Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club
Enjoying the great outdoors since 1947
With the demise of RAL there must be something to talk about with a positive theme. I’ll try the weather. When there is little snow on the mountain there tends to be better weather. When there is plenty of snow on the mountain there is less skiing. After returning from two weeks on the mountain … Read more
We have just returned from three days up at the lodge where two of the days were ‘bluebird’ days. We also had some Alpine Club members join us which helped fill the lodge. Despite appearances on the webcams the upper mountain has plenty of snow. Given the cold temperatures RAL has been snowmaking onto the … Read more
The mountain gods have spoken. There will be no covid problems this season, the mountain will not erupt, and the snow will continue to fall at night with intermittent periods of sunshine during the day. Car parking will be free for all if there is space. The start of the season has had an early … Read more
Our lodge has had a reasonable amount of use over summer although a bit disappointing as there could have been a lot more use and as one passerby said it looked a bit forlorn all locked up with no activity. This time of the year there has been some superb weather on the mountain as … Read more
As once described by Queen Elizabeth it has been an annus horribilis for the year. Not just this year but for a second year in a row. Trying to keep the financial situation is proving to be a headache. Although we were open during part of the ski season, we suffered the loss of income … Read more
So the ski season has ended for RAL on Labour Day. Given that there was still plenty of upper mountain snow under normal conditions the lifts would have continued to operate for a bit longer but nothing is normal this year or indeed last. The summer program for the Gondola and Cafeteria will commence on … Read more
The mountain has had a few sprinklings of snow indicating that things up there are gettingcooler along with the days getting shorter. Reflecting on this time last year things were a bit nerve wracking with a close down of thecountry and not knowing what the future would bring for the lodge. We can move into … Read more
So the snow is falling and topping up unwanted slots, rocks and crevices. Pretty much on cue as it tends to fall during the first week of the school holidays. LiftsRAL, the lift operator, has advised which lifts will and will not be operating this season. There will be limited lifts operating due to many … Read more