Day One: Snow, Snow and Blizzard
August 15th, 2008 by Brad HeapOkay. So I did manage to get up at 4am and get on the road by 4.20am.
Admittedly it was a struggle to stay awake until some light appeared at 6am, and the torrential rain heading south was not much fun. But it lifted around 2 hours into the trip.
I got to National Park village at 8.45am. This was a little later then I hoped for but I had to travel slow through the rain and play it safe. The really freaky thing was the snow on the road at National Park. The following photo is taken heading to Ruapheu just a little after National Park. Note: This photo is of a state highway. NOT the mountain road.
Once I got to Wakapapa Village I had chains fitted to my car.
As you can see from the following photo they were certainly needed:
On the chains I had to travel up the mountain at 30kmh max. This meant that the trip to the Top of the Bruce took close to an hour. I managed to get my tickets and gear at 9.40am, and got onto the snow at 10am, a whole hour after I had planned.
Because the weather was bad the upper mountain facilities were closed. Therefore I decided to get an intermediate lesson. I was fortunate enough to be the only one interested in this lesson so ended up with an hour of private tuition!
The lesson lasted until 11am, when they closed all but the Happy Valley beginners area of the mountain.
The amount of snow on the area (Rockgarden) where the lesson was had was amazing. The snow was so thick that it was a stuggle to see where the slopes and paths were and where the rest of the mountain was. However, this didn’t matter too much as there is a 3m snow base! The depth of snow was so impressive that on some slopes you sunk about ankle deep in fresh snow despite being on skis.
The weather was terrible on the day. But that didn’t matter too much. I have been in worse tramping. It was around -2, 50kmh wind or so (so very very cold wind chill at least -10), and visibility at 50 - 100m.
My car at the end of the day. Frozen.
My car was very nice and warm. Not.
Brad after a day on the mountain. My new goggles and overpants rocked.
Yes there is a building under all that snow.
Coming down the mountain there it was almost torrential snow. Quite fun. But a little scary at the same time. Especially as my chains had been taken off when this shot was taken. Look at the snow on top of the jeep in front.
After the day I stayed at Miro Lodge in Ohakune. Which was alright. I was a little disappointed not to wake to snow in Ohakune in the morning. And next time I would love to take someone else. You get bored by yourself after a while.
