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.
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
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
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 | [email protected] … Read more
The fight for the underbird – helping out on the Tin Range, Rakiura A week on the Tin Range Stewart Island helping the Department of Conservation rangers with predator control to protect one of NZ’s most endangered birds the southern dotterel. If you want to save a species or habitat it’s a fight for evermore. You can … Read more
Mt Ngāuruhoe – a different way to climb to the summit A hiking loop trip to the summit of Mt Ngāuruhoe via an ascent route that is different from that usually taken. Mt Ngāuruhoe is the second highest mountain in the Tongariro National Park at 2,291 m, and is either a rather cute and perfectly formed … Read more
Friday: We met at 4 pm at Wellington Train Station in the carpark by platform 9. After a 2 1/2 hr drive we arrived at Aorangi crossing carpark, Cape Palliser road. It took an easy-paced 1 hr 10 min hike along Mangatoetoe Stream to reach Mangatoetoe Hut -just as the light started to fade. This … Read more
The group assembled at Platform 10 (basically 9 ¾ for WTMC) for what would end up being a wet, but enjoyable, weekend in the Tararuas. The plan originally was to head to Winchcombe Biv. However, the weather forecast was not in our favour, with winds from 35-40km/h and gusts up to 100km/h predicted for Saturday … Read more