Snow Club - Mt Ruapehu, Trip 3 & 4

MUA Snow Club (2022/R3)

Trip 3 (26-28 August 2022)

Our third Snow Weekend Away in 2022 went really well. We decided to take two cars as two of our members had to cancel at the last minute due to personal reasons. This made the drive slightly faster and much comfier! While we love the old ASA van, it is not the fastest or most comfortable to drive down to Ohakune for 5 hours. Once in Ohakune we were all very happy to unpack into our super comfy accommodation. Having an entire chalet to ourselves was very nice and we especially enjoyed putting a hot fire on and sitting chatting around the fireplace. While the weather predicted for the weekend was not the best, we were pleasantly surprised. On Friday night there was snow, so Saturday morning when we hit the slopes we were boarding on fresh snow! It was really soft and nice. Great for all levels of boarders and skiers. We had a lovely day on the slopes skiing Whakapapa side and met up for lunch. Saturday night on the way back to Ohakune we were all quite tired after the day on the snow and the hot Mountain Kebabs we picked up were a huge hit. We also found out that it was one of our members' birthdays on Saturday, so we decided to get some cake and drinks and have a little celebration after dinner. Once we had all eaten, we hit the hot tub for a well-deserved soak and then watched a snow movie. We all went to bed nice and early so as to get some rest for Sunday. On Sunday we packed everything up and spent the day on the mountain boarding before heading back to Auckland in the late afternoon. All and all it was a great trip, even better than the previous two!

Thank you again to the ASA and the CSCG Committee for helping us to organize and be able to do our winter weekend trips! We are very excited about our upcoming trips!

Check out our sweet videos and pics on our FB group in the 22 - Trip 3 Album - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.626268025776944&type=3

Trip 4 (9-11 September 2022)

MUASC’s Mt Ruapehu Trip #4 had some of the best snow we have ever seen on the mountain! It was awesome, we were falling into snow powder pockets hip-deep on Turoa on Saturday! All the members were amazed at the quality of the snow and had an absolute blast on Saturday. Even the poorer visibility on the mountain could not put a damper on our spirits! Once the mountain shut due to high winds, we headed back to the accommodation for a well-deserved soak in the hot-tub and some delicious Captain Kunes fish-n-chips! The crew got together to watch a snow movie in the evening after dinner and then most people went to bed, knackered after the great day on the snow. Sunday morning, we drove over to Whakapapa side as the Turoa side of the mountain was closed. The snow was still amazing, although the visibility was poor in the morning and the queues were quite long as everyone was on one side of the mountain with only 2 T-bars operating until 1pm when the Far-west T-bar opened up. We headed over there as soon as it opened and had the best time boarding down the fresh snow. As it was a more advanced area it was nice to be able to do the runs without having to dodge other boarders/skiers. We ended up spending the whole day on the mountain as usual, only leaving after 4pm when the last lift closed. Everyone was quite happy to jump in the van and try to catch a nap before eating dinner at Subway on the way back to Auckland. Overall, what an awesome weekend away, members were very appreciative.

Thank you again to the ASA and the CSCG Committee for helping us to organize and be able to do our winter weekend trips! We are very excited about our last upcoming trip!

Check out our sweet videos and pics on our MUASC FB group in the 22 – Trip 4 Album