Historic cleanup in Tongariro National Park

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 628, 19 March 1996, Page 2

Historic cleanup in Tongariro National Park

An historical clean-up over the weekend before last removed more than two tonnes of old bricks and cables form the upper slopes of Mt Ruapehu! Some of the material collected had been on the mountain for more than 30 years. Good weather and near snow-free conditions aided the 23 volunteers from the Tongariro Natural History Society, Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences and the Department of Conservation in the clean-up which took seven hours to complete. Staff from Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL) Limited also helped

amass the debris which was flown off the mountain by helicopter. At least two earlier attempts to remove the bricks and cables had been unsuccessful due to a combination of bad weather, too few helpers and too much snow and ice. However, the 1995 eruption meant the area was now mostly clear of snow. The bricks and cables were the derelict remains of a vault and a monitoring system on the Dome peak which has housed scientific equipment for monitoring seismic and volcanic activity. In the past, cables up to 5 kilometres in length

connected instruments in the vault and the first Dome Shelter to recording equipment further down the mountain. The equipment was monitored by geophy sicists from Victoria University and the former Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). Other cables were installed by the former Department of Lands and Survey for emergency communication with people at the Dome and Glacier shelters. The first Dome Shelter, built in the early 1960's, was destroyed by an eruption in 1 969. It was replaced by the vault and the Glacier Shelter built in the early

1970's. The vault was destroyed by the 1975 eruption of Mt Ruapehu (the Glacier Shelter was also damaged by this eruption and was later demolished). The present Dome Shelter was built in the early 1980's and a concrete cellar beneath it houses scientific monitoring and eruption warning equipment. The cabling has been replaced by a telecommunications link to Whakapapa Village. As well as bricks and cables, an additional two tonnes of litter and other rubbish was also collected from around Whakapapa Skifield area and stock-

piled for removal from Tongariro National Park. About 150 people from many of the Ruapehu ski clubs took part in the larger clean-up operation which was organised by RAL Limited and the Ruapehu Mountain Club's Association. "Its good to see club members getting behind RAL's leadership", said Paddy Gordon, acting regional conservator for the Tongariro/Taupo Conservancy. "It shows the club members recognise and support important principles of conservation in national parks".