Tongariro Out-and-Back

This started out as a fanciful notion before the Rotorua Marathon that maybe we'd give the 50km Tongariro Northern Circuit a nudge just 3 days after the marathon. But we were both tired and our plans shifted several times until our intention was to head up the Mangatepopo Valley to Tongariro, do the summit, and then come back down the west ridge.

The weather in Turangi was wet, but at Mangatepopo it was warm and sunny with clear skies over the mountain. Having expected bad weather we both started in thermal tights, but by the start of the climb up to South Crater it was sufficiently warm that Heather decided to quickly change into something cooler.

 
 

We took the tourist route rather than the old Devil's Staircase up to South Crater. As we had lunch up on South Crater we watched a bit of cloud start to drift over the crater rim, but all still looked ok. The temperature dropped a bit, so Heather put her thermal tights back on, and we both put warm tops on. It looked like there might be a bit of cloud as we made our way around the rim to the summit, but it didn't look like it would be anything too serious.

The short walk across the crater, and then we started the hike up the rim. The weather closed in rapidly as we climbed. By the time we reached the top visibility was down to about 50m, and we needed to put on our raincoats, gloves, and beanies because of the cold wind.

In storm gear, but back down out of the wind.

The wind grew stronger as we walked around the rim, and after only about 200m the wind was so strong and cold that it was time to put on our waterproof overtrou as well. As it started to rain we quickly decided that the better course of action was to go back. Down at South Crater we were largely out of the wind, and the rain had stopped, but the cloud was still low and visibility much reduced. Without the familiar landmarks it seemed that we were in a completely different place.

Looking down at South Crater in the clear

Less than an hour later, back down in South Crater.

A short way down from South Crater it was sunny and warm again so we took off all our storm gear. Clouds threatened in the distance, but we were able to make it back to the car without any more rain. For a while we walked along talking to a guide who was guiding two Singaporean clients across the Crossing, and we also ran some of the flatter sections.

A good decision not to try the Northern Circuit - our legs were far too tired for that. And a good decision to turn back when we did. All in all a very pleasant day, with for the most part good weather, only a small amount of weather drama but the gear to cope with it, and good company.