WTMC – 75 years of the Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club A brief history of the first 75 years of the Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club A 3-minute history of the WTMC The WTMC is now a grown up 75 year old. Sir Ed would have asked if this is somehow more significant than 74 … Read more
A WTMC ski trip to Mt Ruapehu Labour Weekend 1948 An entertaining account of a 1948 ski trip to Mt Ruapehu in a broken-down bus, stormy weather, and very little skiing
WTMC Ruapehu Lodge Staying at the WTMC Ruapehu Lodge Staying at one of the 50 or so club lodges on the northern slopes of Mt Ruapehu is a unique mountain experience. The lodges offer comfortable, social, alpine-style accommodation. They are managed by club members, mostly for club members but also cater for non-members, and are … Read more
With only a few weeks notice, I proposed a week long trip to Arthur’s Pass to get some time on the snow. The plan was simple – climb some of the many easy peaks as day trips and come back to the village each night and stay warm and cosy. Organising the trip was also … Read more
Boo Boo Hut the Toaroha and Diedrichs Range bear hunt A 9 day hiking loop trip through the spectacular mountain scenery in the Toaroha and Diedrichs Range area of the West Coast of South Island. #BearHunt Clue: A sleepover at the home of Yogi Bear’s friend. Back in April 2020 during lockdown, some naughty teddy … Read more
Mt Owen – and some thoughts on trundling* A 3 day hike to the summit of Mt Owen via Bulmer Lake in Kahurangi National Park. *Ref “The Art, History And Ethics Of Trundling” Below me, Tony jumped as a rock went whizzing past him at head height, missing him by a few inches. He looked up … Read more
Maitland Pass –with a llama and bananas A 4 day hiking loop trip crossing over Maitland Pass in the Ruataniwha Conservation Park passing a llama and bananas Listen: “We thought the llama would be carrying your packs!” I laughed at what seemed like a good joke from some mountain bikers we had bumped into in the … Read more
Friday (Road end to Powell Hut – 2h 45min) As we hopped into the van with the EM group on Friday, the vision for the trip was clear: there would be pizzas. How we would justify it as a club trip and what the tramping would actually involve was not as clear, however… The trip … Read more
Jam Hut – Seaward Kaikoura Range A tramping trip in the Seaward Kaikoura Range to visit Jam Hut via George Saddle If you are not sure of your route in a boulder field on the way to or from Jam Hut, always pick the left stream branch. I chose the one on the … Read more
Westies Hut (with chocolate streams and marshmallows) It started with Tony, Jamie and I jumping into a helicopter to fly to Westies Hut as a bit of a treat. We had decided to make it a bit more epic by flying in and then just walking out since the track was an out and back … Read more