Once again we went to Mt Ruapehu to do some mountaineering in the weekend, the 5 hour drive each way is starting to get really familiar, and doesn't even feel so long anymore!
It ended up beeing only me and Shiva going this weekend, a really girly roadtrip in other words :) Since two girls alone in a tent in a desert campsite is not to safe, we decidet to spend the nights at the hollyday park in Ohakune, which totally overcharged us and demanded 16$ a night for each of us in our tiny tent ("We could have hired a guy for that prize!" was Shivas comment:)
On Saturday morning we met up with Glen and the other peole doing the course. We had a long day climbing the summit of Girdelstone (around 2600m). The snow and ice where totally crappy, but it was beutifull in the mountain anyway! We ended abseiling down again in the dark, with amazing moon, and the fantastic stars of the southern hemisphere. After 14 hours in the mountain we finally got back.
It ended up beeing only me and Shiva going this weekend, a really girly roadtrip in other words :) Since two girls alone in a tent in a desert campsite is not to safe, we decidet to spend the nights at the hollyday park in Ohakune, which totally overcharged us and demanded 16$ a night for each of us in our tiny tent ("We could have hired a guy for that prize!" was Shivas comment:)
On Saturday morning we met up with Glen and the other peole doing the course. We had a long day climbing the summit of Girdelstone (around 2600m). The snow and ice where totally crappy, but it was beutifull in the mountain anyway! We ended abseiling down again in the dark, with amazing moon, and the fantastic stars of the southern hemisphere. After 14 hours in the mountain we finally got back.
But the way back was not completly without problems... When we almost had reached the skifield, me and a swedish guy called Magnus walked another way than Shiva and Glen, because Shiva wanted to be more careful. (Shiva is wise!) We where walking down agains a gully near the skifield, when Magnus suddely slipped and started to slide down the slope. He did a almost perfect self arrest, but the ice was way to hard for the iceaxe to get in. It was a really scary experience to se your climbingpartner just slide down the ice faster and faster without being able to do anything, and just see him slide and tumble untill it got flat and he stopped, and just see a light lying still. Espesially since I was the one leading on, and saing the way is fine.. Luckly he got up after a little while and was able to walk the rest of the way down, where we got him to the hospital. He wasn't seriosly hurt, and felt fine the day after, but still it was a shock. Lesson learned: use you rope and pros!
As this wasn't enought, when we got down, we where still missing one person. So Glen got Magnus to the ambulanse while me and Shiva stayed at the skifield waiting for the last guy, which turned up about 3 hours later than us. He had also slided on the ice, lost his ice axe and hammer, and had quite a hard time getting back only with crampons.
This in total made a really long and hard day, it wasn't untill four we finally was back in the tent in the nice and warm sleepingbags. To use the sunday then to just drive slowly back to Auckland, stopping on a couple of nice cafes, and going to a natural warm streem, was perfect.
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