Winter Tongariro Crossing Saturday 16 July
A winter day trip over the Tongariro Crossing, starting at Mangatepopo Road.
Saturday, 16 July 2016
We came to a stop on the Mangatepopo Road when the fire extinguisher on the shuttle bus suddenly went off
The track in to Mangatepopo Saddle
A Parawai salute in whiteout conditions
Karl tests the snow depth
The climb to Red Crater got a bit icy and tricky
The ridge above Red Crater (Red Crater on the right)
Descending to Emerald Lakes
A calmer spot down by the Emerald Lakes was a great place to relax for a few minutes
Central Crater on the left and one of the Emerald Lakes on the right
A strong smell of sulphur here
Rex and Carl with Central Crater in the background
Setting off across Central Crater
We experienced some wild conditions on the long descent from Blue Lake to Ketehahi Hut
Two ways of descending a snow slope
The anti-balling plates on Ting's crampons are working!
A good excuse for not fixing the hut?
Finally, we aren't the only living things on the mountain
Continuing blizzard below Ketetahi
Looking back, during one of the brief sunny spells