#9 Mountains

There is a beautiful view of the mountains from Whakaipo Bay, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite spots. The mountains are one hour south of Taupo.

The peaks are three active volcanoes. They were cast as Mt Doom in Lord of the Rings. It rained the day before I took this picture. The mountains weren't nearly as snow capped a few days earlier.

The plateau-topped peak on the right is Mt Tongariro. There is a day trek across the mountain called Tongariro Crossing. I'll be doing that one soon. Mt Ngauruhoe has the classic conical shape that comes to mind when you think of a volcano. It was one of the world's most active volcanoes in the 20th century, but hasn't erupted since 1975. Mt Ruapehu is the dominant of the trio and is home to New Zealand's largest ski field. It's last major eruption was in 1995, followed by smaller eruptions in 2006/07. Ruapehu is currently at a level 1 warning (the highest alert), but it has been since 1997.

On our visit to Ruapehu we went to Whakapapa, the ski field on the northern slope.

Simon was going to the mountain to scope it out for a climbing assessment he has there. It will qualify him to be a climbing guide. I got to do some climbing while he tested his anchors on me. Lucky for me they held. I give him a pass.

I hope you know what you're doing with those carabiners.

Mead's Wall, where we climbed.

View from the top of the wall, looking toward Ngauruhoe.

The snowmelt creates a lot of waterfalls around Tongariro National Park. Summer is coming.

Heading back to Taupo.

In New Zealand it is legal to have an open container in your car. I'm not driving, remember the passenger is on the left.