Mt Ngauruhoe (2,291m) / Mt Tongariro (1,967m)

Well after several months of no climbing it was time to make up for it with two of the biggest combined into one trip.  My climbing partner on this trip was my good friend Kerryn Reardon.  We set off for national park for an overnight stay to ensure a very early start in the morning in order to complete these two peaks in the one day.

Mt Ngauruhoe

Mt Tongariro

We parked in the carpark at the Mangetepopo end of the Tongariro crossing track and headed towards the hut, about 20 min in.  At this stage the cloud was low but we were optimistic that it would lift later on, as I'm sure were the dozens of other people on the track.  After stoopping at the hut for a quick break we continued on the track, gradually getting higher and higher as we went. After a couple of hours we reached the turnoff and headed for the summit of Mt Ngauruhoe, whie most of the others carried on over the main route of the crossing.

Mt Ngauruhoe scree slope with Tongariro complex behind

This was a hard slog up a decent scree slope initially guided by poles.  Visability was still patchy so we climbed one pole at a time and reassessed.  Our climb continued, taking regular breaks to catch our breath and much on a snack.  Finally we broke out above the cloud to find a gorgeously clear blue sky and the sun shining.  A little further and a scramble up the lip of the crater, and passing some active steam vents, we found a spot on the crater edge for lunch.  Views of Mt Ruapehu peaked out from behind the crater rim and blue lake towards the far end of the crossing were visible between banks of cloud.

Mt Ruapehu peeking out from behind the crater rim of Mt Ngauruhoe

 After lunch and some photos we headed back oughly the same route we came up, only instead of the 3 1/2  hour slog to get to the top it was a very fast 3/4 hour scree slide down which was geat fun for the pair of us.  Back at the turnoff point we heaed right, back on the main crossing track and carried on our trek.  A brisk climb up red crater ensued, this is the highest point on the track and is where we decided to call it a day as the weather was rapidly closing in.  However not before taking in and getting some last minute photos of the expanse of the crater floor from the rim.  Finally as the wind really started to pick up we headed back down.

Retracing our steps all the way back down seemed to take forever but finally we rereached the hut for a well earned break.  From here it was a reltively short trip back to the car but it still felt like it would never end.

So, after ten hours fom start to finish we reached the car and headed home with the satisfaction of knowing we had bagged these two peaks in one hit.  For me this mission is almost complete with only a couple to go...heres to the next time...