Club Trips

Re: There's no caving like snow caving...

craig — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:09:56 GMT

Just a reminder to everyone.

COME ALONG TO THE MEETING TONIGHT

You will get to see an excelent presentation on the clubs history and you will be able to find out more about this weekends trips

See you there

Craig

Re: There's no caving like snow caving...

Kieran — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:11:52 GMT

At this stage the weather is looking rather poor this weekend as well, so we probably won't be snowcaving - I suggest you come on AIC II instead! Its the weekend after (21-22 August) and will have lots of fun snowy stuff like learning how to use ice axe and crampons, and (for the more advanced people) ropes, anchors, etc. There may be an option to snowcave or camp up on the mountain if conditions permit. More info to follow...

Re: There's no caving like snow caving...

HarryW — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 02:40:44 GMT

Any Idea what weekend this has been postponed to?

Re: There's no caving like snow caving...

Kieran — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 21:05:56 GMT

We'll try for this another weekend, as the weather looks rather crud... and Ruapehu is pretty miserable in the rain/snow/gales :) Have emailed those who signed up.

Re: There's no caving like snow caving...

HarryW — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:09:53 GMT

Even though the 5 day national forecast looks terrible the mountain-specific one doesnt look too bad :) http://metservice.com/skifields/whakapapa

Re: There's no caving like snow caving...

Kieran — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:28:47 GMT

And just a heads up for people - the weather forecast is looking quite a bit worse than it was, so there's a chance the trip may get postponed to another weekend (building snow caves in gale winds, rain and blizzards = not so fun). Will make a call on Thursday and email those who have signed up. In the case that it doesn't run this weekend there would probably be an alternative tramp somewhere for those that are keen...

Re: There's no caving like snow caving...

Kieran — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 23:49:11 GMT

Oh and you can sign up for the trip electronically now here http://vuwtc.org.nz/cs/content/TripSignUp.aspx - or fill it in at the meeting tonight. Please let me know by Wednesday at the latest if you're interested.

Re: There's no caving like snow caving...

Kieran — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:32:47 GMT

Oh yeah, and the weather does look quite awesome on Friday at the moment (though don't be surprised if that changes). So just wondering if anyone else might be keen to take a day off work or uni and go up a day early for skiing? Would leave Thursday night if so...

And generally for snow caving if you have a season pass bring it along, you will make lots of friends by ferrying packs up on the lifts and get to ski/board down in between! :) If you're planning on bringing skis/board let me know though so we can try get you in a car with a roof rack.

There's no caving like snow caving...

Kieran — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:26:59 GMT

Hey all,

This weekend 6-8 August is the snow caving trip on Mt Ruapehu! The plan is to drive up Friday night, camp somewhere pretty close to the mountain (or stay in a shelter) and head up through the skifield early on Saturday so we can spend the afternoon digging... ideally this would be around the summit regions, but if the weather looks like it might crap out it will be further down the mountain. After a night in the snow cave we will either go for a walk around the summit area or hightail it back down the mountain, again depending on the weather...

There will be an opportunity for those that haven't used crampons and ice axe to learn these vital winter tramping skills, but you need to be suitably equipped - ie have full waterproofs (boots, gaiters, overtrousers, jacket, gloves) and a lot of warm clothes - down jackets are great, or lots of jerseys/fleece plus the usual thermal base layers... see this page for a fairly comprehensive list of the sort of stuff you will need. Also important is a warm sleeping bag and a sleeping mat - a cheap foam roll is fine, as long as it is reasonably thick (7-10mm).

The club doesn't have much in the way of personal gear so if you don't have it you'll need to do your best to beg, borrow etc - we will however provide ice axes, crampons, snow shovels, cookers, pots - and tents (in case snow caves go pear shaped).

The cost will be around $50 to cover the transport up there, and we will be meeting at Hunter Carpark at 5pm on Friday. To sign up come to the meeting and put your name down on the list, or email me at patonomatic@gmail.com. Gear and safety considerations will put a limit on the number of people we can take so get in quick! You will then get divided up into groups with leaders, who you can direct any further questions to.

Cheers,

Kieran