Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club
Enjoying the great outdoors since 1947
Seven keen alpinists departed the railway station on Friday, chasing a stunning forecast promising bluebird conditions on Ruapehu. After a cosy night in the well-appointed WTMC lodge, the group made early progress up the hut ridge in the golden light of dawn. Wispy cloud and rays of light played about Ngauruhoe and surrounds. Some truly … Read more
I had not done the Tongariro Northern Circuit for many years so signed up for this tramp when it was advertised. Dan was the leader but unfortunately he had to pull out a few days before we left due to blisters that he had developed on a tramp to the Kaweka range. Luckily Dan had … Read more
The weather forecast promised one day of good weather over the long weekend, and when combined with the fact that only the very upper parts of the mountain had skiable snow, the families group opted to do the day walk to Tama Lakes. Only one of the adults had made the trip before, and that … Read more
We have passed the first group of school holidays with a good turn out of families staying at the lodge over the two-week period. Unfortunately, only the lower mountain was open for skiing due to the poor covering of snow on the upper mountain. Happy valley was open most days for skiing and the Rangatira … Read more
So you think skiing at Ruapehu is a bit of a hassle. A lengthy drive to the WTMC Lodge, sharing bunkrooms with noisy (or not noisy enough) others, cooking, cleaning and the other odd jobs that are actually just part of lodge life are all too much for you? Well, if so, then you don’t … Read more
The mountain has had more sprinklings of snow indicating that things up there are getting cooler along with the days getting shorter. The lift operator is flat out making snow in the Happy Valley beginners’ area which will be open from Queens Birthday weekend. Our Summer rates apply over Queens Birthday. We can only open … Read more
The mountain is continuing to provide good weather and the gondola is now operating again after a short maintenance break. Ruapehu Alpine Lifts are completing work on the lifts so here is hoping all is up and running for winter this season. At our last meeting we decided that we would not increase our accommodation … Read more
The weather on the mountain seems to have settled a bit giving favourable conditions for those who will be staying at our lodge. The volcanic hazard level has returned to level 1 which means that all can visit the top of the mountain. This is a fantastic option at this time of the year when … Read more
The weather seems to have settled a bit on the mountain after weeks of wet weather since Labour weekend. But now just to spoil things, the maunga is now at volcanic alert level 2, which means that a visit to the top is no longer an option until a drop to level 1. I had … Read more
The ski season is now finished for the year. RAL (the ski field operator) were intending to run for a couple of weeks beyond Labour weekend but a significant loss of snow put an end to that. The Covid situation has made it a highly disruptive time for the lodge, but luckily a recovery was … Read more