Words and pictures Peter Laurenson Saturday morning offered the best conditions of the weekend – ‘best’ being an overstatement as winds were strong and above 2,100m clag swirled. At least the quickly thinning snow was in good condition for cramponing. The small group I joined headed over to Whangehu Hut, in the hope of then climbing up to Pyramid Peak. The conditions prevented that, but it was nice to check out 8-12 bunk (4 double or, if you’re feeling amorous, triple bunks) Whangehu Hut. Some spectacular lenticular clouds also made for some nice mountain photography. Others checked out various rock climbing objectives - see page after next. By mid afternoon on Saturday the most conducive thing to do was hunker down in the ever more comfortable lodge (plenty of great upgrade work has been done in the past year) to drink red wine and eventually get into group discussions. On Sunday morning the weather had only worsened so, for most, it was time to head home. On Friday 15 November last year the ‘engine room’ of our Wellington Section (committee members and instructors) headed up the gravel road to the Tukino Alpine Sports Club (TASC) Lodge. We gathered there to explore the year that was and to make some plans for 2020. And hopefully to get in a bit of climbing in what was pretty scungy weather. This image - TASC Lodge at dawn on Saturday Above - at about 1,900m, with Cathedral Rocks (2,663m) above Below - heading back over the ridge, north of Whangehu Hut Above - Whangehu Hut (2,020m) Below - checking out some rock climbers at about 1,750m, SW of Tukino Jan Vymětal on Komakino (23) at the Wall of Sound, Tukino Photos this page - Derek Cheng
