Ringatoto via Mitre
31 July & 1 August 2004
Story by Mike Peat
Photos by David Eaton and Tom Wilson
On the weekend of 31st July - 1st August, David Eaton, Sam Newton, Tom Wilson, Yibai He and Mike Peat headed into the remote south eastern side of Mt. Ruapehu. After stopping in Taihape for the customary espresso, we headed into the Karioi Forest in two 4WD vehicles on Friday night. The last couple of kilometres of the drive was very rough going over tussock and alpine scrub to the bush edge where we camped beside the vehicles.
We had about 5cm of new snow overnight, and it continued to snow all day as we made our way up the 7km long Tufa Spur through ever deepening snow. About midday we found a comfortable wind scoop below point 2096 where we decided to luncheon and then dig a snow cave. Snow conditions for caving were excellent and within 3hrs we had excavated luxurious accommodations. The remainder of Saturday revolved principally around eating and melting snow for numerous brews.
We made an alpine start on Sunday getting away from the cave just before daybreak with a full moon to guide our way. Dawn came perfect, calm and clear as we cramponed across the broad saddle to the toe of the east ridge of Mitre. The Wahianoa and Whangaehu gorges on either side of the ridge were still dark and forbidding, but our ridge rose steeply before us bathed in the peachy glow of the rising sun. The summit 500m above beckoned, but three tricky looking steps and a couple of gendarmes in the lower section of the ridge barred our way to the easier ground above. Heavy rain during the week had stabilised the snow-pack, and a good overnight freeze ensured perfect cramponing conditions so we elected to climb un-roped. We discovered the route as we climbed, turning each of the difficulties by traversing out onto the faces on either side of the ridge and up exposed 45deg gullies. The crux was a 10m step at about 60deg. We celebrated the summit with the usual handshakes and photos, had a quick morning tea and then set off down before conditions warmed up. The descent went smoothly, with just one abseil required at the crux and by lunch we were back at our cave. Our grotto was still in the icy shade of a bluff which encouraged a brief lunch before packing and heading down.
After eighteen years of mountaineering on Ruapehu and seven years thinking about the Tufa Spur, thanks to the rest of the team for making the climb so memorable when at last we got up Ruapehu’s best ridge.