic adventure. The memories will stay with you when you can't get up the cold cliffs any longer.

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:

quote:

Originally posted by gryphon1:
I enjoyed that read. The adverse conditions experienced are never written about by the ranch and chopper hunters though.

That's because generally the ranch or guided hunts using choppers do not (cannot) take place under these conditions.
We did discuss this when we were holed up in our little shelter being buffeted and bashed by wind and snow where we all agreed that for visiting hunters with limited time and experience, the guided hunts or even god forbid, helihunts, were logically the only way to go - hunting in good weather with return to a good base each night.

Outside of the ballot blocks there are areas where hunters can operate from huts but the same dangerous conditions will apply that we had last week on our hunt in terms of exposure to the elements when out in the field. As we were flying in to our campsite, there were other groups preparing for flights into the three or four huts that are in the other rivers in the same general area where we were. Interestingly they too were calling up for extraction flights like us before further bad weather hit and they also had had little success too due to the extreme conditions.

Just luck of the game as to what the weather will be like but you really have to be prepared for the worse especially if tenting. A safe hut with a warm fire is another story (which we dreamed of)!

I have to admit that we were often 'concerned' during our stay in the mountains and we tried to avoid discussing too much the possiblities that could eventuate had our gear or health failed. Probably do it again next year

Great adventure Eagle!! You have measured yourself as the locals do, on public land AND on the coast!!! You will find us on the East coast a doddle, even without the acursed Helicopter!!! Massive respect for you hunting our mountains as all should. You are walking the walk!!! I lookm forward to you tackling the Alps again soon!!

Thanks for those comments Bulltahr. Obviously plenty of hunters have experienced conditions such as we did so it wasn't exclusive to us, but not so many post photos or reports to give others an idea of the sort of hunting that is undertaken in the different tahr areas.

It was interesting that our Alaskan friend who has hunted extensively over a lifetime in Alaska for bear, wolf, caribou, elk, etc, etc, took one look at the country when he arrived in to the campsite and declared that he thought it out of his league and he had never come across hunting country as isolated and rough as we faced.

I have hunted the Rangitata/Havelock area in the spring and when much younger and it is beautiful area to spend time in but still has its dangers considering the steepness and broken country. Of course having a hut to return to each night make these hunts very enjoyable.

pity about the weather but that's Tahr ballot time of year, still you saw some animals and got a couple Westland is a hard place to hunt when the weather is not nice and your camp site doesn't see the sun

G'Day Fella's,

Eagle 27, thanks for sharing your hunt and images with us, much appreciated!
Looks like some pretty testing country but then, that is The Coast eh!!!

Doh!
Homer

Great report. That sort of hunt is out of the question for me due to buggered knees but not really sure I'd have been up for it even when younger and fit enough. The idea of no fire for several days in those conditions doesn't excite me that much. Anyone who takes a trophy home from there certainly earned it.

Great write up and photos Eagle.

It certainly can become a matter of survival in the southern alps real quickly. I have been caught in a white out with my guide. Thankfully we were in the correct gully that led to the 4X4 and then compass bearing to cross the flats. Luckily came out near the hut and stuck there for a day. Nothing condition wise to what you went through.

That is a hunt none of you will forget.

Looked "character-building" as I was told once.

Great hunt.

Thanks for the great post. that is one of the toughest and hardest hunt anywhere - IMHO. I am too old for that.

I have been up to 15,000 feet in the himalayas and the NZ mountains are just so ruggesd, steep, wrinkled with small and big gullies ....

Thanks once again.

Great hunt and a good story, I spend 30-45 days in that terrain every year it is addictive and yes can be very unforgiving good on you.

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:
It was interesting that our Alaskan friend who has hunted extensively over a lifetime in Alaska for bear, wolf, caribou, elk, etc, etc, took one look at the country when he arrived in to the campsite and declared that he thought it out of his league and he had never come across hunting country as isolated and rough as we faced.

The hardest part of the NZ mountains I've noticed is the predominance of "rotten" rock up high, so hard to climb over or get a grip on. Is the situation different in Alaska?