Maps

Those kmls are cool. You should add them here as GPX files. I was interested to see the tracks in the Olivine area. Were those tracks created by you walking them yourself or did you draw them on the photo? I was interested to see the descent into the Joe from Desperation Pass. I didn't think anyone had done that since about the 1960s though I see now that Moir describes a route done in 1984 that looks like what your track represents.

Hi They were all tramped/climbed in pre-GPS days, and not all walked by me! The Desperation Pass to Joe route is exactly the one you identified. The trail I sketched is only approximate, like a rough pencil line on a topo map, that experienced people could interpret once they get there (and find the ice and snow has shrunk, leaving gaping voids)...

Good article Matt. That reminds me to display eastings and northings on the GPX waypoints rather than just latitude and longitude (in what datum?) as it does now.

I went back to my old copy of the 1977 edition of Moirs to see what it had to say about Desperation Pass and it just basicly says it hasn't been done for a long time and isn't recommended. So I went back to the 1948 edition which I inherited from my Dad and it describes the route in reasonable length. It also mentions scree which is "tricky with thin film of loose detritus over smooth rock". I remember hearing an account of someone who did this on the 1960s or early 1970s and describing going over this scree as absolutly terrorfying. But with glacier recession I guess there is no gaurantee that the route is the same as then, or even the same as last week for that matter. BTW I also have a 1925 copy of Moirs but that is on loan atthe moment. But I suspect that the Joe river was just "Unexplored" in those days.

Just wondering... I've created a 53MB A1 monster map from Nztopoonline - any idea where and print and printing costs?

Ring around some copy centres. You will probably have difficulty finding anyone who can print A1 and it will certainly cost more than buying the topo maps in the first place.

I called into a copyshop on the way home this avo - on a whim... Turns out they'll print A1 for $20 full colour and are very confident that the no detail will be lost (crisp clear topo lines and all)! So, i'll give it a go and will post accordingly.

Waterproof paper. This can be got in New Zealand. It is called 'Toughprint' and works out at 2 - 3 dollars a sheet. It can be printed both sides and I find a days walk on a NZMS262 map fits 1 A4. And I can confirm that they are waterproof, even from an inkjet. Seeing as I have all the maps on CD it makes sense to print my own.

Just an update on the printing... So far they've produced a horrible over-green mess which isn't worth 20c.

I think it is just easier to buy the maps. I have about all the ones for the places I tramp and keep them filed in a box in numeric order so they are easy to find next time. It is very rare for me to have to buy a new map now. On a trip recently I came across someone who had chopped up all his maps into about playing card size pieces, laminated two sections back to back and then just carried the sections for the trip he was on in his shirt pocket. Novel idea and it seemed to work for him.