Skiing in August?

Skiing in August? Well naturally in the southern hemisphere it is possible! So far this year New Zealand has had quite a good start to their ski season, which began roughly one month ago, though I quickly learned that it is more than just the opening dates which are different about kiwi ski resorts. The lodging situation and the snow conditions are also unique. Lodging at the Whakapapa side of Mount Ruapehu is focused on a few club huts, one of the nicest of course belonging to the University of Auckland Snowsports Club (UASC). The UASC cabin comfortably lodges around thirty people in bunk style accommodation with a massive living/recreation room and a centerpiece wood burning stove. The club also provided our transport to the mountain, which consisted of two vans full of pumped (read boisterous) students, and a trailer filled to the brim with gear (thanks to Rotarian Paul Monk for letting me borrow his jacket & ski pants which kept me toasty warm all weekend). Due to heavy traffic leaving Auckland and the physical constraints of an Asian van loaded with 12 bodies, our speed peaked at around 90 km/h and getting to the mountain took a solid 6 hours.

When we arrived at around midnight on Friday the weather was not promising, blowing a highly inconsistent mixture of snow and rain, which proved bitterly chilling. Saturday morning only proved worse—horizontal rain. Most of the skiers (myself included) decided to wait it out. We spent the day in the lodge making friends and swapping stories. The sun cast brightly through the windows when we woke up Sunday morning. In record speed I managed to get dressed, eat, buy a lift ticket (84 NZD = approx 55 USD), hire rental gear and make it up the mountain just as they were opening up the quad. The first few runs were glorious and the snow felt like spring corn. The experience of skiing on active volcano, with igneous rocks jutting out all around you is quite impressive. For all the Lord of the Rings fans out there, Mount Ruapehu is what director Stephen Jackson chose for Mount Doom in the film). I managed a few black-diamond off-piste runs before the clouds moved in again, around noon, and reduced visibility to a stone’s throw at times. Most skiers gave up and called it a day, but a few of my intrepid friends and I stuck it out and skied till 4 PM, when the cumulative effective of the wind beating pellets of snow and hail on our faces for hours, minimal visibility, and deteriorating snow conditions forced us in. After cleaning up the lodge and fixing a flat tire, we were ready for the return trip to Auckland in which my travel speakers blasting out a continuous stream of Bon Jovi, Chili Peppers, and Dave Matthews Band saved the day.

Even though the aggregate weather was sub-prime, the camaraderie of the trip was excellent and I consider myself lucky to have been afforded this spectacular opportunity. After all—how many people do get to ski in August?

(Pictures courtesy of fellow UASC member Tucker Bowe)