Day 10: Because It Is There

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Ruapehu Beckons

Last night David and I looked over my DOC map of the Ruhapehu summit area and more or less figured out the route we would take. We decided to take the ski chairlift to 2240 metres and hike from there, with an ultimate goal of viewing the crater lake at the summit (around 2797). Supposedly one doesn't actually go the full height, I guess there's the risk of noxious fumes or falling over the edge or something. I figure the chairlift isn't really cheating-- if you're going to climb Everest I'm pretty sure you don't start from the bottom anyway, you get helicoptered to the hard part and cut out the B.S. Besides my quads are still sore, so piss off!

So the real hike will start right past the Knoll Ridge T-bar and we'll inch our way slightly west over Restful Ridge where the incline isn't quite so steep. This will take us right past the Whakapapa Glacier on our right, at approximately 2400 vertical meters. If all goes well, we'll see Glacier knob on our left before we get up onto the summit plateau, and things will be nice and easy as we go past the Dome and in sight of the Crater Lake.

There's always the chance David will have to stay in the lodge and look over the "work party" (they're basically putting in a new kitchen in case I hadn't mentioned it), but Jenny and the kids are coming along regardless. Let's just hope the beautiful weather holds!

Next morning is slightly hectic getting everyone together, there's a bit of fretting over whether there's enough water. I've got nearly 4 liters, which is more than enough to share, so I'm not sure what the problem is. But we board the first chairlift and off we go!

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Cheating: The first chairlift

As we near the end of the second chairlift we can see the knoll ridge cafe has totally been burned to the foundation. The second chairlift landing station which is nearby has also been damaged, but it's been sort of patched together with wooden planks and whatnot.

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They're ready for a tramp up the mountain!

David's watch can actually keep track of our vertical ascent. We stop frequently for snacks, like over here at an emergency shelter:

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Jenny's using her ski poles to help her get across the incredibly rocky terrain, and I'm really impressed at 7 year old jay who's leaping his way across these boulders and not complaining one bit or asking "are we there yet?" Although he will sometimes bug his parents for attention when he's got something to say ;)

We're not the only ones doing this hike, although perhaps there's a bit less than you'd expect. Certainly far less than the Tongariro Crossing, but that is a marked route after all, and this is not. All the way up there are spectacular views of Mt. Ngaruhoe and the plateau, although to be honest Ruhapehu itself is a bit of an ugly wasteland of scoria. The Glacier's definitely cool though!

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It's pretty easy to get traction on this terrain at first, but eventually it gets sandy and difficult to hold onto. As we get closer to the summit the incline also gets hella steep and I'm definitely climbing as opposed to hiking, my backpack is practically climbing over my head. I'm surprised Hamish hasn't spilled out of his Dad's backpack!

We can see a sort of cliff-ridge thing up ahead which we'll have to skirt around to get to the summit, but we reach a bottleneck of sorts with a group up ahead. everyone's kind of going single file across the only navigable bit of the mountain at this point, I'm bringing up the tail end. We get substantially delayed waiting to pass. Some of our party are having difficulty holding on and are very uncomfortable about continuing, so the decision is made to pull the plug and head back down. A bit disappointing, but I had a good time regardless!

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A view from approximately 2760 meters up Mt. Ruhapehu (37 from the summit)

I was originally going to head off to Turangi/Taupo today, but I'm quite tired from the hike and David says I can crash again. So I do. A bunch of other Ski Club people come to help out with putting in the new kitchen, and I help out with cooking chili, although Chef David (as he actually is) teases me for the way I chopped the onions and steps in to rescue the situation. But the Chili comes out allright, if a bit mild for my taste. I swear, I don't know what it is with Kiwis and their sensitive pallete! Chili ain't right unless you're steaming out of the ears, right hombre?