Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club
enjoying the great outdoors since 1947
“And this is my snow saw,” said Nick, as he removed the gleaming blade from its holster. A strangely curved, unwieldy and yet hugely useful device for creating a snow cave, as I would find out later that weekend. Led by Nick H, we were a band of five who had gamely signed up for … Read more
The life of the WTMC Ruapehu Lodge custodian in summer is unfortunately one of making unending and excruciatingly stressful decisions. Especially if the twenty guests are Year 13 college students staying for a week. It all comes about because the students have been instructed by their school teachers to do without argument exactly as told … Read more
Are we on the right track? Our journey began with a traffic jam at Kaimanawa Road end. Being Labour Weekend, every man and his dog (literally – we were joined by a gorgeous kelpie) was out tramping. After a skillful 100 point turn, our shuttle driver deposited us at the beginning of the Umukarikari track. … Read more
19-21 Oct – Labour weekend special! 3-4 Nov – Cleaning party, please help. 9-11 Nov Ski Touring. 26 Dec to 4 Jan – Open Lodge, come stay. Lost property, is some of it yours?
As a city bloke through and through, who loves his cocktail bars and having a wealth of restaurants to dine at, I can’t quite put my finger on why I have a yearning to get exposed to the elements on a wind-ravaged hillside. Maybe getting out in the elements is my way of restoring balance … Read more
The weather is getting hotter and the music in the shops has changed to christmas carols – so it must be time for Open Lodge. What’s Open Lodge you ask? It means that you can drop in and stay at WTMC’s Ruapehu Lodge, no commitment or hassle, anytime from Christmas to early January. WTMC’s Ruapehu … Read more
Summer at the lodge is great! … 6-7 May, looking for Lodge working party sign-ups … 2017 rates announced, great discounts for families … Group bookings – take your club or youth group or school to the lodge … Lost property – are these your pants?
A full 24 of us piled into both vans to drive to the Lodge and scale Mt. Ruapehu, the highest peak on the North Island. We got there in time to catch the tail end of the “Tasman Tempest,” and thus were unable to ascend the peak. We did still, however, have a great weekend … Read more
The WTMC hosted the 2016 Bum Sliding Competition at Mt Ruapehu on Saturday 5 November. There was a large turnout of enthusiastic riders (5 total) and many spectators lined the courses to watch (3 total for the last 10 minutes). The weather was described as ‘atmospheric’, meaning mist, rain, snow, and wind in various combinations … Read more
