CLIMBING RUAPEHU
A WEEK IN THE MOUNTAIN HUT. (By T.S.T.)
This was a. holiday I had been looking forward to for some months. Our party numbered 10, and was organised by the well-known and popular Government Surveyor, Mr H. E. Girdlestone. His knowledge of the district and hie general fund of information helped considerably towards the enjoyment of the trip. He also brought with him the most important man of the party — his cook. It was a merry party that assembled at Waiouru on Saturday, 14th December, The weather conditions that day were all against üb, and we were somewhat anxioi>6 about the morrow. We rose early next morning and were delighted to find that the rain and mist had cleared away, leaving Ruapehu a truly magnificent sight. This put us in good spirits for the coach drive (23 miles) to the mountain hut, and we were keen to be off. Our special coach arrived at 8.30 a.m., and very soon we had the stores, etc., aboard, and away we went in great style. The drive to the hut was a hot and dusty one, the onlypleasing break being the stop for refreshments and a change of horses at the 12mile stable. We- were also interested in the glimpses we now and then obtained of the wild horses which roam the plains. Later on we saw numbers of horses in the neighbourhood of the hut. We arrived at the hut in the early afternoon and at once set to work to prepare for our week's stay. The hut is substantially built of conugated iron, the walls being double and packed with pumice. There is a room for ladies and a larger one for gentlemen, the latter room having also a, large open fireplace built of cemented pumice. The situation is a very good one, there being ample supplies of fuel in the bush at the back, and the Waihohonu running some 150 yards away provides beautiful water. On our first acquaintance with this stream we found the water so delightfully warm that we thought there must be a hot spring at the source. We were soon disabused oi this idea, however, on going down next morning for a dip. The water was decidedly fresh and bracing, and so we at once came to the conclusion that the hot sun was responsible for the warmth which was so noticeable towards the end of the day. After tea some of the party went up the saddle for a walk, eventually climbing a higu ridge leading on to Ugairruhoe. This we afterwards found was i'Trig Tama. From here we had a splendid view of Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe, and also of the lovely lakes lying under the high ridges which form the top of the saddle. We picked out the routes -which seemed most suitable for climbing the mountains, and after amusing ourselves rolling stones down the steep slopes, we made tracks for the hut. We decided to tackle Ruapehu for the first day, so we turned in early, intending to leave soon after daybreak. We were favoured with a beautiful morning, and the whole party left the hut at 5 a.m. We found the Tourist Department had cut a track across the tussock for two or three miles, and this brought us out on a ridge showing an apparently easy climb to the summit. After climbing a couple oi hours, one of the party began to find difficulty in getting his breath. We mad© numerous halts on his account, and then the climbing becoming more difficult, we decided to leave him in charge of one of the party, while the rest of us pushed on for the top. This we reached after five hours and a-quarter's walking. We had rock climbing nearly all the way, except for the last 200 or 300 feet, bi.t the snow proved to be good holdinE;, so that the climb presented no real difficulties to anyone who was in wood form. The view from the summit was rather disappointing! a thick haze enveloping the surrounding country. We dropped down again to the rocks, "where we had lynch. By this time we were joined by the two whom we had left behind, and a r ter a spell we again climbed to the top, wheie we bad our photo taken and roped up in preparation for the walk across the snow to thp Crater Lake. This proved to be hard work, as the snow was fairly deep and tinheat of the sun and the reflection iiom the snow affected some of the party rather badly. However, we reached the lake in due course, and soon forgot our trouble in the interest it aroused in us. After a look round we reckoned we could get down to it, and sure enough we discovered a fairly easy descent down a snow elope. Arrived at the lake edge, we were astonished to find the water warm and heavily impregnated with sulpnur. A sulphurous scum was also being blown over from, the centre of the lake, where the water appeared to be boiling. The four who had climbed down then decided to go in for a swim, but they did not venture far out, and went in more for the sake of saying they had ?wum in ti<> crater lake
than for anything else. The whole sur- ' roundings of the place were not such as would tempt one to take any risks, and it would have gone haid with the venturesome ones had the crater suddenly be- i come active. The area of the lake, according to the smveyors of our party. ' would be about 30 acres. Theie aie several interesting points about the lake. For the most part it is surrounded by ice walls, and these are continually breaking off and falling in to the lake with a crash. On portion of tho rocky edge there is a coating of fine gieyieh dust, probably thrown up in the eiuption of March. 1906. We dispensed with the ropes on the returu journey, as we found the miow quite safe and free from dangerous crevasses. Coming down, we left a message in a bottle and put it on a stick, fastening the stick in a prominent place on a ridge of rocks near the summit. We did the return journey in an hour and 47 minutes, arriving at' the hut about 5 p.m. The sun had played havoc with some of our party, and those who had discarded some of their clothes suffered severely from sunburn. Two of the. party also suffered from snow-blindness, and very little sleep was their portion that night. For our next climb we decided to make a two-day trip across the saddle between Ngauruhoe and Tonj>ariro, climbing the latter mountain and staying the nitrht at the Ketetahi hut on the slopes of Tongariro. We made up swags containing blankets, food, etc., and left at 9 a.m. We crossed the Waihohonu and made for the saddle. This we reached after three hours' going, but we took an easy pace after our labours of the previous day. Here we were right under Ngauruhoe, rising sheer above us for 3000 ft. Ngauruhoe is an active volcano with very steep sides, consisting of black, uninvitinglooking slag and scoria. It reminded me of a lemon squeezer — a perfect cone with deep scars all round. These scars are caused by the melting of the snow and ice, which in their downward slide bring down many tons of earth and scoria. We crossed many of these snaky-looking slides of earth and ice. After dinner we made for the top of Tongaiiro, crossing en route one of the numerous extinct craters. These are of enormous extent and look for aIT the world like some old Roman amphitheatre. Generally they are perfectly flat, with perhaps an occasional outcrop of rock, and surrounded by great rocky walls. The impressiveness of these now quiescent craters is added to by the' huge bulk and height of the adjacent mountains. Tongariro consists of a series of craters with a succession of high points sandwiched in between. Here we saw traces of wild horses, and evidently they had come up to enjoy a roll in the sandy portion of the craters. There is Absolutely no feed of any kind for them up there. We did not slay to examine the Blue and Green Lakes, reserving them and other sights for the following day. From, the Blue Lake there is a very good track to the hut. The track winds in and out down the steep slopes of Tone;ariro, and from it you get some beautiful views of the surrounding country, with lovely Lake Roto Aire lying right below you. We arrived at the Ketetahi hut at 3 o'clock. We immediately had a dip in the stream, which we found to be luke-warm (genuine hot water this time), and of greyish colour. The Ketetahi hut is not so comfortable as the one on Ruapehu, but the situation is again a very fine one. The view was simply perfect. Below us lay the Waimarino Plains, backed by the bush-clad hills. Here and there you could see the smoke of the Maori pahs, and further away again were the camps ot the workers on the Main Trunk line. The weather next day was again all that could be desired, and we got away about 8 o'clock on the return journey. About a mile from the hut we inspected the Ketetahi Springs. These are most interesting and are situated in a gully on the slopes of Toncrariro. Here you have springs of all sizes and temperatures, some as big as your hand and others quite a size, some hot and some cold, while others again are boiling. There are sulphur springs and soda springs, and a boiling pool of greyish, solid-looking water and mud. Then there are blowholes of all descriptions and sizes. One was making a noise like half a dozen steamers blowing off steam, and you had to yell in your companion's ear to make him hear what you were saying. All this in in quite a small area. Some of our paitv enjoyed the luxury of a hot bath. Evidently the water possesses curative properties, for we came across the framework of two tents which had been erected alongside one of the pools. The patient sLmply had to step out of the tent into the water and had both cold and hot water at command. After thoroughly examining the wonders of this gully, we made for' Blue Lake. This is a beautiful sheet of water, and it looked very tempting for a dip. We passed it by, however, and came to Green Lake, lying not far away. This we rould not resist, but we found the water icy cold, and all we did when we got in was to come out again in a hurry. The lake is fed from a snowfiekl. so it is not surprising that we found the water on the chilly side. The next object of interest was the Red Crater. This overlooks the Green Lake i and possesses n blowhole of large size. | Some of our party lolled stones down on | to it, and bo great was the force of steam ' that they wore immediately blown off a^ain. The Rod Crater is a weiid place, [ and you cannot but marvel at the mighty j foires which must have been at work , there. All one side consists of a red I scoria, so alive lookina that you can | imagine the fires are still burning behind j it. From the top of the crater we had a most glorious view of the surrounding country ; in fact, this view was quite the best v/e had during the whole trip. Be- j low us were the Green and Blue Lakes, i and in the far distance lay Lake Taupo | shimmering in the sun. On "the right were the wooded Kaimanawas and the rough and mountainous country beyond. This view alone was well worth going miles to '■ see. We made a quick journey to the saddle of Ngauruhoe, Where we had dinner. Alter a stood sdcll we tackled
the climb to the top. The ascent' looked none too easy, and we anticipated a hard climb. Once we got- off the sliding scoria, however, we made good tiitte, and reached the top after less than an hour's walking. Near the top we came across a stream of water. Ihe sight of water -\t that height and in suoh a barren and desolite place filled us with surprise, but we soon found that the source was in a snow field on the edge of the crater. The top of Ngauruhoe is wonderfully interesting, and the crater is of great extent. On tlie western side there is an enormous hole of great depth, in shape not unlike a huge cup sunk into the depths of the mountain. Ngauruhoe has not been so active as usual of Jate, and we were thus enabled to see all round the crater. Large quantities of steam were rising, and the volume seemed to be greatest where the three streams of water were flowing over. We spent some considerable time round the crater, examining it from various aspects. We also derived great amusement from rolling stones down the* side of the mountain. The stones were of great size, and as the earth had been washed away from under them, they only needed a touch of our sticks to* lever them over. It was veiy exciting to ccc them take leaps of 50ft and 100 ft. So great, too, was the distance they travelled that we could trace them only by the dust of their progress. When you remember that the mountain is almost perpendicular and the fall, say, 3000 ft to 400 ft, you can imagine how those stones travelled. There is a, peculiar fascination in watching an enormous stone dashing down from so great a height. We descended Ngauruhoe by the rid^e we had at first proposed climbing, and in the descent we had good fun sliding down the snow. We used our solid sticks as brakes, dug our heals in, and away we went. The enow was just sufficient!*- thick to give us a hold on the ice. Loose stones on the rocky ridges are a source of danger, and care is required when descending. One of the party had a narrow escape from a rolling stone, it just missing his head by a fewinches. We reached the hut soon after 4 o'clock, and all were agreed that the two days had been full of interesting and wonderful sights. We ourselves were rather interesting sights too. Those of the party who had been sunburnt soon discovered that the only comfortable walking costume was a sleeping suit, and the general effect was, to say the least of it amusing. We did indeed look a wild crowd, and a rear view of the party tramrjing along in Indian file was very funny We found ourselves wishing that we would find some English tourists at the hut when we returned. Our appearance would certainly have given them a shock, and the novel costumes would have caused them to smil© visibly. On Thursday we had some rain, for a change, but this we did not regret, as it gave us a chance to recover from our exertions of the previous three days. On Friday we arranged to pay tho Wangaehu Gorge a visit. The gorge lies on the eastern side of Ruapehu, and we set out with the intention of finding the ice caves which we had heard were a, feature of the gorge. We did not see the caves, but nevertheless we found the gorge full of interest. It ie a wild and rugged place, and the river comes tumbling down as though it was in a great hurry to get to the plains. We travelled up the gorge until we came to a large waterfall. The river here gives off a strong odour of sulphur, and we wondered if there was an outlet from the crater lake. The wateifall is a fine sight, say, 50ffc high. We made a detour round it, climbing a risky portion of rock face on the way. This was the only bit of climbing we encountered during our trip which had possibilities of danger. Jus>t above the fall lies the Wangaehu Glacier, the source of the Wangaehu River. Here we had great fun tobogganing down the snow, but the delight of the descent was hardly compensation for the hard work involved in the climb up. When we left the hufc we had no intention of climbing to the top of Ruapehu again, but we found the snow on the glacier in good order, so we decide to have a try for the top. The weather conditions were not very favourable, as there was a heavy mist round us-. This, however, we left behind as wo climbed higher. We found the glacier ended right at the crater lake. W e did not 6tay long, as there was a chill breeze blowing. We noticed, however, that there had been a considerable fall from the ice wall. On the return journey we had a. very fine view of Mount Egmont. Ihe setting sun tinted all with various hues and made the mountain appear to be only p short distance away. We came down to the hut in quick time and left another message in the bottle on the ridge. On Saturday we had a fairly easy day up at the lakes on the saddle. We basked in the sun and enjoyed a dip in the water. The lower of the two lakea is very prettily situated, and the flowering shrubs and vegetation add considerably, to ttie beauty of tlie lake. Our coach arrived* on Sunday about mid-day, and soon we wei'e all aboard for Waiouru and civilisation. There was not! a dissatisfied m«n iv the party, and all were unanimous in agreeing that a week in the mountain hut on Ruapehu was hard to beat. It is astonishing that more do not visit these wonderful mountains. Certainly tl'° Tourist Department does not advertise them as it should, nor does it appear to have much information about the trip. There are no real difficulties in the ascent of any of the mountains, and to anyone in fair form the climb in the clear atmosphere is a wonderful bracer. Then, again, a guide is by no means a necessity, and the expense of the journey is very small. A finer holiday no one could wish to have, and I would strongly advise those in search of a really good time to include these interesting mountains in their programme.
In 1840 Britain imported 96,000,000 eggs, and the total for the year 1906 was nearly 2,265,000,000, \alued at £7,098,137. A large proportion of these came from Denmark and Rue&isu
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Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 66
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3,165CLIMBING RUAPEHU Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 66
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