Change the wind direction from a Southerly to a Nor-Wester at this time of year and things change, really change. From reading the report, I knew it was going to be a bit heavy and wet, but I needed to get up there, you know how it is?!
Turn your bloody lights on!
The weather from ChCh to the mountains was absolute horseshit - apparently we had a month's worth of rain in 2 days. Flooding, non-stop heavy rain, barely able to see on the roads. So why the F^^K do these idiots still insist on driving without their lights on?? People really have no clue when it comes to driving - they sit cocooned in their own little world, paying no attention whatsoever to what's going on around them. Pricks. I could go on, but that'll do, you get the point.
Chains
for everyone for the top part of the road, mostly because of the deep
slush and rivers flowing down it. Vis was terrible too - could only see
300m or so. Had I made a mistake coming up today? 
Love the Grey Dog
So after a couple of very very wet and heavy runs, time for a long black
and a rethink. I was up here in the mountains, yes it was very wet, no
you couldn't see much, yes it was far too warm. But, there was still
27cm of powder. No, that's not right, this wasn't powder, it was more
like riding on a very wet carpet. A very odd feeling. There was also
only the 4-man chair open, which was painfully slow and only gets you
up part-way. I dunno, despite all of this I had a wicked few hours up
there, finding things to hit up, ridges to drop off into the greyness,
it was all good. This is the way of the Grey Dog day.
I gave up
when I was soaked through, got down the mountain and stopped at the
excellent Hororata Cafe on the way home. The rain never stopped.
End of Winter, bring on Spring
I'd like to think the temperature will drop again, but there's usually a lot more weather coming from the NW
this time of year, which does mean heavier, wetter snow. As I'm writing
this, it's the first day of Spring (1st Sept) and 19c in Christchurch. Shorts,
t-shirts and thongs (that's flip-flops to most of you) are back on. Spring riding is kicking off though and with the base we've got up here, it's gonna be epic! Bring on Ohau in 2 week's time...