It is said humans are creatures of habit and certainly in general we like to have a comfortable habitual and predictable world. Nature is rarely so kind as to grant us creatures of habit a tomorrow that is the same as today which was just another incarnation of yesterday and we are left often with our theories of what is and must be left in taters by forces that we have struggled to understand and quantify since the beginning of human history.

Well, recently in our local area nature has been so kind as to grant us more than 12 months now of very predictable , normal and benign weather - so much so that one almost wonders what is going on! We have had an almost perfect autumn and than,like clockwork almost to the hour winter arrived. Winter is officially stated to start on the 1st of June and so it did this year. A series of storms dropped the temperature overnight and covered all the local mountains in snow - the weather gurus could never have been so accurate (and happy considering how often they get it completely wrong).

I have been off training of course in preparation for Pakistan trip although we still wait upon our visa's. The training outside of climbing the paperwork mountain's has been the normal - physical training on the bike and in the hills but nowadays a video camera tags along with me everywhere I go. Even 6 months ago i never could have imagined trying to shoot movie film so its a new skill to learn which keeps me thinking and young - I hope. Certainly on the technical front I'm slowly getting to grips with filming aided I must add by the new technology out there for film making. Battery power limitations have become my main concern rather than poor technique! . However artistically, despite having many artist's in the family that gene seems to have passed me by completely and the artistic inspiration to form a great composition is still lacking! I'm not sure if becoming an artist can be trained or learned but am trying my best to figure it out with my normal trail and many error methods..

Kea’s have become a familiar sight as they migrate lower on the mountain sides.

Mid May - the small amount of icy snow makes a small rock climb treacherous for Sergio.

Small mountain tarns begin to freeze over.

fetching water for a snow bound camp higher up.

looking other way , south into the Southern Alps.

the sea and Motueka are in the far distance under the sun.

Setting out into the Blizzard with Diarmuid and Ashley.

Looking down at the sharks fin. and Ellis basin.

looking up the snow and ice route to the summit.

Looking West to the Arthur range on an early winter dawn. The Black swans live at the Nelson lakes during summer but migrate North and lower to the more benign climes of the Motueka estuary for winter.

Looking South west over the Motueka Estuary to the Marino mountains.

looking North from Motueka into the Tasman sea.

Flying the drone over the Mouteka sand spit at dusk.

June first