Mt Cupola, Nelson Lakes National Park

The dome-shaped mountain on the right is Mt Cupola, a challenging climb over bare rock.

Cupola Stream just after one leaves the main Travers valley heading towards Cupola Hut.

From Cupola Hut the view of the ranges across the Travers Valley is staggering.

We left Nelson about 8pm and left the car at the DoC Centre at about 9.30pm. Freezing cold and pitch black. We tramped into Lakehead hut, arriving about midnight, in fear we would find it full of people snoring or, worse, a school group still giggling and squealing. Opened the door... nothing... no one... freezing cold. Great night's sleep, up with the sun and off up the valley to John Tait Hut. Fantastic ice crystals on everything.
John Tait, very impressive winter avalanche had delivered about 100 year's supply of firewood to the door. Luckily it missed the hut by about 20m!

Fortunately no-one was in the hut when this lot came down, mixed with snow and ice.

Stream just after you leave the main Travers Valley track after John Tait Hut.

Next day up to Cupola Hut along a most picturesque path with robins.

From Cupola Hut one can see long avalanche runs on the opposite face.

A summer trip to the same place allowed us to spend a couple of days exploring the Cupola Basin. Above, Gunsight Pass can be seen in the distance. Screes and fairly new landslides are everywhere. Scary rocks, huge things weighing over a ton, balanced badly on each other and quite likely to wobble or topple as you put your weight on them. Gave me the willies.

The basin at the head of the Cupola Stream has all but lost its glaciers. There is a tiny remnant up on the right, about an hour's tramp from the hut. The annual layers of ice can be seen in the fractured glacier face, but it is not accessible to trampers. Considering the numbers of falling rocks we heard, no-one would want to go there. The upper part of the picture is the glacier face, the lower part is fallen ice-blocks and snow.

A moving spectacle.