No Fixed Abode: Mt Taranaki - the climb up lonely mountain.

Sat 19 Dec 2015 - Mt Taranaki

The forecast for today was 'fine' but with wind chill at the summit to -5 deg C so we packed plenty of spare clothes and ate a hearty breakfast - a bit too hearty in Glenn's case.

On arrival at the visitor centre the sun was shining and the snow capped mountain was glistening against a bright blue sky. It looked very inviting and not that far away (it is only 4.5 miles but with 1600m of ascent).

We set off in the warm sunshine and immediately began climbing up a wide track, which was steep in places, and wound steadily up the mountainside to a radio mast then deteriorated into a broken footpath to a private hut owned by the local alpine club. We stopped for a bite to eat and admired the views. Clear bands of vegetation could be seen around the mountain at different altitudes, like contour lines, intersected by gulleys that became small canyons through the bush lower down. Very strange to see flat ground all around this isolated viewpoint.

With some of the weight from our rucksacs gone we set off up a rocky valley, one of many in the mountainside eroded by the draining water, and met some of the first loose ground - much more of that ahead. The exit from the head of the valley was up some steep, rather precarious looking wooden staircases installed by the park, that seemed to go on forever.

Once off the stairs we hit the band of scoria (loose rocks and sand) that we had been dreading - with good cause it transpired. This was a long, rather soul destroying stage of the climb that drained the energy and the spirit. The band of rock, known as The Lizard, we were heading for never seemed to get any closer.

At the base of The Lizard we stopped for food, realising this final scramble would bring us to the crater entrance. The forecast had been for 30mph winds at the summit and park wardens and some descending climbers warned us of snow and ice so we were unsure how far up we'd be able to get but we packed our walking poles away and set off using hands and feet on the sharp rocks.

With the winds much lighter than forecast and only the occasional whirl of cloud breaking the sunshine it was hot gruelling work and almost finished Yvonne but she stuck to it and was relieved to be informed by a descending Japanese guy that the summit was only 20 mins away.

The Lizard peters out into a thin ledge that works along and above a large cutting in the crater lip, presumably where the lava flowed out. When we got there we could see others in the the crater snow so Glenn investigated the access and found the snow soft enough to kick steps into so we too worked our way down the short slope and into the sun softened snow. We plodded through ankle deep snow, getting plenty in the tops of our boots, working our way to a small col in the opposite side of the crater lip hoping for views from the other side but when we got there the mountain extended further out obstructing the view down. Tiredness, snow filled boots and an ominous looking cloud forming around The Lizard encouraged us to start our our descent.

We scrambled down The Lizard in the late afternoon sun using a combination of hands, poles, feet and bottoms being overtaken by the youngsters that had been gallivanting in the crater with us. The scoria proved an easy descent to our tired legs, similar to the screes of Mt Ngauruhoe a few days ago, and we swiftly made it to the top of the wooden stairs. A brief stop to empty the stones and sand from our boots and it was onwards and downwards. The weary tramp home was steady with little conversation only interspersed by Yvonne stumbling and falling over a couple of times (An elderly Kiwi lady even offered to carry Yvonne's rucksack for her!) - both of us feeling the exertion of the day in our tired legs.

Once home a shower and meal restored our spirits and we reflected on a great, if arduous, day.