UKC

I'm walking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in Feb with two friends. I'm cool about it, but the friends though equally as experienced as I am have been spooked by tourist information/reports from people who haven't done it!

We are serious hill walkers with around 100 years experience between us who can manage things like Crib Goch in the rain.

Am I right to be laid back about Tongariro? I understand it to be a decent day walk on trails. I can churn out high mileage walks day after day e.g. GR20.

In reply to JaneCart:

You'll be aabsolutely fine in Feb. (I.e. likely good weather). Well marked paths, 100s of tourists to follow ----- can't really go wron! For a sslightly different experience --- I set off at midnight to watchthe sunrise at the summit --- pretty spectacula!
EEnjoy!

In reply to JaneCart:

Hi Jane

I did the Tongariro crossing in Feb 2012.

You don't say how many of you the "100 years" experience is divided between, but it sounds as though you have plenty. There's nothing as challenging as Crib Goch to worry about on the standard route.

You are likely to arrange transport to the start and from the end with one of the companies that organise this. It's the easiest way to do it. They only go when the conditions and weather are good enough, so you need to be prepared to delay a few days if you hit a spell of bad weather as I did. It's probably not a good idea to try the crossing if the transport companies are not going. I think the parties that have got into trouble have mostly ignored this advice. Snow is possible at any time of year.

With your experience you might want to consider the extra diversion to the summit of Ngauruhoe if the conditions permit. It adds an extra dimension and takes you away from the crowds for a while (though you're unlikely to be alone even there). However, do follow the advice about timings (ie when you must leave the summit of Ngauruhoe to be sure of completing the crossing in time for your transport connection). I'm fairly fit, but I was tiring towards the end of the day having taken in Ngauruhoe in the morning.

Hope that helps. Have a good trip!

Martin

In reply to JaneCart:

I did the crossing twice in Summer and Autumn 2010. It is a great day walk (except for the hundreds of other people there when the busses run).

The tour info stuff about it is directed at the thousands of non-outdoorsy types that do it each year. In a similar way to the big tourist places in the UK, they have lots of needless rescues from badly equipped people. I'm pretty sure if you ask the tourist information in Bangor (if there is one) about the Pyg Track on Snowdon they'd warn you its a serious walk.

I haven't seen it in winter (would love to if I ever go back), but in February it'll be a very straightforward walk, with nothing on it as 'difficult' as Crib Goch. I'd be fairly laid back about it if you are a decent hill-walker and comfortable with the distance.

I would echo the recommendations about doing Ngauruhoe side-peak, well worth it. Plus you can then say that you have climbed Mount Doom. If you are used to long walks it shouldn't be a problem.

The companies that run the transport will not go if the forecast is bad. They will have a much lower threshold for cancelling than average UK hillwalkers though. The second time I did it we had 2 hire cars so were able to go on a day the companies all cancelled and it was much better without all the people around (although the gale-force winds and heavy rain dampened things down a bit).

In reply to JaneCart:
You'll be fine, you are quite right to be laid back about it. Its worth doing but can get crowded. One good option is to do it north to south, to avoid the crowds (most people go south to north). If you do that you probably need to stay at the Ketetahi hut 1 night, which has great views. Strongly recommend including Ngauruhoe, and if you are going north to south you could then drop down to the track by Tama Lakes.
If you have a car do not leave it at the car parks at either end, it will get broken into.

In reply to JaneCart:

I did it with my (now) wife in March 2004, and can only really echo what others have said - it's a very spectacular walk, it's well worth including the diversion up Ngauruhoe, and the only real difficulty is pronouncing the name of said volcano.

It's well worth doing despite the crowds.

In reply to JaneCart:

its easy and pretty scenic, are you planning on going to the summit?

In reply to JaneCart:

Hi Jane,

Did the Northern Circuit, which includes most of the crossing, earlier this year. We had some pretty poor weather from the Emerald Lakes onwards, but wasn't an issue as properly prepared. It's a fantastic walk, and as long as you're prepared with waterproofs and maybe a headtorch if the forecast is really bad, you'll be absolutely fine.

In reply to JaneCart:

We did it in April this year. Enjoyed traditional 'Scottish' weather. Would like to do it again and actually see it. Smelt the sulphur though.

The shuttle bus system works well; leave your car at the end and get the bus to the start; takes away any pressure to finish at the end of the day.

In reply to JaneCart:

We did some of it a few years ago, an out and back walk rather than right through. It seemed pretty straightforward to me if you are an experienced hillwalker.

The DOC in NZ tend to give rather over cautious advice to trampers (as they call walkers), and I can't blame them as all manner of numpties go off into the hills without a clue. A good bet is to get onto their website and study the maps, that will give you a good idea of what is to come, but bear in mind 1000s of people do it so there's well worn paths etc.

Map link, but it can be a bit slow/wonky http://maps.doc.govt.nz/mapviewer/index.html?viewer=dto