WILD WINTER
One winter, when I set out to climb and hopefully ski Mt Ruapehu’s 11 summit peaks, another interest intervened and I began tracing the history of the naming conventions on my favourite mountain.
Which are summit peaks? It depends on who you talk to, and which topo map you look at. For me, it was Tahurangi (2797m), Te Ataahua (2757m), Paretetaitonga (2751m), Te Heuheu (2732m), Tukino Peak (2720m), Dome (2672m), Cathedral Rocks (2663m), Pyramid Peak (2645m), Glacier Knob (2642m), Girdlestone (2658m), and Ringatoto (2591m). However, some climbers reckon you should also count L Peak (2580m), a wee tooth next to Pyramid Peak that is not named or marked on the topo map, and the Clocktower (2480m), a rocky outcrop on the ridge separating the Whangaehu Glacier from the Mangatoetoenui Glacier – which I dismissed as utter folly. Eleven peaks would do. I hadn’t been anywhere near eight of them. It would suit nicely for a winter project.
Dome was theLake. It mostly flies under the radar, with minimal noise on topo maps until indicated as a peak proper on the 1989 map.
