Ruapehu

the annual assault on the magic mountain.

An assult on Mt Ruapehu is now an annual pilgrimmage for the club. It a ritual renewal for us, a chance to look down on the rest of the world for a while, to cleanse our perspectives and breathe in the cool air.

Like certain hobbits, we need to feel the magic.

On a good day the climb is a doodle - by the time you drive half way up, take the chairlift another quarter, there is only another 600m to the summit plateau which is about 2600 meters high. The picture of the flowers was taken at about 2100m.

But if the magic mountain turns nasty its a killer. That's why we don't fix a date for these expeditions. We go on the first weekend with a good weather forecast after the 1st of February each year.

So we're talking summer. There is barely enough snow about to throw at a snow man. It's an awe inspiring walk on a young and raw mountain; it's nature in your face.

For some of the way it's a steady climb over blocks of jointed lava flow. You can see these bare andesite curves in the photo on the right.

At other times - odd times - it's like walking on a concrete footpath where winter ice sheets have ground the rock smooth like in the photo on the left. Sometimes it's a real scramble over ash, tinder, bounders and bombs that have been blasted out of the crater. There are some in the picture below taken not far below the summit plateau.

On our 2004 trip, the crater lake was 95% full and due to overflow within months. As we looked at it gently steaming, we remembered the 151 people killed by the 1951 lahar the swept down the mountain when the crater lake overflowed at that time. We hoped the early warning system would prevent another Tangiwai disaster.

This picture was taken on Dome Ridge. It shows the crater lake behind three adventurers.

On a clear day you can see forever from up here. It's magic. It makes you feel at one with the universe. In the words of the founder, "It's always better to look down than up."