Mt Paretetaitonga - Ruapehu

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MT. PARETETAITONGA - RUAPEHU. To those who feel that the North Island can offer nothing in the way of serious mountaineering the follo' ing article may be of some consolation. Withi.Johm-RohmBobinson I loft the T.".C. Hut at 10a.n. bound for the summit of Ruapehu. Avoiding sundry W.T.M.C. bods zooning around on ski belor Delta Ridge ve struck uphill kicking steps on a good, hard crust. The Delta Ridge finishes on a 100 foot bluff and we dropped off a little before this to glissade down to half way up the Whakapapa Glacier. The serious business of plugging began and continued here, right to the head in very soft snow. The steps stamped by Johnnie were ankle deep but my 13 stone found me breaking through to the knees. Some skiers behind me were taking advantage of my hard labours. Arriving at the Crater at 12 o'clock we were met with soft, loose, fresh snow. It was cold, so cold that the fresh snow had not packed or crusted, leaving it a knee deep field of fine 1 Tumler snow, almost iike sugar. After a quick snack we carried on around towards the main peak - our objective. There is a small col on the arete of Paretetaitonga and we received a shook when we looked over this and saw advancing a bank of menacing yellow cloud - Snow, We had previously seem this bank of cloud practically envelop Mt. Egmont, but by the speed it had arrived on Ruepahu we seemed to be in for it. Rather than not get our peak we put on the and struck up the arete of 11: Parey". The wind started. rope The loose snow from all around the peaks of the crater belched into plumes of pisnow - a magnificent sight.

Johnnie led, cutting steps occasionally, to bring us under the final ice capo I moved slowly behind hin, ready to instantly anchor and belay. Thw wind drove ail the step cutting refuse into my face. The tinkle of scampering ice was sweet music though, We found a sheltered spot and donned cranpons ready for the steep summit wall. It was starting to snow, The hand I had on the steel head of my ice axe showed signs of freezing. I took off my two pairs of mitts and found that two fingers were badly frostbitten. Away again we inched our way up the ice wall. I belayed Johnnie as he alternately cut and pulled himself up by the pick wedged in small niches. The peak was ours at 1.45 but no time to stop as the snow was starting to drive hard. I led, following along and down the ridge parallel with the Whakapapa Glacier t till we were halted by a series of ice bluffs 20 feet high. I belayed Johnnie down, we crossed the rope over an ice hummock and then he lowered me to his feet leaving us ready for the next obstacle, Unorthodox technique - but effective. We hit the top of the Whakapapgland the vand.stoppedionut heavy snor started to fall. Visibility was nil and we appeared to be walking in a cloud with a hard floor I everything a vhite swirling mass. We looked for our previous steps or for ski tracks but by now they were buried. The snor drove into our eyes, clogged our goggles, balled up on our crampons, but speed was the order and we didn't stop. Johnnie remarked that he hoped we were not heading back down into the crater. I got the compass out and found that we weren't. From the Donne a ridge flanks the Glacier and we made across tovards it to avoid the ice fields to the West. Down we went into the murk, hoping I the tenseness of the situation gripping us. Suddenly the cloud broke, in front of us was the "Staircase" and the R.S.C. Hut in the distance. We looked at one another and laughed. The tension was over. We were shett thed in half an inch of snow and ice. Johnnie's red socks had more dags of ice than a merino sheep. We arrived back at the hut at 5p.m. and assured everyone that it was a good climb. George Thompson. (Still without beard.)