Volcanic Skiing

We made it to the ski slopes last weekend. P drove, which was wonderful. We left Friday night after work and got in just after 8pm, which isn't too bad really. We arrived to a wood cabin with the heater turned on waiting for us to arrive. The man at the rental shop (in the basement of our hotel- how convenient!) was very friendly and had P's bindings remounted by 7am the very next morning. He also had some tips on bringing physics into the teachings of road safety for me.

The room was full of character with the wooden walls and writing on the bunk beds, and the bathrooms were clean and had plenty of hot water. Much better than I was expecting for the price, better than I'd expect for a much higher price actually. I've already booked to return to the Skotel (not the best name, but a great place) for another ski weekend. You can't beat the location either- right on the mountain, 10 minutes from the slopes and in the volcanic hazard safety zone.

Ah yes! Volcanic hazards. I had almost forgotten that Mt Ruapehu is an active volcano, despite that being much of my motivation for buying ski passes- I mean how often does one get to ski down an active volcano? Upon arriving at the Skotel, and again at the slopes, it was impossible to forget. There are signs (like the one above) everywhere, as well is the "WHAT TO DO!!" tips on the poles of the ski lifts for you to read as you're riding up the mountain.

Don't worry though- Mt Ruapehu, and the neighboring Tongariro, are at the lowest level of activity a volcano can be at and still be considered 'active' and there are lots of scientific observations, measurements and precautions in place to give us warning and keep us safe.

Mt Ruapehu

Beautiful day for a ski

It is a bit of a bizarre landscape though. I suppose maybe the ground is warm, so snow doesn't seem to stick around except in the really high altitudes. It was weird to be staying only 10 minutes from the base lift, but have zero snow outside our front door. In fact, there wasn't even any snow in the parking lot. We didn't find snow until we were almost at the lifts! It was a beautiful sight to see from afar though- the snow topped mountains set in the barren moon-like landscape of the volcanic zone.

Downhill skiing- watch out for rocks!

They were making snow when we arrived, but you could still see the big boulders poking through on the sides of the open slopes. It's an interesting mountain to ski- the slopes are defined by the grooming and rocks only, no trees to guide you. So essentially, you have a wide open mountain from which to choose your favorite path down. It was really quite fun, if a bit icy. I actually felt like a real skier and managed to point my tips downhill, most of the time.

Mt Ngauruhoe

That is until I fell. P was just around the corner at the bottom of the slope waiting for me, not more than a hundred yards away but still out of sight. But he says from the way I described the fall that I must've done 6 sommersaults and 3 cart-wheels. It felt like I was falling for a good 20 seconds. I tried to stop myself from sliding down the hill at first, but then I just gave in to the fall and actually quite enjoyed falling down to the bottom of the mini hill. Luckily, I stole away with nothing more than a bruised inner lip. Turns out it was a good thing I didn't break any bones, as the nearest orthopedic surgeon on duty was all the way in Rotorua! (We discovered this at dinner whilst talking to the family next to us, whose 10 year old son had broken a bone and was currently at the hospital in Rotorua with mom.)

Southern Cross

When we got back to our Skotel lodge, we took advantage of being in the middle of nowhere to go out and see the stars. They were made even more vibrant by the nearly new moon. It was a bit chilly and we weren't dressed in our full ski gear, so I didn't last long, but P managed to get in a few good photos.

What a great first day back to skiing, and first day ever of volcanic skiing!!