It always seems to be difficult to estimate how much snow we're going to actually get out of a southerly front. The way this last one was lining up I had hoped to see snow settling to sea level – I've always wanted to paddle out off a beach covered in snow. The cold nights and sub-zero temperatures were perfect, but didn't quite marry up with a bulk of storm-blown precipitation. Instead Dunedin got a fine haze of snow – not enough to break out the skis, but enough to coat the city in a fresh veneer of white. There's something cleansing about a new snowfall. Clean whites and contrasts that lure the photographer out in everyone. If you lived further north, or closer to the Southern Alps, then your dreams probably came true.
I like to use the winter months to recalibrate and reset. Make sure I'm doing what I want to be doing, check the family is happy and make sure we all have some adventures looming in the pipeline. It's a little time to check my perspective and rethink what's actually important. Hitting the mountains is always a good catalyst to doing that. Those moments when you're completely insignificant – a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things – snow-covered peaks in all directions and soft gradients arcing down to the valley floor below. That's when the everyday work rituals and habits suddenly seem so superfluous and flippant. It would be nice if we could all shake the trappings of our lives completely, but the reality is, for most of us, that won't happen. But it is still important not to normalise it – that's the real trap our challenge. That time in the mountains and time spent floating around an ocean expanse is food for your soul – challenge your normality and reset your focus.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Here's your shortcut to the latest forecasts from the mountains: Treble Cone, Cardrona, Remarkables, Coronet Peak, Ohau, Roundhill and Mt Hutt.
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