There’s a saying in New Zealand’s deep South: to find out how tough someone is, make them wait for a break in the weather.
Finding the right time to strike is a lesson competitive freeride skier Craig Murray and ski-mountaineering legend Sam Smoothy know only too well.
The Kiwi duo recently had set their sights on conquering New Zealand’s notorious Mt Avalanche, spending months in preparing and training for the big day, only to find there was one thing they couldn’t control: the infamous South Island weather.
“It can be relentless. We waited weeks just to have a chance of getting up there, let alone getting good enough conditions to ski,” says Murray.
A towering challenge
Skiing since the age of two, Murray came up with the idea of tackling Mt Avalanche to take his skills to the next level.
Located in Mt Aspiring National Park, the foreboding mountain has an altitude of 2606 metres and is a gruelling climb.
For Murray, when Nutri-Grain challenged him to summit and then ski to the base of the mountain, there was no question.
“I was eager to summit the peak and then rip down the line on my skis,” he says.
A competitive skier since the age of 10, Murray predicted the challenge would be tough, so approached Smoothy - one of the biggest names in ski-mountaineering - for help.
Move slow to go fast.
Developing grit: A joint approach
Smoothy’s years of experience from mountains all over the world proved invaluable for Murray.
“One of the main pieces of advice I gave to Craig at the start of training was to move slow to go fast,” Smoothy says.
Competitive freeride skier Craig Murray has been taking to the slopes since he was two.
Competitive freeride skier Craig Murray has been taking to the slopes since he was two.
“In a high-risk, constantly changing alpine environment we needed to take some extra time to think ahead, so we could stop the problems before they happened.”
Ski-mountaineering legend Sam Smoothy was enlisted for his expertise.
Ski-mountaineering legend Sam Smoothy was enlisted for his expertise.
The duo also had a secret weapon to beat Mt Avalanche in the form of Nutri-Grain IRONMAN 70.3 champion Hannah Wells.
Wells provided valuable insight on intensive strength and endurance training and taught them how to get into the right headspace for the challenge.
“We discussed the ability to just keep moving forward, blanking out pain and never giving up,” she says.
Then there were the more practical advantages of having Wells on hand for the intrepid pair’s preparation.
Smoothy says Wells pushed them to their limits.
“Hannah helped us train physically by absolutely thrashing us in the gym, helping us gain the required ski strength to ski such a big line while laden down with lots of mountaineering gear.
“And she also had some great tips about appropriate nutritional intake and hydration, which was key to keeping our bodies moving strong over such long days,” he said.
Nutri-Grain Ironman Champion Hannah Wells helped the duo to get into the right headspace first.
Nutri-Grain Ironman Champion Hannah Wells helped the duo to get into the right headspace first.
With all the physical and mental preparation locked and loaded, Murray and Smoothy then faced their biggest obstacle – the weather.
The pair studied the forecasts for weeks, waiting for the perfect window where the weather and snow conditions lined up.
Finally, as the season was nearing its end, a tiny window appeared, and they pounced on it.
The climb: a test in endurance
Mt Avalanche is not for the faint-hearted. The towering peak is a giant ascent with a massive drop off to the side and absolutely no room for even the slightest error.
As Smoothy led Murray on their climb, the bad weather began to close in - and fast.
“During the approach we had the clouds close in on us on multiple occasions,” says Murray.
“It fully obscured our view of any surroundings.”
Murray said the pair had to draw on all their training and remember what Wells had taught them about always moving forward.
“It is tricky; because of the planar (two-dimensional) surface of the glacier, you can easily get lost or disorientated in low visibility and flat light,."
The climb was "very hard work," he says.
“You have to be able to push through the burn and keep moving.
“Mentally, I channelled my endurance mindset from adventure racing for hours of continuous moving.”
Peak relief, but the summit is only half the journey
Finally, after hours of tough climbing, the clouds lifted and Murray and Smoothy reached the summit.
“It was just this huge release of tension,” says Smoothy on making it to the top.
“We had to move through so many different difficulties to gain the summit, and we were so far behind schedule due to the bad weather encountered that I doubted we would make it in time.
"So, it just felt amazing to be standing on the summit in the sunshine with Craig.
“There was a whole bunch of excited hollering going on," he adds.
But the job was only half done.
Summit reached, Murray and Smoothy were now faced with a daunting descent.
“We had the most technical piece of climbing, the downclimb along the south ridge, still to come, as well as the descent, so we had to reset our minds back to full focus on the jobs ahead,” says Smoothy.
Gathering both their courage and their last reserves of physical and mental energy, the duo clipped into their skis and tore back down the steep mountain, taking care not to smash into rocks while they hit top speeds all the way back to the base.
A speck in the scheme of things. Murray, skiing down from one of NZ's most dangerous mountains
A speck in the scheme of things. Murray, skiing down from one of NZ's most dangerous mountains
“Reaching the bottom was an amazing feeling,” says Murray.
"We had achieved the goal and all the pressure was released.
“That grateful perspective of completion is something I always appreciate in the mountains ”
Smoothy says the successful mission came down to the courage, strength, and determination of Murray, whom he described as a “strong and capable” partner who never gave up.
“I think that if you work hard, prepare well and surround yourself with motivated people with the same mindset it is absolutely incredible what you can achieve together,” he says.
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