early season waiting...

but it's been snowing... have faith people more snow will come!

So that rain this week wasn't very kind (sad face). There's been some High Flyer chair action this week just gone, but things low down got a bad case of the melts.

On Saturday I went to Whakapapa for a look. Didn't really fancy sharing one chair with the 000's in town for Mardis Gras. Had my first chairlift ride for the season down into Happy Valley to see what was going on there for opening day. The chair was running and most of the field was covered, and there were plenty of people giving it a go. I felt naked with nothing on my feet tho. I pottered around and walked up only as far as National Chair to look up the Rock Garden. Vis was not great and the Centennial Chair was only running for contractors and clubbies to transport stuff to their huts. It was dumping big wet snow for an hour as I left the hill. So pretty. Had fingers crossed for the following day, please keep snowing.

lonely snowman by the National Chair

With the drizzle set in at Ohakune for the night, we flagged getting wet and muddy at Mardis Gras, but could hear the bands and see the fireworks sweet as from the back deck of the house.

Up and at em early, well 8am, to get on the road before the masses (hoping they were sleeping in after a hard night.) The road was initially closed at the 13km barrier, but was well gritted and easy going. Jumped on one of the first lifts and then called it by lunchtime when the fog at Turoa turned to wet mist. It was good that there was no wind Saturday night cos the snow stuck evenly-ish without major windstriping/drifting that can happen in a storm. By the sounds of it, it came straight down on all 3 fields, which is good for the base. So we picked our lines skiers left of the Upper Freeway off the groom. Really enjoyed the runs through there. Only a couple of hidden rocks and nothing too major to need to dodge. The snow has a thinnish crisp top, but was overall quite creamy to ride through. By the tracks and the lack of people, it seemed like there was just a few of us sharing this line, so it was nice and clean each time we arrived.

Massey Flat - Turoa

If I could have Monday morning's sunshine and great vis, with Sunday's snow and lack of wind, that would be great! But as a weekend warrior you have to make the most of what you can get. It's snowing again this Monday afternoon. The old weather maps will get poured over this week! Next weekend is the first of school holidays. All going good I hope to take a little person (not mine!) skiing or boarding on the Meadow.

pre-season sojourn

Slept in again! We were supposed to leave before dawn on Saturday morning, but got up when the first tui cracked outside at 7am. (the bird, not the beer) We were supposed to get moving early because Saturday was going to be the best of the long weekend. Nevermind, we can pack pretty quick, and were on the road and in Ohakune at lunchtime. We had beautiful clear drive, and caught glimpses of Whakapapa from as far north as Taumaranui township.

Raurimu view

To make the most of the warm clear weather before it closed in, we drove back around to Whakapapa, and met some friends from Taupo for a walk over there. At the Round the Mountain Track entrance on Bruce Road, we cruised over to the closest ridgeline and then dropped down into the valley to the Whakapapaiti Hut. It got "dark" early as the clouds started rolling in and the clouds started making shapes hinting at the windy weather to come.

Saturday night we cooked a big  feed and consumed red wine by the fire before heading up to the Junction to consume some more. We caught up with winter friends and even some Auckland friends who were in the neighbourhood too. I hope the snow gods were happy, cos the next day my head hurt!

Sunday and Monday were ditto days. Waking up just before dawn each of those days as we thought the old railway house we stayed in was going to blow inside out. The wind seemed to peak in the morning, and it felt like everytime we wanted to venture outside it would rain. By Monday our house mates grumbled "it's too early for cabin fever!" Sundays webcams were not a pretty sight, looking at the rain washed the ridgelines... Mountain streams in town were swelling with rain... BUT the weather maps were looking much more promising for Monday/Tuesday when a snowier looking weather system would hit the north overnight. You could feel a brr in the air (wind change and temp drop) all day Monday...

break in the weather

TYPICAL! It snows after we leave town, AND it snows in town. The Desert Road in the east has closed and word of mouth reports this morning are snow in Whakapapa village and snow flurries falling on Railway Row, Ohakune. Keep it coming.

Ohakune Cam 10.30am 8-June

Whakapapa - Geonet cam

Moody

Well I forgot to set my alarm for this morning, and slept half an hour over. Not a good way to start a Monday! I heard the sunrise this morning was pretty awesome. I checked my favourite VolcanoCams on the Geonet website, and here are a selection of moody shots from this morning, enjoy.

There's also been some pretty cool shots on the recent full moon. It has been clear at times at night which has made for some interesting webcam images.

The snow level has been dropping, dustings on the high points above Happy Valley at Whakapapa, and now cold enough to make snow and top up the Alpine Meadow at Turoa. More of the same please! Lets hope it doesn't melt toooooo much before opening weekend in a few weeks.

Yup... we have snow at last

A nice snow cap after a few days of miserable weather
- almost down to the level of Knoll Ridge.

clear autumn day

Today was absolutely stunning! Great day to be out on the harbour with rod and reel, unfortunately the boys didn't bring home any fish.

On the Whakapapa side, Ruapehu looks like this, a nice little snow cap on. Here is the Geonet Volcano Camera view this morning.

I have seen some awesome pics of Turoa taken from Ohakune this evening. I don't want to steal someone else images so you'll have to take my word for it... It looks like the dusting down low has stayed relatively frosty all day and while it's melted a bit, you can see it's icing sugar like to a low level. The ground is getting colder!

webcam watch

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts webcam link

Today, the first of May, my friend and I trawled around the city's snow stores checking out the pre-season weekend sales. I left the house with a merino t shirt and jeans and summer sandals on, half wondering if I should take another layer with me. Mostly because there were sporadic rain showers more than anything else. It was still reasonably warm here in Auckland. About half way through the morning we could feel the cool wind change, and suddenly the t shirt was just a tad on the cool side.

Remember that weather forecast earlier in the week? Well the freezing level has been lifting as the time drew nearer and this morning it looked like this for Ruapehu.

Today 1 May Issued at: 11:40am 1 May 2010
Cloudy periods with a few showers, especially this evening.
Wind at 1500 metres: Southerly 40 km/h developing this afternoon and rising to 60 km/h this evening.
Wind at 3000 metres: Westerly 60 km/h becoming southwest 40 km/h this afternoon.
Free air freezing Level: Lowering to 2000 metres this afternoon

So with the day cooling down up here I was curious to see what was actually happening down there!

Quote from a friend in Ohakune on the snowco forum.
"dusting of snow down to the bottom of the giant at turoa...out the window cam....may1"

... Woop Woop

Looking at the webcams, there were snow showers mid this afternoon. On the Turoa side it settled as low down as the Alpine Meadow (1600m) but then melted. The level of snow dusting my friend could see, from his kitchen in Ohakune, is about the same as the image below taken from the Wintergarden looking up the Boneyard run on Turoa. (so approx 1700m)

On the Whakapapa side there was a snow dusting round the level of the new Knoll Ridge Cafe (approx 2000m). Then it looked like it was dumping cos you could see snow falling on the chairlift terminal roof... so lets see what's on the ground tomorrow eh?

Anyway, this is all a bit OTT. It's just a mere start, and it's wishful thinking that we'll get a crazy storms and early openings like we did last May. (see my blog archive for May 2009 posts)... but I will wish anyway!

PS: The shopping today was a success too. After trying on many many pairs of gloves last year I finally found some that fit nicely over my wrist guards without having 2 or more cm of excess space in the fingertips. They are the Marmot "Work Glove", gortex with leather palms. Looks like I will be stealthing it with black hands this winter. The old blue and grey ones must retire.

Knoll Ridge Cafe

before and after (and I forgot about that mid March dusting!)

Just over a year ago, on the night of Friday the 13th of February 2009, some stupid person set fire to the Knoll Ridge Cafe, Waterfall Express Terminal, and the cat shed. While the 3 level Cafe and Cat Shed were written off due to the arson, the terminal for the chair luckily only suffered minor damage, and the season was able to resume without disruption to the Waterfall Express Chair, whew.

Remains of the Cat Shed (by Knoll T Bar) - 27/06/09

temporary single level Knoll Ridge facilities & Waterfall Express Chair terminal building (see fire damage) 27/06/09

A temporary cafe structure was built in time for Winter 09, so there were still basic facilities up there. Over the summer of 2009/2010 Ruapehu Alpine Lifts have been rebuilding a new cafe and shed in a new spot. We hoped to get up there in the weekend to check it out, but the lifts were closed due to strong winds. So here's the latest webcam image instead... and a link to the recent news piece on TV1. The new Cafe is just down the hill a bit from the old one, closer to the little ski school hut.

Tussock Traverse 30/01/2010

After we got back from the "Chill Tour" I decided it really was time I thought about getting back into some running. I used to run quite a bit. Not fast, nothing flash, just enough to keep me fit without joining the gym. This idea tends to fall by the wayside as the weekends are filled with snowboarding, and the weeks are spent doing washing, re-packing, sleeping, working and recovering!

I find it easier to train with some sort of goal, and with this in mind I looked for something to enter. There was no way I was going to be fit enough for The Goat, but heading back to the mountain in summer appealed and I knew there was something slightly easier I could enter, so I entered the Tussock Traverse.

At 27km it is longer than The Goat but there are no major river/stream crossings, it's slightly lower altitude, and more undulating slopes rather than steep sections, and the track is well formed and easy to navigate. (The event is also open to walkers) It starts off on the the other side of Ruapehu at the road to the Tukino ski field, onto the Round the Mountain Track, then over the Waihohonu Traverse, past the Tama Lakes (which you don't see, it's off on a track diversion), past the Tarankai Falls, and finish on the Chateau Golf Course at Whakapapa Village. WHEW.

Course Map

I have done this event once before in January 2008 at the start of my "training" for the Goat in December 2008. When I last did it we walked quite a bit cos it was rather HOT and also not long after I had a major break and 2 operations on my arm. We did it then in 4:40:52, so with the aim to run more (and train more) I wanted to complete it in 4 hours this time.

At the finish last time, with bung arm and puffy hand

The cool breeze at the start on the Tukino Road was mildly deceiving, at the 9.30 start it was already easily singlet weather. At 8.30am the walkers departed, then it was our turn to run UP the mountain road to where the Round the Mountain track dropped into a sandy and stoney valley floor with a desert scape as far as the eye could see. We ran towards Mt Ngauruhoe for a time, then onto the Waihohonu Traverse, with Ruapehu on our left and Ngauruhoe on our right. I remember walking here a lot last time, and this time the heat had well and truely caught up on me so I was walking once again. The landscape makes a bit of a change here, resembling a dry swamp with low scrub and various muddy and dry holes on the track. Some areas were being upgraded with boardwalks. But oh the heat, there seemed to be no breeze and no cloud above us and no shade to find. There was brief relief by scooping my hat in a freezing mountain stream, but plodding/walking was the best I could manage for a while.

I was beginning to think I wouldn't make my 4 hour goal. Walking a lot more than I would like... Somewhere near the other end of the saddle I managed to pick up my game a bit more. The early afternoon cloud was beginning to form over Whakapapa way, and oh my goodnes, there was even a small breeze. I was running a bit more now and at the Tama Lakes track junction my plod was more of a trot and people were starting to let me past. Then it was downhill towards the Taranaki falls. The steps have eroded away, so it was soft knees bouncing around either side of the track in the mini diversions that have been worn in.

When I hit the Taranaki falls area I knew exactly where I was and the closer I got to the finish the more I thought I might be able to make the 4 hours. There is some tree cover near the end here, but there is also a series of deceiving dips and steps where you think you are not far away from the Chateau, but there is actually a bit more than you think to go. The last 1km seemed to take the longest of the whole day. There was a very subtle uphill on a gravel track very near the end, but man oh man, I had to walk this bit too. It got to the point where I was calculating metres vs minutes left. As the subtle uphill became a subtle downhill I ran into the finish chute with about a minute to spare. (final time 3:58:32)

Competitors and supporters were all sprawled out on the lawn enjoying the hot hot sun. Dark rain clouds threatened. A beer and a bbq sausage were the order of the day, and a massage! Boy was a glad this was over! But a big smile on my face too. 3 months of training from not running much, to this, had paid off. The stupid hills around my house, paid off. The not pigging out and drinking heaps over Christmas and New Year cos I had long training runs to do, paid off.

Next? Not sure! Watch this space I guess...

Course Profile

start line Tukino Road

Dropping into the Round the Mountain track

Ruapehu, and the face in the snow

Desert

Finish!!

you are a (mountain) goat!

The Goat 2009 - The Pinnicles @ Whakapapa through the mist

The Goat 2009 - race briefing

The Goat 2009 - start at Top of the Bruce, Whakapapa

The Goat 2009 - finish at Turoa carpark

"Have you goat what it takes?" is the question on everyone's lips at this time each year as they tackle The Goat alpine adventure run from Whakapapa ski field to Turoa ski field. The course is on a portion of the Round the Mountain track, around Ruapehu's lower western flanks. It starts on tarseal down the Bruce Road and quickly takes you through barren landscapes, low scrub, exposed ridges, freezing cold stream crossings, and up the cascades that tumble into the Mangaturuturu valley. "20km of hope and 1km of truth" (Mark Watson) culminates in the last tarseal push uphill on "Mama's Mile" to the finish at the Turoa carpark.

This was the 6th Goat, and my 5th working on the event and it just gets better and better. Although it is early summer, at (average) 1500m altitude in a volcano sticking up in the middle of nowhere, the weather can really throw anything at you. We have had nice sunny race days and snowy freezing ones too. On Saturday, it was rain.

Working on the event crew you see some familiar faces year on year and I like talking to people to find out if they have done it before, would they do it again, that kind of thing... Last year I did it too! Having been out on the course myself (once walking for fun, and once running/walking on goat day) I can really appreciate what people are facing out on the course. Looking forward to working on next years event already. And would I do it again? Maybe! Below are some pics from a casual walk I did at the beginning of last year. "It doesn't goat any better than this."

Jan 2008 - the track

Jan 2008 - the track and a view to the west

Jan 2008 - Mangaturuturu Valley

Jan 2008 - the cascades, from the bottom

Jan 2008 - the start of "Mama's Mile" to Turoa

EXTREME Spring Days

After a week of very changeable weather, a high parked itself over the country and the sun fiercely came out and the wind finally dropped. Last Monday and Tuesday I headed out west at Whakapapa and rode my butt off, eeking out every possible minute of the day. There were minimal or no queues - this is what week day riding is all about! The snow was firm in the morning, but at about 10.30 or 11am it was as if someone flicked a switch and it softened... everywhere - spring riding goes off!

bluebirds - for 4 days straight!

Black Magic bowls - no one here

On the Wednesday and Thursday Ruapehu hosted the Export Extreme in the Pinnicles at Whakapapa. The top guys and girls were in town and heaps of locals had entered. I played support crew for Jordan Decker, our friendly ski patroller from Tukino. Back to defend his top placing in men's snowboard from last year, and he won again! Competitors had a precarious ascent up cut steps and ropes through the Elevator shaft above Broken Leg Gully, and then a high traverse across to the start line.  

Both days were held on Policeman's, making the Schuss House at Hut Flat the place to be to take in all the action. As spectators, there was really no escaping the sun down here. And there was the constant reminder to slip slop slap from the MC's on the mic. It was down to T shirts as the pasty guns came out, mismatched from the grubby goggle tans we now all had. It really was the perfect spot to hang out and catch all the action in the afternoon between runs.

Jordan taking a drop at Policeman's

Dazza from K2 and I - in the spectator area

(Photo Credit - Dodge)

Highlight videos of the event can be found as SnowTV - day one and day two. Check it out. (You can see Jordan and I skate past behind Lorraine at 5mins 54 of the second clip, all 2 seconds of it)

I reckon the best sunsets are the ones you see while driving in your car when it is impossible to take a picture! On Mon/Tues/Wed, while driving back to Ohakune, Taranaki was hugely magnified on the horizon under burning red skies. On Thursday night Taranaki left us and there was a hint in the sky of the cloud, drizzle and wind that was promised to arrive the next day. Sunday afternoon it cleared and early this week looks like ditto conditions on the hill. I only wish I was there and not back at work, gazing across the harbour at boats and the Sky Tower.... I think a "working lunch" at the beach might be in order today!

3 out of 3

On the drive down we heard on the radio that the severe storm alert/warning (or whatever it was) had lifted just as quickly as it was put in place - gotta love NZ weather!

If ever there was a day to say "if you weren't here you missed it" - it was Sunday at Whakapapa. I thought winter08 had some pretty epic powder days for our wee rock, but Sunday had to be the driest, softest, freshest I have ever been in. It was dumping while we were there too, and there's nothing quite like a big fresh layer of snow loading up your lap as you ride the chair.

Sunday on the Waterfall Express Chair

As hoped the upper mountain was all go for the first weekend of the holidays. On Sunday the Rock Garden was going off, Staircase was full, bypass round the Waterfall was all go, as was down the Waterfalls. Vis during the snowstorm was not the greatest, with soft landings all over that didn't matter. From the chair the only way we could tell the difference between skiers and boarders was the way their body was facing, as you couldn't see anything from their knees down.

RAL Snow School Instructor gets amongst it

The Waterfall T was open and this was where we stayed. There was no on or off trail, just snow! Even the trail markers were near buried. My friend did a flying squirrel at one point and her skis shot through the soft snow out of sight. Digging them out, we were up to our thighs in what can best be described as 'air' - and this was right by the T Bar line.

Monday we returned to Whakapapa, but unfortunately it had crusted over like vogels toast off trail. The sun was out and all the families had arrived for the school holidays. Te Heu Heu Valley was open so there more more groomed trails to spread around on. Add in our first day at Turoa and we got 3 out of 3 days, yay.

Monday - view up the Staircase

Monday - Valley T, ready to go

Saturday morning at Turoa