NZAC Girls Trip

The Auckland Section of the New Zealand Alpine Club organised a girls only trip to Mt Ruapehu, and last weekend found 10 ladies ensconced at the NZAC Ruapehu Hut at Delta Corner near Knoll Ridge Café. The objective was to walk up to the top of Pyramid (2,645m), one of Ruapehu's 12 peaks, but mainly to simply enjoy being on the mountain.

Three of us took the Friday off work to travel down and so managed to catch the last chair lift up the ski field - the others didn't arrive until about 2am! The afternoon was ridiculously warm with blue skies and a touch of lightly falling snow. Having skipped the walk up to the hut, I made myself useful and got some exercise digging out the fire exit.

Saturday morning was clear but a little breezy so I got up at 6am to watch the sunrise. The sky was clear all the way out to Mt Taranaki in the west, and the rosy light gradually crept over its slopes as it emerged from the shadow of Ruapehu. The late arrivals didn't emerge from bed until a while later, so it was just after 8am when we began wandering upwards. We opted to go up the gut and through the notch onto the Summit Plateau, where we were sheltered from the worst of the wind. There was blue sky all the way until we reached the southern corner of the plateau where we paused to regroup before heading over to Pyramid. I could see the peak with cloud billowing in front, but by the time everyone had caught up we were encased in cloud with almost zero visibility. Occasional clearances allowed us to find our way over to the north ridge of Pyramid, which we followed to the top. Despite being directly above the crater lake we didn't see it at all! It was cool and breezy on top so we only stayed long enough to take a few summit shots before retreating to a sheltered spot for lunch. Then it was simply a matter of retracing our foot prints back to Whakapapa. Some of us had hoped to traverse the ridge along to Te Heuheu, but decided it wasn't worth it in the wind and limited visibility. As we went through the notch and headed down toward the ski field we dropped below the cloud and once again had a view. Back at the hut in time for afternoon tea after a leisurely 6 hour stroll.

I poked my head out of the door at first light on Sunday to be greeted by a wet shroud of white and a blustery breeze. Oh well, back to bed. It wasn't worth trying to climb anywhere in the rain and wind so we simply packed up and walked down to the cars.

Ringatoto

Mt Ruapehu is well known as the highest mountain in the North Island, but the volcano actually has 12 prominent peaks not just a single summit.

I climbed my first of the peaks before I was 10 on a family summer-time scramble up to Dome. The true summit, Tahurangi, was achieved in 2009 and at the time I found it pretty scary. Te Heuheu was memorable as my first solo alpine ascent, and my favourite climb was Girdlestone last year. Gradually the various peaks were ticked off the list until only one remained: Ringatoto.

The east ridge of Ringatoto

Escaping from work at lunch time on Wednesday, it was a long drive down to the eastern side of Ruapehu and halfway up the 4WD Tukino Road. The last flush of twilight faded as we set off through the snow towards Rangipo Hut. It was a glorious clear night with only the faintest mountain zephyr and a bright moon illuminating the landscape. The snow was soft and deep so crampons weren't required. Dad took on the unenviable role of breaking trail through the at times knee-deep snow. It was exhausting work doing repeated one-legged squats with a heavy pack.

Rangipo Hut

From previous tramps I expected to reach Rangipo Hut in 2 hours, but it was an extra 45 minutes before it finally appeared. Snow was piled around the hut and it took 10 minutes to clear snow from in front of the door. Once inside it was straight into our cozy sleeping bags, hoping for the snow to freeze overnight.

Still soft. Abandoning our original plan of traversing over Ringatoto to Tahurangi, around the crater lake then down to Whangaehu Hut we instead opted to leave our sleeping gear at Rangipo and simply tackle the east ridge Ringatoto. This meant lighter packs and far less post holing through the soft snow.

 

An intense orange glow spread across the horizon as we headed up the ridge behind the hut. Layers were soon being peeled off as the sun warmed us up and there was no cooling breeze. After an hour we donned crampons as there was a hard layer under the surface snow in places. The vista was grand: white-capped Kaimanawa Ranges to the east, to the north Ngauruhoe was cloaked in snow with Lake Taupo beyond, and Te Heuheu, Cathedral Rocks, Pyramid and Girdlestone forming the eastern ramparts of Ruapehu.

The easy ridge walking gave way to steeper terrain with a few sidling traverses and short mixed rock steps but nothing too difficult. We used the rope twice for security where there was loose snow on steep rock. The final pinch up to the shoulder of Ringatoto was up a steep firm gully - the only decent snow on the whole climb! We soloed up and I was reasonably comfortable, albeit tired by the time I topped out onto easy ground. A short stroll led to the summit. Peak number 12 accomplished!

On top of Ringatoto with Tahurangi behind

The weather was still perfect so we spent half an hour soaking in the grandeur of the mountain before retracing our steps. Dad belayed me down the gully, and then apart from a very short abseil down a rock step it was all straight forward back to Rangipo.

7 hours from Rangipo hut to Ringatoto
3.5 hours down

The 12 peaks of Ruapehu

Tahurangi (2,797m)
Te Ataahua (2,757m)
Paretetaitonga (2,751m)
Te Heuheu (2,732m)
Tukino (2,720m)
Dome (2,672m)
Cathedral Rocks (2,663m)
Girdlestone (2,658m)
Pyramid (2,645m)
Glacier Knob (2,642m)
Ringatoto (2,591m)
L Peak (2,580m)

Girdlestone - Mt Ruapehu

The clear sky was brilliantly orange to the east as we set off from Blyth Hut at 5am. Three hours of walking up the volcanic boulder fields brought us to the snowline on the south face of Girdlestone (2658m), where it was time to gear up with crampons, ice axe, harness and helmet. A steady plod up gradually steepening snow for a while before the ropes were hauled out. The conditions were great for cramponing, each foot biting firmly into the snow.

The first couple of pitches were nice and easy allowing us to get our systems sorted and practice rope handling. This was my first time leading and I relished the opportunity to put into practice the skills which I have slowly been absorbing over the years. The route steepened but at no time was I outside, or even on the edge of, my comfort zone.

6 pitches brought us to the summit ridge and then another two pitches, including a rock step, led to the top - 11 hours after setting out. We basked on the summit for an hour before descending down the Mangahuehu Glacier on the north east side. By this time the snow was soft so it was easy trudging down the slope. Once off the snow it was a long plod back down the flank of Ruapehu towards Blyth Hut. 

Five minutes before the hut we watched as the vividly orange sun sank below the horizon. A glorious end to a glorious day. 15 1/2 hours on the go, 1,300m ascent, 8 pitches, lots of learning and loads of fun!