Check out the latest news and trips reports below or view the archives using the menu on the left. If you want to know more about the newsletter including submitting stories, see Newsletter>Publication Details. To learn more about the club, check the top menu. Some links will take you to the old website, but content will eventually move to this site.
Kia ora, We haven’t had a club newsletter for a few months, so this will be a bumper issue ‘from the committee’! Grab a cuppa and settle in to hear what’s been going on across the club. This article provides updates from each of our committee portfolios and a look at what’s coming up over … Read more
Private trip organised by Lynsey. Lynsey and Jamie did the trip in a clockwise direction, Tiffany did the trip in an anticlockwise direction Summary of logistics, route and top tips This was a mostly off-track tramp into a remote alpine area that skirts the Olivine Wilderness Ledge. There are a variety of terrains to negotiate, … Read more
On Friday evening the five of us met at the traditional WTMC meet up point at Wellington Train Station for a weekend getaway to Ruahine Forest Park, located in Hawke’s Bay. We were joined by the Medium-Fit group, who were travelling in the van with us. Our group was a mix of new and more … Read more
WTMC Ruapehu Lodge – its survival may depend on your help Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL) who has run the skifield at Whakapapa for 60 years is in Liquidation and Receivership. If no buyer can be found before the 2025 ski season it is very likely that all skifield infrastructure will be removed from the mountain and … Read more
We met at Wellington Train Station at 6:30 am on a sunny Saturday and piled into the club van. After dropping off the Medium group at Poads Road, we carried on up to the Managahao Top No 1 Reservoir dam. I was a bit nervous about driving the van, but had been reassured by others … Read more
It was timely that the Wilderness magazine had an article on negotiating scree, given that our descent from Te Atuaoparapara peak involved just that! We left Wellington train station at 5.30 pm on Friday and arrived at the road end (North Block road) at around 9.30 pm. It was then a 10 min walk to … Read more
WTMC Ruapehu Summer Lodge – and the remarkable Unnamed Glacier The smallest glacier on Mt Ruapehu is the most unusual – it is possibly the only glacier in New Zealand not melting away. And it is relatively easy to get to from the WTMC Ruapehu Lodge. There are nine named glaciers on Mt Ruapehu, including … Read more
We had an extraordinary number of sign-ups for the Aorangi Crossing trip, originally graded Medium, which was very encouraging to see. We were keen to accommodate as many trampers as possible, as the club had signed up to support the Federated Mountain Clubs (FMC) ‘Love our Huts’ campaign (unbeknown to those who had signed up). … Read more
Mt Ruapehu accommodation – the WTMC Summer Lodge at Whakapapa skifield The Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering club owns and runs a lodge at the Whakapapa skifield that will be open for public accommodation during 29 December 2024 to 12 January 2025, and is ideal ‘backpacker type’ accommodation near Mt Ruapehu. More people visit Tongariro in summer … Read more
Kia ora, This month is a short update from the Chief Guide on the new trip fee structure that the club will be trialling from 1 December 2024 onwards, a look at some of the club’s efforts to support the FMC’s ‘Love our Huts’ campaign, and a few notices. Ngā mihi, Sara H | chiefguide@wtmc.org.nz … Read more
Ōtaki Forks temporary walking access A guide to DOC’s Emergency Access Track that provides a walking track to Ōtaki Forks bypassing the slip at Blue Bluff that has closed the road, and notes that the road will be reopened sometime in 2025. Note: (updated 23 January 2025) Note: (updated 18 December 2024) As of 21 … Read more