Ruapehu Ski Week

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KUAPEHU SKI WEEK. July 16 - 23rde We must have looked a queer lot sitting round the table in the Hutt Valley's Hut, some 5,000 ft. up Ruapehu. Sleeping bags up to our necks, wearing hats and two or three pairs of socks, we were playing 500. It was our first night in the hut, Sunday, and we were mighty cold. Snowing outside and snow lying on the floor inside. Things were getting desperate. Our food had not come up from the Chateau on Saturday afternoon as we had expected and STARVATION was leering at us. That night the ten of us shivered in six bunks. Snow filtered in under the eaves and drifted over the sleepers (Railway? - Ed.) in the top bunks. Monday morning we shouldered our packs and waltzed off down to the Chateau. It was a real blizzard by now. We had a tail wind but the trip was by no neans pleasant. Inside the Chateau Garage we ripped open our casos and tore into a tin of biscuits. Through the window we could see tourists in the centrally heated Chateau dining room toying with their roast pork and trimmings... With most of the stores in our packs we lurched off in the Special Mountain Vehicle. The bulldozer and grader wallahs, - bless them, were busy ripping the surface off the part of the road which was already clear. Some two miles up we wore dumped out into the blizzard. We lean into the wind and start the slog uphill. The snow stings our faces like windblown sand. If there is any small gap between parka and face the snow blows right in. Cold, miserable, tired. Leave your snowglasses on and they steam upo Take them off and your eyeballs are blasted with driving snow. Salt Hut. Full of snow. We pluck icicles off one another's faces. The prizo goes to Barrie. with a one-inch icicle on the end of his nose. We wander off the road, flounder in the drifts, but finally H. V. Hut looms up in the dusk. Inside, snow drifts down from the eaves. The stove is almost outo We put on more clothes. That night the ten of us slept in four bunks. Tuesday morning, 11.20: Half of us are still in bedo Occasional sunshine, but still rather windy. Someone over is crashing away doing the breakfast dishes. Barrie is chipping snow off the drying racks and rafters and clearing it off the top bunks. We did a little ski-ing that day, but it was still rather windy. Viv broke one of her boards on the Yankee Slalomo A run down to Salt produced bruises and scratched skis but no stores. Wednesday morning. Viv went down to the Ski Hut, supported by Pam and Les. When she asked for a new pair or skis she was referred from one man to another, till she came face to face with Walter. She said to him in effect, "How the hell do you expect me to ski in these rotten things?" Viv came back, minus 10.0, with a beautiful new pair of laminated skis. Only a woman could do it.

While Barrie and Denis were sweating over the stove, the other men wandered down to Salt (on foot this time), and glory be - the rest of our stores were there. Diary note. "After tea. The lot of us are scattered round the hut in states of helpless satisfaction. Barrie and Denis really put on a neal = hot roast, six vegetables, fruit salad. For the first night since we arrived the hut is really warm and no snow is inside. Earlier, three men actually took off their shirts and washed. Dés is mixing up a steam pudding for tomorrow night's dinner. A beautiful night - should be good tomorrow." Thursday. Ten lipsticked and sun-lotioned folk took their lunches and skis up to Crater except the girls who left their skis at the Alpine Hut. taROAuES for a cold wind on the tops it was a perfect day. We sat below the north face of Paretetaitonga and had lunch - and then - a glorious, uninterrupted (Disputedo a Ed. Sub-comm.) run down to the Alpine Hut. Apart from one of my skis coming adrift and soaring unhurt over a total of three cliffs the run down was uneventful. We played switchbacks over a corrugated piece of ground at the Alpine Hut, then some of us came down via the Staircaseo Friday - the perfect day. The sun was hot and the breeze almost wasn't there. Denis, Dave, Stan, Hori and I ambled up to the crater in 27 hours again. Once more a beautiful run down to the Alpine Iato These two trips certainly left their mark on our ski-ing. Saturday morning. "Fine and sunny with a few light cirrus coming in from the north-west. The weather must break soon. There seem to be dozeis of folk wandering up the ridge east of the huto Denis is lying on the verandah writing up the hut log; Barrie is sunning his stomach,rending." It seemed a pity to drag ourselves away and up to thé Alpine Hut where the rest of the men were. The girls were sporting on the slope west of the hut. There was quite a crowd up at the hut but the snow was goodo We made a slalom course with our ski sticks and quite surprised ourselves with our progress over the week, but Stan was the only one who could get through with any consis tency. We va tched the clouds rolling in from the west, about 1,000 feet below us. Most of Sunday was spent in packing and cleaning up. We wandered down into the mist, down to the ski hut. Some army types were ski-ing and trying to steer to the left by vigorously poling on the right. We watched them with the complacency of "advanced skiers". Down at the Chateau we built up a fire in the social hut. After a rather frugal meal early in the evening some others came in. Amongst ourselves we discussed our consuming hunger and bewailed the fact that we had not eaten for a week. Some of our guests pricked up their ears and rushed across with donations of food.

Stan and Des stopped behind at the Chateau to join Walter's mountain staff for the rest of the season. Back in Wellington it was cold and windy. We were late for work. XXXX Just for those on the trip! Do you remember... Des, putting on his parka and picking up his ice-axe: "I think we should petition the Hutt Valley to build a tunnel out to the wee hoose."? The risk you were running when you cracked a corny joke - and Pam had a mouthful of food? Going out into the blizzard to fill the billies from the tank? Eki-ing down ine icy road to Salt to get the stores - which weren't there? Those marathon chess games? XXXX On the trip were:- Denis Allison (Leader), Stan Kinder, Des Manning, Pam Skelton, Graeme Hall, Dave Barrie O'Donnell, Les Clendon, Viv Clendon and Laurie Loxclen. L. Ho : o