Mount Ngāuruhoe
Nov 12, 2022
to
Nov 13, 2022
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Nov 12, 2022

After spending several weeks trying to climb mountains in New Zealand, we finally found a weather window on Mount Ngāuruhoe. As a Lord Of The Rings fan, this was one of my main goals while in New Zealand to climb Mount Doom. The weather window was relatively small according to all the forecasts at 2-3 hours, but we both wanted to take the chance.

From the Mangatepopo car park, you can make the summit one day. Though due to the popularity of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, long-term parking is not allowed at the car park anymore.

Instead, A Shuttle is required to reach the trailhead. Since our weather window was early in the morning, there was no way to make the shuttle work, so we opted to take the Managtepopo Track to the hut, stay overnight, and get an alpine start.

We arrived late at the parking area for Whakapapa village and started walking as quickly as possible to limit walking in the dark

first section of mangatepopo track
start of mangetepopo track
elena on mangetepopo track
elena leading the way

The first bit of the trail was easy walking through some woods and into an open space. But the sky was heavily clouded over, and it was difficult to do much other than stare at our feet while we walked as quickly as possible. The first half went well, but the trail soon turned into a mixture of thick mud, wet brush, and puddles. We spent several hours navigating the track, and by the time we arrived at Mangatepopo Hut, we were soaked, muddy, and just wanted to eat and get some sleep before our early start.

mangatepopo track in the daylight
mangetepopo track in daylight
mangatepopo track mud patches
mangatepopo track mud patches
mangatepopo track mud pathces
mangatepopo track mud pathces

Despite it being only 9:00 pm, the hut was already dark, and everyone was sleeping, which we took to mean that everyone had a rough day on the muddy trail.

To try and make the sunrise at the top of Mount Ngāuruhoe, we set our alarm for 2:00 am.

Nov 13, 2022

While the huts had been a welcome part of New Zealand trails, they are not ideal for an alpine start. Waking up at 2 am in a room full of people, attempting to pack a bag quietly, and then climbing down from an upper bunk bed takes a fair amount of effort. Still, the equipped kitchen was a welcome accommodation for a warm meal.

By around 3:00 am were started up the Tongariro Alpine Crossing trail. I was overjoyed that when we left the hut, there were no clouds in the sky, and we could see Mount Doom (Ngāuruhoe) silhouetted in front of us against the night sky. The first bit of trail was well-groomed and easy to walk, which was a welcome change from the day before.

After around one hour, we arrived at the base of the scree field used to ascend Ngāuruhoe. By now, the first light of day was just creeping over the horizon, making it a little easier to see the climbing route.

view of sunrise from the scree field on ngāuruhoe
view of sunrise from ngāuruhoe
ngauruhoe mountain shadow
ngauruhoe mountain shadow
elena ascending the scree field on ngāuruhoe
elena ascending the scree field

Ascending the scree field is a nightmare. The pumice is deep and slides backward. Both of us were crawling on all fours to make progress. The hill reminded me of climbing Mount St Helens back in Washington, wading through ash and rock doing everything possible not to slide down further than you step up.

Luckily around halfway up the scree field, there is a small ridge to the climbers’ right that we used for ascending on more solid rock. Once on the ridge, the remaining section of the main ascent was smooth and relatively easy.

Upper ridge line on ngāuruhoe
Upper ridge line on ngāuruhoe
walking the summit ridge of mgāuruhoe
walking the summit ridge

The summit ridge was my favorite part of the climb. While walking, I could hear a bubbling sound from below the ground. It took me a moment to realize it, but it was the sound of groundwater boiling due to geothermal heat in the volcano. Combined with the steam pouring out of the ground, it made the whole place feel very doomy. I can see why Peter Jackson would choose this peak to represent evil in Lord of The Rings.

mount tongariro from the summit or ngāuruhoe
mount tongariro from ngāuruhoe
summit crater photo on ngāuruhoe
summit crater photo on ngāuruhoe
summit views from ngāuruhoe
summit views from ngāuruhoe
Mount Ruapehu from the summit
Mount Ruapehu from near the summit

After a brief stay near the top of the peak, we could see the predicted weather moving in and decided to head back down. We managed to make it back to the Tongariro Crossing track just as the summit of Ngāuruhoe got swallowed up by clouds and wind. After all the weekends of bad weather and avalanche conditions that kept us off other peaks, it felt relaxing to finally knock one more mountain off my life list of climbs.

ngauruhoe covered in clouds
ngauruhoe covered in clouds
scree field in the daylight
scree field in the daylight

While walking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing trail in the dark was a relaxing experience it was far less so in the daylight. The constant stream of human beings was hard to compete with on the narrow trail. I was overjoyed to make it back to the Mangatepopo hut for a rest and some food before heading back to the car.

tongariro alpine crossing trail
tongariro alpine crossing track
tongariro alpine crossing track
tongariro alpine crossing track
tongariro alpine crossing track
tongariro alpine crossing track

Though we could not stand on the summit of the Mountain out of respect for Māori traditional beliefs, it was quite the experience to climb Mount Ngāuruhoe. Now I get to tell people I have climbed Mount Doom.

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