Snow Club - September Ruapehu trip
Massey University Albany Snow Club (MUASC) (2020/R4)
On the 25th of September the MUASC set off for a trip to Mt Ruapehu, our second trip for the snow season of 2020! We stayed at Alpine Motel & Backpackers Lodge in Ohakune (on the Turoa side of the mountain).
The van went
down at 4am on Friday morning with the hopes of getting an extra day on the mountain
but it closed due to poor weather conditions. Regardless, we had our traditional
Maccas stop, this time by Bombay instead of Otorohanga for a snack and some
coffee. We unpacked, did some food shopping and then all got in the spa and had
some bonding time. A few of the boys decided it was too hot in the spa and made
a dash down the road to a local river to cool off which everyone found
entertaining. We all made dinner together and hang out, talking, playing card
games before getting an early night.
We woke up
Saturday morning and got ready for the snow. The weather started off pretty good
but by 10.45am the wind had picked up enough that they had to close Turoa. That
didn’t stop us though, went drove to Whakapapa and continued shredding despite
low visibility conditions!
On the
Saturday night we went down to the Powder keg bar to see another EDM type performance
and have a few games of pool.
On Sunday the
weather the packed in again and both ski fields were closed so we had a slower morning
than usual, packed up and started the drive home early.
The trip was
successful and despite unideal weather conditions, everyone seemed to have a lot
of fun.
As we applied
for a grant from the ASA and it was approved, the costs of travel and accommodation
was greatly reduced. We were also lucky enough to be able to use the ASAs van,
meaning it was far easier to get everyone down to the snow. We are very
grateful for the committee approving the grant, and for the ASAs help in
getting us down there.
Unfortunately
we decided to cancel our third and final snow trip due to quickly deteriorating
conditions.
Thanks for a
great year and for all your support. Hopefully next year is bigger and better!