Day 5 - Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Oct 31, 2008
The previous evening we got to the National Park at around 6 PM. The weather forecast said rain in the mornng, clearing later on in the day and winds at 50-60 kmph. It was going to be an interesting first ever serious trek for Rashmi.

Our bus for the trek was to leave at 7AM, We woke up early to pack our lunch and make breakfast. It was quite cold and the mountain was covered in thick clouds.

(The first shot of the volcano in the morning, covered in clouds)


Today's route would take us from the Mangatepopo end to the Ketetahi end a total distance of 19.4km to be completed in 8 hours. At the starting point at 8 am it was quite cold. We were at the point where we had have to stop worrying and start doing.

The initial path is generally flat, the track is clearly visible and is strewn with volcanic rocks. There are no views of the mountains due to the low hanging clouds, the place is filled with yellow brown grass. This cant be hard.


We reached soda springs , first mile stone and still on schedule. Still no views of anything, slight drizzle, lots of fog around.

The Devil's Staircase
From Soda springs to the South Crater it is a steep uphill climb, this section is known as the devil's staircase due to the steepness and difficulty. The rain is falling steadily, but not heavy, continues to be cold and we are breathing is getting heavy. We get the first view of isolated snow. We get to the south crater, still in good shape, on schedule. How do you know you are on schedule, well there are still other trampers with us, so we cant be too far off the mark, right??? There is a sign here which points to a 3 return side trip to the summit of Mt Ngauruhoe. May be some other day, Take a short break, eat and drink a bit and we chug on.


The South Crater
The south crater is covered in snow and when ever the fog clears, you can see the saddle on the far end of the crater. There is a beeline of trampers you can see across the crater. This area is tricky because the earth beneath your feet goes from, firm, to slushy to snow to thin ice.


The Mangatepopo Saddle
It is a steep climb up to the saddle from the crater. From here there is a big contrast between the weather behind and ahead of you, behind you the path you have just covered is still foggy while ahead of you are these clear blue skies. The 2 photos below should give you the idea. At this point the track is exposed to the wind,and the wind is threateningly stiff, the forecast had predicted winds at 50-60 kmph at this point. One of the trampers pack cover was "gone with the wind". The wind makes walking difficult. Twice Rashmi holds onto me to avoid being blown off the mountain. The narrow saddle adds to your woes, at places you cannot place even one foot on the track. Our main focus at this time is getting out of there. The wind chill was phenomenal, within a few moments of exposure to the wind, my hands would go totally numb, I wasn't able to operate my camera to take snaps. This section last for about 30 mins, and once past this difficult section you are at the red crater, the highest point on the track.




The Red Crater to the Emerald Lakes
The Emerald lakes are the half way point on the track, now that we had reached the highest point on the track, it was all going to be easy since it would be down hill. You couldn't be more wrong!!!! From here onwards it was sunny and beautiful weather. The path from the red crater to the emerald lakes is a steep downhill climb, and the ground is loose mud. No grip, no clear path and the track continues to be narrow. This part takes a toll on your knees. You get beautiful views of the emerald lakes. There are 3 of them but we could see only 2 since the other was still covered by ice. We make it down to the lakes and sit down for our lunch.





The Blue lake and back
From the emerald lakes you walk across another plain before you get to the blue lake. The blue lake can be seen from the red crater, how ever due to the ice, you dont get to see the whole lake in all its splendor. By now we are running tight on time and our next goal is the Ketathi hut by 2PM and we are on track to get there on time. Shortly after the blue lake the snow walk ends and you are now descending down the mountain on the other side to get to the end. With the sky clearing you get to see some beautiful views of Lake Rotoairia and Lake Taupo at the horizon. From our first sighting of the Ketatahi hut to the road end we take 5 hours to go down the mountain. Rashmi has a blister. We get to the road end 45 minutes after 4, we are the last people out, but glad to have completed it in one piece