Snow storms damage Park tracks

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 597, 1 August 1995, Page 14

Snow storms damage Park tracks

A warning was issued last week by the Department of Conservation to anyone planning to walk in the back country areas of Tongariro National Park or the Kaimanawa Forest Park. DoC staff have strongly advised people without alpine skills — including an awareness of avalanche hazards — to stay away from back country areas until the storm cycle passed. Nearly all tracks, includ-

ing low altitude tracks, were last week under a heavy cover of snow and trees adjacent to the tracks were heavily laden with snow. In some places snow caused trees to fall over tracks. On the Clement's Road to Te Iringa track in the Kaimanawas, DoC staff have said it' s the worst damage they've seen since Cyclone Bola swept through the area in 1987. DoC staff who flew over

the Tongariro Crossing, Round the Mountain and Waihohonu to Whakapapa tracks in Tongariro National Park estimated the snow to be between two to three metres deep in places, burying marker poles and making tracks almost impossibletofind, The depth of snow meant that travelling on any of the tracks would be extremely difficult and tiring. . "We're concerned that

people without the appropriate alpine skills could venture into the parks and find themselves in conditions and circumstances beyond their level of expertise," said DoC spokesperson, Lianne Fraser. As well, the amount of snow meant there was a risk of avalanche in areas which

would normally not be at risk. Mrs Fraser said staff were to check and clear tracks as soon as weather conditions improved. Anyone wanting further information on the condition of tracks should contact DoC staff at Whakapapa on (07) 892 3729.