- Distance
- 33.1km
- Total Ascent
- 3305
- Time
- 3-4 days
- Grade
- Difficult
- Access
- From Kiriwhakapapa Campsite, at the end of Kiriwhakapapa Road and off SH2
- Map
- BN33, BN34
- Links/Files
-
Download the route notes, maps and GPX file
Some say the Bannister is the toughest crossing in the Tararuas. When you’ve got a pair of crutches strapped to your pack, they’d be right
It was a familiar Tararua scene. Three of us in a shrunken world; a world reduced to mist, tussock and the bullying wind. We were attempting a crossing of Bannister, which has the reputation of being among the most arduous of all the Tararua’s many ridges. Three trampers, lurking in the mist, lugging lumpy packs and lurching at strange angles to counter the erratic gusts. Nothing out of the ordinary, except, what was that strapped to the side of Heather Rhodes’s pack? A pair of green crutches. Crutches? In 2013, Heather fell 300m while climbing in the Arrowsmith Range. It’s been three long years of remarkable recovery (see Wilderness, April 2015). Her re-entry into the alpine world began with tramping and after hearing of my planned Bannister Crossing, she was keen to come along. On her last tramp, a week or so before, she needed to use the crutches on the descent. This time, she was hoping not to have to rely on them. A gaping scar on her lower leg shows one of the injuries she sustained, which also included a broken neck, spine, arm, leg and nose. Less obvious is the metal plate in her other leg, and the complications of the head injury that left her in a coma for eight days. In such circumstances, tackling the Bannister Crossing might seem a little foolish, but Heather has been carefully building up to this. And we’re under the expert guidance of Tararua veteran Joe Nawalaniec, who’s done a Bannister Crossing more times that he cares to remember: in rain, in mist and in scorching sunshine. He’s escorted teenagers from Rathkeale College over the route, and reckons it’s a trip they usually don’t forget. [caption id="attachment_18391" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]

