Millennium Sunrise on Mt Ruapehu

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Millennium Sunrise on Mt Ruapehu Roger Cole My son Max and Iflew into. Auckland with the intention of taking part in the millennium overnight orienteering competition in Taranaki. Jenny and Ralph Jorgensen, however, persuaded us the place to see in the auspicious dawn was on top of Mt Ruapehu with a large contingent of Tongue and Meats (some of whom were the hard men I would remember from yesteryear). e drove to the Club Lodge to meet Jenny After having eaten we opened the whiskey and W at the appointed time. Some of the old managed to pass iti into the other tent where it resided crew was there Pete Goodwin, Murray for a while and we could hear Ralph getting much Brown, Noel Thomas but time seemed to have happier about his surroundings. We set the watch taken its toll and there they stood equipped onlywith alarm for a quarter to midnight. The wind was their fold-up chairs, crates of beer, and knotted howling and the tent flapping SO much that you handkerchiefs to keep the expected UV rays from couldn'thear the alarm, but then again we couldn't their bald patches. sleep either. At midnight we shouted out to make Unfortunately the Club's real hard man, Allen contact with the others and all in our own way sang Higgins, had apparently wimped out, choosing to "Auld Lang Syne" or at least the few words of it that go on some salub trip down in the Olivines instead. we knew. Then resetting our alarm for 4am when The weather forecast wasn'tany good, and as most the sunrise should be with us we got our heads back of the punters had brought no tents or winter gear deep into our sleeping bags. they weren't in a position to head for the summit. At 4am the weather was no better and it was some We didn't like the idea of another ten trampers in time before it seemed to get even slightly light. It was our two-man tents. The coupe de grace was when at this point that we noticed the light, such as it was, they heard the chairlift wouldn'tl be running and they coming in through holes in thet tent where it had been would actually have to walk to the top. thrashed against the blocks of lava we had used to So we were down to just the four oft us. As Jenny holdit down. Max andIquickly breakfasted and got started upwards she noticed that the chairlift was the tent down whilst there was still some of it left. running, and shouted back to Max and Ralph still at Then standing in the gale we told Ralph of our thel hut. It was taking a few people to the NZAChut, intention to head down. There was then frantic SO wel hopped on, saying the password Alpine Club" movement as Jenny and Ralph packed up at speed and were taken up the first stage, and at no charge. whilst we tried not to get hypothermia. As we walked higher we met people escaping from Apart from my glasses misting up and me shouting the top saying the weather was) définitely getting upwards into the gloom for a lost Jenny who at the worse. Undaunt nted, we continued onand at one point time could still see me, and then who later passed us Ralph found thes steepest slopehe could and assured all at speediwhilst on her back, the descent to the us we would be better to go straight up this than Club Lodge was accomplished without) problem. We follow the easy angle track where everyone else didn't expect to see anybodyupyet back at theLodge appeared to have gone. He was spot-on and we but they were, now well into their crates ofbeera and arrived on the plateau without at tentins sight. Wes set watching a portable TVof thel high jinks around the thel bearing that was to bethe directionoft the sunrise globe. It certainly looked like better weather in thei next morning, and ploughed onacross the snow. London in winter than in NZ in summer! We reached the other side onlyto find the wind As we dried out we realised why Jenny's pack whistling through a gap int the summit ridge. Ifwe had been SO enormous as she took out Christmas moved out of the wind we wouldn' tbe able to see crackers, champagne, flute glasses etc. So we had the first seconds of the sunrise and as we didn't want ourbelated celebrationsint thel Lodge andwondered anybody in NZ to see it first, we headed back across ifour effort and discomfort had been worthwhile. the plateau. We found a position sheltered by a low ButIthink it was important that the Club did have rock wall but with a clear view: ahead - welli it would representatives on their mountain for the unique have been ifi it weren' 'tfor the clouds. Byi now it was second millennium dawn. Let'sh hope the weather is 6pm and getting windier, colder and wetter. We better for the next millennium and the mountain is pitched our tentsi in the worsening conditions. still there for Tongue and Meats to enjoy. Tramping and Mountaineering 2000