Hello!

This is the final event in a series of trips and social outings in the Greywacke series. These have been trips & social events that have featured both members of the Geology Society and Tramping Club. I personally have never been to Tutuwai Hut. But from I what I can gleam, this an easy-medium trip, with a long (7hrs) but relativley flat walk in. It follows along a similar path that we used to walk into Bushball, excpet we just keep walking past Smiths Creek Shelter. As this is a collab event, and I want to leave room for GEOLSOC members I will ensure we have a pretty fair ratio of GEOLSOC members to VUWTC members. This is a normal overnighter so bring all the gear you normally would, and as it is winter you must remember to bring some warm attire!

If there are enough drivers we can increase numbers!

This is an 18+ trip as we plan to indulge in mulled wine

❄️MIDWINTER - Tongariro Four Craters Tour

Days: Saturday 22 Aug - Monday 24 Aug

Route plan: A day touring (or admiring from a distance) all four of the major volcanic craters, via Hardman's Ridge.

Note: We delayed this by a day to be Saturday-Monday

1. Day 1 - Saturday Morning. Meet at the Hunter carpark at 10am and drive to the Mangatepopo carpark. Stop in Ohakune for a late lunch. Walk 30 mins up to the Mangatepopo Hut. It's a serviced hut outside of Great Walk season that still needs to booked. ($25 per night)
2. Day 2 - Sunday. Start at 7am and head up Hardman's Ridge, towards Mt Tongariro, and descending into the central crater. Main difference this time is a slight adjustment to the route to make it easier. This particular route up Hardman's Ridge is considered to be the easiest ascent and non-technical, with the fewest aspects involved to help limit avalanche risk, and a gentler gradient by cutting north. We'll be avoiding the South Crater and likely only gazing at the Red Crater from a far:
   
   
3. Day 3 -  Monday. After an appropriately late morning start, we have options. We could explore the area, drive south to Whakapapa ski field to play in the snow, or head north to the Tokaanu hot pools. We'll aim to be back at Welly by night, stopping for dinner again where appropriate.

Backup days: This trip is fully weather and avalanche risk dependent, and we will delay to another weekend if the forecast 4-5 days out isn't looking good. TBD and will be communicated if necessary.  

Skill Requirements: This is a non-technical route but still proper alpine mountaineering terrain. Snowcraft experience (Or demonstrable alpine experience) is necessary. You will need to know safe traversal, self-arresting, and the basics of identifying avalanche danger and rescue. We'll do a self-arrest refresher when we get up to the snowline.

Fitness Requirements: Medium. Fairly long day, decent level of fitness needed - about 800m up/down, over half of which will be in snow. The Alpine area and upper reaches of Hardman's Ridge will have good snow cover this year. Weather and avalanche risk dependent, of course.

Gear: Overnight tramping gear, plus snow gear - sunglasses, waterproof coat and pants and gloves, stiff three-quarter shank boots or better. Lots of warm layers, the Red Crater is cold and we will have to layer up at top. Crampons, ice axes, and helmets can be borrowed from the club, possibly gaiters.

Food: Bring your own breakfasts and lunches, shared dinner groups are an option.

Cost: $50 for 2 nights at Mangatepopo, and whatever your share of gas is. Expect $100~, plus whatever your individual food costs are.

Overview:

This trip is meant to give members an introduction to the knots and rope skills needed for glacier travel and other alpine ventures. The focus will be on

1. Learning knots useful in an alpine environment
2. Learning haul systems for crevasse rescue

Kathleen and I will give demonstrations and overviews of both of the above. Then, we'll split into groups and practice the skills. There are two identical sessions posted in August.

If you want to get a little headstart, these are some of the knots we will be using. You don't need a rope to practice these, you can use any piece of string, ribbon, shoelace, etc. 

Who is this trip for:

This trip is open to anyone interested in learning the skills mentioned above. However, if you are planning to go on the later glacier skills course you must attend one of the two ropes practices. You are welcome, and encouraged to attend both for more practice and to help others learn. Please note that attending doesn't guarantee you a spot on the glacier skills course.

Where and when:

We'll be practicing at the Pirie Street Playground It is a 30 min walk from campus, or a short bus ride. We'll be starting at 5pm and going until 8 pm or so (depending on stoke). It's ok to show up late, just keep in mind you may not learn much if you show up 15 minutes before we wrap up.

What you need to bring:

• Headlamp
• Warm layers
• Snack
• Climbing harness (if you own)
• Locking carabiners and non-locking carabiners (if you own)
• Cordalette, slings (if you own)
• Rope to practice with (if you own)
• ATC, pulleys, progress capture devices (if you own)
• If you are interested in coming on the weekend glacier skills course, then please bring your boots (the requirements for this course will be slightly stricter than for snowcraft) 

Earlier this year I proclaimed the good news, that no longer should we rely on cars to go tramping, but we could instead use bikes and the train. Unfortunatly the train let us down, and just days before we set off it was changed to a bus-replacement. Perhaps we should of just driven cars.

Despite this setback, I still know deep down that two wheels are better than four. This time we will not rely on the clearly unreliable Masterton Line, and will instead travel on my favourite, and very trustworthy, Kāpiti Line. From there we will ride to the Kapakapanui road-end, and tramp to Renata hut. 

The plan:

• Early morning train from Wellington Station (there's lots of options and I haven't picked but it will be around 7am)
• Ride from Waikanae station to the Kapakapanui Track. (I will see about leaving our bikes at the neighbouring Ngātiawa River Monastery... or else we can lock them to a tree somewhere deeper in the bush)
• Tramp via Kapakapanui (the peak) and down via Maymorn Juction to arrive at Renata Hut (about a 12km walk with a bigish climb at the start)
• Eat and be merry
• Sleep
• Wake up
• Tramp out a different way - turning left at the Maymorn Juction, following that trail down for a while, and then turning off down a gentle spur for a bit of bush-bashing back to the road-end. (See map below)
• Ride back to Waikanae (maybe get dinner out in waikane if people are keen)
• Take the train home

For kai, you will need to bring your own breakfast (1), lunches (2) and snacks (lots). Dinner will be divided between packs on the train. 

A full gear list will be sent out to those going closer to the time. 

This trip is a MF (medium-fit) trip, as it will likely be a long day, and we will need to keep moving at a moderate pace to avoid too much dark tramping given the shorter winter days. Those who sign up should be up for a trip which will include:

• Multiple river crossings (the Ngātiawa river can get quite full quite fast so weather is important in this case)
• Off-track navigation
• Two long days
• Biking (we will just wear our packs as it is only ~10km, so no special equipment is needed other than a bike and helmet)

We are running a hopefully snowy trip to Howletts Hut and Sawtooth Ridge. Along the way we'd like to bag some higher 1600m peaks around the area to try get some good snow. Howllets' Hut is the highest hut in the range so it would be a cool hut to see some great views.

If the weather plays nice this tramp will be slightly difficult as we can't stay in tarn bivvy with more than probably 4 people so please be confident in tramping in some more rugged terrain for 6+ hours.

Snowcraft experience is a must as this is technically an alpine trip regardless of weather we get heaps of snow or not. A head for heights would also be recommended as some of the terrain on Sawtooth Ridge can be quite exposed especially in the snow:)

Here is the route-

 Day 1 Kashmir Road - Howllets Hut

Day 2 Howletts Hut up Tiraha and across Sawtooth ridge, back via black ridge down to Daphne Hut.

Day 3 Back to Kashmir Road.

The second day is open to change depending on weather and how the group is feeling. There are heaps of cool routes around the area so there will be some cool tramping on the day.

Join us on a chill overnighter trip to Powell Hut! This is a beginner friendly trip :)

When: Thursday 20th - Friday 21st of August

Where: We will walk into Powell hut from the Holdsworth Road end via the Gentle Annie Track. On day 2 we will walk up to the top of Mt Holdsworth, and down the east Holdsworth track and back out to Holdsworth Road.

Cost: The trip fee covers fuel. Please go and purchase your own ticket for Powell Hut from the doc website: Powell Hut: Tararua Forest Park, Wairarapa region. Tickets are $25.

Plan: 

Thursday 20th

• 8:30am - meet at hunter carpark
• 9am - Leave hunter carpark. 1 hour 40min drive to Holdsworth campsite
• 11am - arrive at the road end and get going. 4 hours to powell. Plenty of time to stop for snacks.
• 4-4:30pm arrive at powell hut

Friday 21st

• 8:30am - Walk to the top of Holdsworth. About 1 hour-ish?
• Walk down east holdsworth track. 4-ish hours walking out
• 3-4pm latest we get out to holdsworth road end 
• Drive back to welly. Might stop for dinner or a yummy post tramp snack 
• 6pm latest - Arrive back in Welly. This is if we really faff, we might be back earlier.

What to bring:

• 1x dinner. 1x breakfast. 2 x lunches. Plenty of snacks.

• Pack + Pack liner/drybags

• Raincoat

• Headtorch + spare batteries

• Boots + socks

• Shorts + teeshirt not cotton

• Fleece/wool jumper not cotton

• Thermal top and bottom

• Warm hat, gloves and neck gaiter

• Sunhat + sunscreen

• 1L+ water bottle

• Personal first aid kit

• Toilet paper + hand sanitizer

• Sleeping bag

•  Sleeping mat

•  Hut clothes optional

• Toothbrush + toiletries

•  Bowl, mug and cutlery

• Lots of warm clothes!

• Any cooking equipment you might need

Route:

We're going to Waitewaewae Hut! It's about an hour drive from Wellington to the Otaki Forks campsite, and then a 6 hour walk to the hut. Please arrive at least half an hour before the start time so that we have enough time to do any last-minute sorting. 

Waitewaewae Hut info

Gear:

Standard overnight stuff; refer to this link for more information (https://www.vuwtc.org.nz/resources/gear-list.) Definitely bring a pot/cooker and a tent if you have them and can fit them without creating an overtly heavy pack. If you need to borrow gear, please ask at least a few days in advance.

Food:

Have breakfast on Saturday before arriving at Kelburn. Please bring 1 breakfast, 2 lunches, 1 dinner, snacks and drinks, and some emergency food in case we get delayed. Regarding drinks, please bring cans and plastic only, no glass.

Costs (besides the base trip cost):

- Hut payment ($15 for a blue DOC hut ticket, which can be bought at outdoor stores such as Bivouac, Macpac, and Kathmandu.) You can also use the DOC hut pass, or camp for free.

An ongoing collaboration with Karori Kaitiaki at Birdwood Reserve. We will be helping to restore a steep Gully of native bush in the reserve, and clearing Kaiwharawhara stream of Tradescandia. This is an important site for Karori Kaitiaki, as it's the home of the future Birdwood Reserve track. It's a super fun way to do some practical work outside that creates meaningful and visible change within the native ecology of our city. Come along and be part of the action!

Please bring gardening gloves, a water bottle and jacket, snacks and if possible a spade, shovel or rake. 

Hope to see you there!

This meeting is a special. Part of it will be presented by members Kathleen Griffin and Anton Afanassiev.
They'll be talking about glaciers, and glacier travel - a skillset we're hoping to build up in the club. This presentation
will be somewhat of a preview of an upcoming peer-instructed glacier skills course. Some topics covered may include:

• What is a glacier (how do they form, move).
• What are the dangers on a glacier (crevasses, snow bridges, bergschrunds, etc...).
•  A short overview of glacier travel techniques to mitigate risks.
•  Some tools and strategies to plan a glacier trip (and other trips) such as Copernicus, mapping techniques, etc...

I recommend coming! 

Got a pile of clothes with holes, loose buttons, or seams giving up on life? Bring 'em! We're getting together for a few hours to sit, stitch, and hang out in good company 😊

No-one is an expert!! This is just a chance to learn a few new techniques or ways to mend with each other to promote fixing our things rather than replacing them.

Bring

• Your own mending materials (needles, thread, patches, fabric)
• The items you want to mend
• Something small to share for a potluck

Time:

5 – 7pm

Thursday 13^th

See you there!!

Ran this trip last sem. It was alot of fun, although this time itll prolly be a bunch colder, but thats no reason not to go!!

No cap on this trip, its serviced by a bus. Which means all it costs is a bus fare! This is a pretty chill day tramp, although your feet do get quite cold!

Plan: 

• We will all meet at 8:25 at Courtney Place Stop A. From there we will catch the 83 all the way to Eastbourne and get off at Muritai/ Kowhai Rd Stop in Eastbourne, 
• Follow route along gollans stream from the map below.
• catch 83 back from Kowhai road or the Ferry from days bay. Depends how we are feeling (also they serve gelato at a cafe at the roadend)

Gear Required:

• Warm clothes. Think puffer jackets, thermals, and fleece pull overs. It will be cold and you will get wet, so prepare accordingly.
• Wet weather gear. Raincoat and optional to have rainpants.
• Suitable footwear; I wore trail runnners last time. So something like that if you have it. But also boots work. Just don't show up in reebok white sneakers.
• Food. Bring lunch and snacks. That should be all you need.
• Water - bring about 1.5 litres.

If you have any questions then please contact me

Welcome to Wednesday Climbing Nights!

Want to try indoor climbing for the first time, or meet some like-minded climbers? Come along to our weekly climb nights! We climb at Hangdog (Bouldering & Top roping) in Lower Hutt, and Faultline (Bouldering) on Willis St.

This week, we'll be climbing at Faultline, which is a bouldering gym. This means no ropes/harnesses and no belaying. There are grades for every level of experience, so no matter how much climbing experience you have you’ll have plenty to get stuck into!

IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME CLIMBING AT FAULTLINE, SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE (https://www.wellingtonclimbing.co.nz/first_visit_fl/) AND SIGN THE ONLINE WAIVER BEFORE WE LEAVE FOR THE GYM!

This week: Faultline

Schedule:

• Sign up! (even if you are meeting us down there)
• Meet outside the VUWSA building at 5:00pm to walk down together or outside Faultline at 5:20 p.m.
• CLIMB!
• You can leave whenever you like (we usually finish up around 7:30-8:00 p.m) and return home independently.

Entry costs: $15 + $3 for shoes

This is not paid for through the club—there is no piking fee if you pull out. Pay at Faultline when we arrive.

To get the VUWTC entry price, just let the front desk know you are with VUWTC. Our discounted price is only from 5:30 pm onwards on Wednesdays.

See you there :)