Ruapehu Crater Lake: Summer & Winter

This past weekend I completed the second weekend of a Snowcraft course with the Wellington Tramping & Mountaineering Club. On Saturday we had good weather and made it up to the Crater Lake at the top of Mt Ruapehu. Having previously visited these parts in the height of summer, I thought contrasting the summer and winter photos from the same location would be interesting.

Pinnacle Ridge

Dome Shelter

Cathedral Rocks

Crater Lake

Rangiwahia Tops; Triangle & Irongate

Date: 13-15 July, 2012

Punters: Bernie, Brendan, Craig, Debbie, Jamie, Paul (L) and Sarah from the Wellington Tramping & Mountaineering Club.

 

On Friday night we surprised a full hut after tramping up to the elevation of 1300m.asl to Rangiwahia Hut under torchlight. Most of our group stayed on the floor, but I was not one to let a few clumps of snow sighted under torchlight discourage me and chose to stay outside under the veranda on the east deck. After all, I do not go outdoors to stay on a stuffy hut. Ironically, I spent the rest of the weekend hearing the tales of woe of how cold the rest of the party was - inside the hut!

 

 

Snowy Ridgeline

Saturday morning began with a climb up into the snow line proper. It began with mostly good travel with a few instances of stepping through the firm crust and post-holing into between knee deep and waist deep below. This was related to the snow covering the tussock shrubs. On the descent toward Triangle I found myself falling through the snow almost every other step. My knees took a hammering and with supporting cast members, Paul and Brendan we were leaving a trail of blood to mark the Ruahine Tramper massacre every time we post-holed through the snow.

 

On some firmer snow, Sarah let out a not quite so death curdling  scream as she went for a skate down the slope. I drifted off the back of the group as I continued to post-hole through the snow, in one case having to fetch my boot which didn't come out with my leg. My knees were pretty smashed up by the time we reached Triangle Hut where we had lunch.

Descending down to Triangle

Triangle Hut

The section down the river after lunch was absolutely my favourite section of the trip. It seemed surprisingly warm given it was the middle of winter. Possibly this was due to running water being warmer than the frozen stuff we had spent the morning amongst. When we got to the track that left the river with a near vertical scramble before descending rapidly to the river. I was promptly overruled when I suggested it was a flood track and the river was not in flood. (Post trip I have been advised that is both possible and impossible to follow the river in this section. I may return to explore this for myself)

 

 

 

We had a large serving of pasta with tomato base for dinner. Having the fire on on the evening I found the hut too hot but the veranda was small and covered in firewood so I stayed inside on this occasion. Perhaps just as well given the heavy rain that fell in the middle of the night.

 

Irongate Hut

 

The route out on Sunday was less interesting. It was more or less, a flood track up the side of the river that went up, across and down as each slip along the river was crossed. We stopped for lunch at Heritage Lodge, which was welcome as a shower passed over. It was great that it only rained while we were indoors. On returning home the news was full of flooding woes that thankfully did not beset on ourselves.

 

I think this route would be more suited to a summer trip and it may or may not be possible to follow the river from Triangle to the Irongates, near the road end. This may take some exploring and some possible pack floats... Most trips seem to have this thing about following tracks these days, but I continue to consider them optional :>.

Neill-Winchcome U-turn

Date: 2-3 June, 2012

Punters: Alayne, Alistair, Craig, Debbie, Kaleb, Phillip & Weimin from the Wellington Tramping & Mountaineering Club.

 

Unfortunately some trips do not go as well as one hopes. I had looked forward to this trip for months with the Neill-Winchcombe ridge being a major point of missing red-line on the map on my lounge wall. The best trip on the schedule I proclaimed. In different conditions it certainly could have been.

 

The Neill-Winchcombe ridge is a less travelled ridge which connects Cone Ridge to Mt Hector. Whereas most visitors to this part traverse the Southern Crossing traveling north to south from Otaki to Kaitoke (or Waiohine Gorge), the Neill-Winchcombe joins Mt Hector and provides a path toward the east. Our intentions were to start from Waiohine Gorge, stay at Cone Hut on Friday night, ascend Cone and the travel west along the Neill-Winchcome Ridge to Mt Hector and descend down to Kime Hut on Saturday. Then traverse the Tararua Peaks to Neill Forks on Sunday before returning to the van at Waiohine Gorge on Monday.

 

After a night walk on Friday night, we arrived at an occupied Cone Hut at which half our party stayed in the hut while Alistair, Phillip and myself camped out in good weather. As we departed camp on Saturday the skies were clear and no wind was present. By the time we reached Cone, we were walking in clag with limited visibility but very little wind. We entered the forest and followed the forested ridge with a brief open patch at Neill. The travel along the marked route on this track was constantly up and down with the odd rock scramble for good measure.

 

 

We did not cover this ground as fast as I had hoped, but this didn't become a problem until we reached Winchcombe. The wind was howling in from the west. Walking upright was becoming somewhat of a challenge and we soon found ourselves crawling along the ridge toward pt1378 tightly grasping the tussock. With fading light, gale-force winds and the ridge narrowing toward razorback we chose to turn back for the safety of the bushline for a night of unscheduled fly camping. Unfortunately without a water supply the array of gourmet food carried on our backs had to return with us on Sunday morning while Saturday nights dinner was limited to snackbars and chocolate.

 

 

We certainly were not the first party caught in the position, however unlike us according to other blogs I have read  many have camped nearby a tarn for water supply in this area.

 

All trips are easier with hindsight, and I should have woken the party to leave earlier on Saturday morning and I certainly underestimated the time traveling along the undulating Neill-Winchcombe ridge. I do think that in winter with less daylight, and few bailout options to a cosy hut or a fantastic campsite it may well be a better option to approach this ridge from Mt Hector, thereby being in the bushline later in the day, or if the weather changfes.

 

As for my red-line, there remains a frustrating 1.2km gap between Mt Hector and .1398 which will be resolved by a future successful completion of this trip.

Tramping the Lake Dive Loop

Date: 25-27 May, 2012

Punters: Anthony, Craig, John, Paul, Rebecca and Tommy from the Wellington Tramping & Mountaineering Club.

 

I had signed up to lead a trip on Queens Birthday weekend, so after a few years of ultra-distance cycling and not much tramping I thought it best to remember how to walk beforehand. After an ever changing list of punters due to withdrawals (including the assigned trip leader whom I replaced in a bloodless coup) and late entries, six of us met on another WTMC tramping trip that began with introductions as we made our way up to Taranaki where we stayed at the DOC managed Konini Lodge with unusual tramping luxuries including hot showers.

 

Throughout the weekend, the expression of outlandish theories on how to resolve the issue of New Zealand's immigrant Brushtail Possum population dominated the conversation. Suggestions by the Australian member of our party that Brushtail Possums in New Zealand were not fatter than Brushtail Possums in the western isles were soon resolved when an over fed specimen was perfectly lined up under headlights by Paul - until he showed more mercy via the brake pedal to the possum than the possum will itself provide to our native flora. Needless to say as many theories around possible biological, genetic and birth controls were found to be flawed and thus quickly dismissed in the manner as any poorly thought-out conspiracy theory.

Mt Taranaki and Fanthams Peak

 

We rose on Saturday to a clear day with perfect visibility to the snow covered peaks of Fanthams Peak and Mt Taranaki. There are people who visit Taranaki many times without seeing the mountain, so with half our party having never been here were lucky to see a great view of mountain.

 

By sight the Upper Lake Dive Track looked only marginally affected by snow, but after talking with DOC staff before leaving I was advised of the possibility of gullies filled with refrozen snow. I took my ice-axe a precaution to make some big foot-holes if such an eventuality made any members of our party uncomfortable..

 

Sir Edmund Hillary Memorial

Hooker Shelter

 

Stairs leading towards Upper Lake Dive Track & Fanthams Peak

 

 

Our tramp began with the steady, often staircased climb past Hooker Shelter and Kapuni Lodge to the junction of the Upper Lake Dive track and the track to Fanthams Peak. During this steady climb we could see a group in the distance trying to cross a gully filled with firm snow on their way toward Fanthams Peak. With this observation any prior thoughts of dropping our packs for an optional side trip to higher ground quickly evaporated.

 

A little way above the track junction to Kapuni Lodge we met another party coming down the mountain who kindly offered some advice. It is often hard to assess the quality of advice provided by other parties when you briefly meet for 45 seconds or so. There is after all a continuum of advice received in such circumstances ranging from never leave the house paranoia to quality advice all the way through to the she'll be right gung-ho. Therefore it is of course useful to assess how any advice provided might apply to your own party or trip. On this occasion I was advised of treacherous snow and ice filled gullies, "People have here died you know", and that I would drown the survivors in the streams when returning on the lower track with some rain in the forecast.

While I appreciated their concern, the lack of snow and dry streams did suggest that of absurdly paranoid advice. My grandfather once told me you tell a lot a about person by looking at their shoes. Whilst I couldn't care less weather their boots had been freshly polished I did note that while they had nice shiny gear, they were currently walking on dirt in crampons having just walked down wooden steps that had neither ice or  snow covering then. I thanked them for their advice and that I was aware that there were showers in the forecast and continued on to Lake Dive.

 

We had no wind and mostly clear clear conditions across the Upper Lake Dive Track. There were some small pockets of soft snow and certainly no ice or hard snow. The track offered views across to inland Taranaki farmland "Somewhere" and overlooking the native forest surrounding Mt Taranaki. There are few places that show possum damage to the forest as evidently as here with numerous skeletons of solid native trees that now have neither foliage nor life.

 

Having not been tramping of late I could feel my knees a little after what is an easy descent down to Lake Dive Hut. On arrival we met a group of students who were using this tramp toward their Duke of Edinborough awards. While they were doing there homework we began playing the cardgame "Hearts". Seeing the Duke of Edinborough students studying their maps and recalling what they passed through during the day did make me think an easy trip using this approach could be an alternative method of delivering the clubs Bushcraft courses.

 

Our epic battle over cards was temporarily interrupted by more important things - our stomachs. A minor crisis was averted with some surgery performed with the help of Anthony to recover the fuel hose which detached from the fuel pump of my primus into the the middle of the full fuel bottle. Once reattached we set about getting on with the meal. We all had a collection of ingredients assigned to us by trip leader Paula (absent), and whilst Paul, flatmate of Paula lived in the same house as Paula he hadn't a clue as to the recipe. A fine team effort was co-ordinated to create a fine meal of satay noodles which was gratefully consumed by all.

 

As our card game resumed, the DoE students began playing "the famous person game" and become more and more boisterous. No matter how much sugar we ate via our oversupply of chocolate biscuits we were simply unable to compete both in decibels and pitch. Some funny lines were heard which I am sure we can credit the students as providing solely for the means of our entertainment:

"Is the fire on?" "No, the fire is going. You can't just turn it on"

and

"Invented the iPod" "Isaac Newton"

errr, I think Mr Newton was inspired by a different apple!

 

As the students suddenly ran out of sugar and disappeared to bed promptly, the lack of background noise and distractions made the game ever the more tense. Once Paul completed his convincing win while subtly hiding in the corner and not bringing any attention to himself we soon followed suit.

 

During the night, a gale westerly came up with the express purpose of proving to us that Lake Dive Hut is in fact, very securely fastened to its foundations.

 

 

 

With the arrival of daylight we timed our exit of the hut perfectly. It started to rain the moment we stepped out the door. The track appeared to have a lot of recent maintenance and was nowhere near as muddy as I recalled from a previous visit. Without the warmth of the sunshine, we walked faster, rested less and made good time back to Dawson Falls via the Lake Dive Lower Track. Thoughts of extending the trip around the Dawson Falls loop walk were quickly dashed with the kind offer of a hot shower at Konini Lodge.

 

Driving home

Just 80% Ultimate

Ride Data:
Distance:	396km
Time:	21h04m (elapsed) 16h40m (moving)
Elevation gain:	3,561m
Ride Data:	Garmin Connect
Location:	Renwick, NZ March 23-24, 2012

 

Stu, whom I met during the Lake Taupo Extreme Enduro (8 laps) did a great job drumming up support for this years 'Ultimate' by encouraging enough riders to enter to ensure we were above the 10 rider threshold required by the end of 2011. My rubber arm was once again easily twisted and my entry was in.

 

When March came around and the Graperide approached I was still recovering from some big efforts in February's Kiwi Brevet and Southern Kiwi Hunt double header. Never one to pike, I was always going to be at the startline regardless.On the way I met Andrew Morrison whom, I had previously only known from the Facebook Endurance Riding group. It is certain that there is enough comradary between endurance riders that when we see each other or even first meet, its like we're all old friends.

 

My first lap of five was certain one of deflation. It began in the bunch of 13 or so starters of which I feeling comfortable and spent most of the first 30-40km near the front until puncturing heading toward Koromiko, and then my second a few more kilometres down the road before arriving in Picton. After the second puncture, the motivation was well and truly waning and left me barely ambling around Queen Charlotte Drive, through Linkwater and Havelock back to Renwick to sign in to complete lap one. There was one brief check of my bearings when I saw a cycle race up a side street that I was not the direction of the course. On the way into the sign-in area I received my third puncture. Unbelievable. I had recently asserted that I was wearing out more 700x25C Continental GP4 All Season tyres than I had punctures when riding them. In just 100km the law of averages rapidly came back and bit me. 3h53m was disappointing for lap one on fresh legs. I was a little surprised that I was not last to sign in.  I had I somehow passed The Potato Guy without seeing him? I suggested he may have turned left down the road where the cycle race sign was. Indeed he had. TPG receives the award for the most kilometres covered during the first lap. (Thanks heaps for the spare tube Tim!).

 

Tim dropped me on the way up Blenheim on Lap 2. I think I spent the entire lap cursing the fact I lost the group so early with my three punctures on lap 1. The highlight of the lap was probably the ice cream I stopped for at Spring Creek. When I came around to check in with lap 2 complete (8h53m elapsed), the attrition was already showing with a couple of riders out already. While puncture-less this time around, I was already slowing down.

 

I had some soup and coffee between laps (thank Tim & Liz) and dragged Brandon and his sounds out to start lap 3. Brandon's MP3 player and speakers soon disappeared in front of me so I stopped in Blenheim for a pie and some chocolate milk and later curled up for a short a nap on the way out of Koromiko, getting back on my bike as race leader Greg Manson was about to lap me. We mostly rode together, or at least near each other until Linkwater when he powered beyond me along the Linkwater straights. Thankyou Greg's supporters for the coke and snacks :).

 

When I checked in to complete lap 3, the attrition rate was once again showing with Brandon was back at his motel, Tim asleep and a a couple of withdrawals on the sign in sheet. I headed off for my fourth lap with the main achievement of this lap being that I did not stop for pie nor chocolate milk nor ice-cream. However, my legs were gone as I ambled around, lapped by Colin on Queen Charlotte Drive and Nick Dunne at Linkwater. I surprisingly pulled the lap back from Nick on the run in to the finish which will have had more to do with his knee injuries than my own (not-so) strong form.

 

With lap 4 done and dark clouds over the Richmond Range I pulled the pin and recorded a very rare DNF. I was pretty knackered, but ultimately if may re-use that word I had no chance of finishing in under 24 hours and riding in the rain if it came would not be that much fun. I have ridden 500km many times, and just grinding out the final 100km was would neither prove, nor achieve anything. On the other hand the craft beer recovery drink on offer from Forrest Estate the "Peddlers Pilsner" was a fine drop and went down very well before I headed back to the motel for a shower followed by dinner at the Allan Scott Estate with the familiar faces of the Onslow Tarbabies.

 

I do find rides of this distance difficult. It is short enough to contemplate not resting at all which is possible when starting well rested. The increased average speed of a 400-500km ride over a 1000km ride makes them quite different beasts to tackle with muscular endurance coming more to the fore with less restful recovery opportunities. Stopping to eat as has become my habit doesn’t quite work that well for this distance. For myself, as much as I see the attraction of the multi-lap courses for logistics and support crews. I definitely prefer events that are not multiple laps of the same route to keep myself mentally stimulated.

 

I will likely ride the Ultimate again next year with my main motivation being that I know I can do much, much better and with the correct pre-event focus should be able to finish in 22 hours or less.