Feb, 2024
The one thing I knew for certain that I wanted to do in this country, the one thing I knew for certain was going to be a challenge, the one thing I knew was going to be absolutely epic: the tongariro alpine crossing. Almost 20 km, 850 m of elevation gain, up to around 2000 m above sea level, through different terrain along the crater of an active volcano. Turns out this will be the one thing about my trip to New Zealand that I will certainly never forget, the one thing I will remember like it was yesterday even in 100 years. Lucie and I were looking forward to this day. She had done it before and has told me how amazing it was. How insane the views were, and how physically challenging it was. If we had known before what was going to happen, we wouldn't have done it.
We arrived fairly late last night at night at our accommodation. It was a pretty early start, and all the adventures of the past two weeks were catching up with me. I felt sluggish, a bit sick, had a headache. I was uncertain if I could to this hike, but I was determined to at least try. I kept telling myself that there's no shame in turning back if I had to.
The shuttle bus picked us up at 7 am. The driver gave us a heads-up and told us everything we needed to know on the way to the trailhead, in typical kiwi fashion. "It's not a dangerous mountain. Just be aware of your own capabilities and you will be just fine." He said. "The weather forecast is looking really good. By the time you will be at the summit it should be sunny, 8-10 degrees, and winds of 20-40 km/h, so just a mere breeze.“ Lucie and I looked at each other, hyped for the hike, and excited about the pretty much perfect weather conditions. On our bus were a couple with a baby, some elderly people, some that seemed to be very seasoned hikers and some that wore jeans and tennis shoes.
At the trailhead I felt a little better, but far from good. We took it really slow, and the walking seemed to be good for me. As it always is, being outside in nature is simply the best cure. The first bit was flat and easy. As soon as the ascent started, some clouds rolled in and a light drizzle started. Lucie stopped for a second to put on her rain jacket. I told her I would just continue, as I was taking it slowly anyways, just like we had done on any other hike, we would always wait and catch up. Not in this case. Neither of us would have thought that this was the last time we saw each other for a while.
As i ascended farther up the mountain, the terrain started to become more and more rigid. Not technical, at least. My belly was feeling better, but still not good. I was walking slowly, and every now and again waited for Lucie, but it started to be pretty foggy and I couldn’t see her. The rain picked up, as did the wind, and i felt too cold standing around and waiting so I kept walking forwards slowly. More and more people started turning around, many of them looking like professional hikers. I kept pushing forward. I was on a flat bit, the fog was so thick i couldn’t see a single other person. I was quite enjoying it, actually.
When I turned the next corner, I was on the ridge of the crater. The winds kept picking up, the fog kept getting thicker. The trail was fairly wide, but it seemed to go down quite far on both sides of the ridge, and also pretty steep. My fingers were freezing cold. I had to keep walking until I could find a place to take shelter from the wind and wait for my friend.
It was on the ridge that people started struggling. Some seemed anxious. I was simply sad that I couldn't see the awesome views of the craters.
Not for long, though. Soon the wind became even stronger and more gusty. It makes sense, if you think about it. New Zealand is a tiny little country in the middle of the ocean. I was at around 2000 m of elevation, with no other mountains anywhere near this high around me for miles and miles and miles. I started getting a bit worried. I was unsure if this was safe. What happened to the weather forecast?
I kept making my way along the ridge. I turned around, but couldn’t see anyone. What I was enjoying such a short time ago, was making me really nervous now. A gust of wind hit me and threw me off balance. I was on my knees, still no other person in sight. I was in survival mode. Perhaps I should tell my family how much I loved them. The whatsapp will send as soon as they find my body and bring me back to civilisation. I saw a pole, one of these trail markers, maybe 5 m ahead. On my knees i tried crawling towards it. I wrapped my arms around it, like a monkey holding on to a branch. I looked back and still couldn’t see anyone. I didn’t know what has happened, what was going to happen, if I would make it. I was worried about Lucie. There was zero reception.
Then, a tap on the shoulder. I looked up. A young man smiled at me and asked if I was okay. I said I might be a little afraid. He said "ah, come on, it's just a little wind.", hooked his arm into mine, put his second hiking pole into my free arm and notched me in a way to say "let's go“. Now I had someone to look out for me, I was no longer alone in this, and I hoped that Lucie, too, found someone.
We struggled our way up the ridge, along the crater. "What an insane view, huh !“, he said jokingly, as we were staring into the endless white of the fog. We kept hearing helicopters in the distance. Were they on rescue missions?
And then came the bit that the driver told us was the only dangerous bit, the one we should look out and take slow. There were more people around, now, and many sat down on their butts and slid down the steep, sandy slope. We were still on the ridge, and the wind was still taking me off balance every now and again. The skies stared opening up a bit, only making me more anxious as I could finally see how far and steep the way down the crater was on both sides of the narrow ridge. My feet were slipping in the sand, and the wind wasn’t helping at all. I was nervous to trip and slide down into the poisonous crater lake, being boiled alive.
We made it down safely. We told each other our names and where we were from, and kept making jokes as we had the whole way down. However, I was getting more and more nervous about Lucie. Still no reception. He waited by my side, both of us waiting for a bright red rain jacket to appear in the fog. And then, there she was. I laughed like a child, so happy to know she was safe, waving my arm. As did the guy. I could see the confusion even from the distance. Those two people must be waiting for someone else, as I was supposed to be alone, and she turned around. Seeing that nobody waved back, she slowly came towards us. When she recognised me, she came over and laughed with us. We shared some oreos, some laughs, watched the people sliding down the slope, and said goodbye to our new friend. Lucie, too, told me that she found someone she could walk the scariest bit with.
Once we made it to the pick up point, we started realising what has actually happened. It was dangerous on this mountain. We overheard a bunch of different people saying they were afraid as well. On the bus, behind us sat two guys, around our age, that hiked by themselves and started a conversation on the bus. Even testosterone-filled men admitted to each other that they feared for their lives at some point.
Back at the accommodation, I asked the guy at reception if he knew how much wind there actually was. He said 2 hours ago the gusts were up to 70 km/h, at this time it wasn’t as bad anymore but he couldn’t see the data of the time we were up on the crater. "I have seen windy days on this mountain. Trust me, today wasn’t one of them".
At this point, Lucie and I just kept laughing at what happened. I found it hilarious how I was holding on to that pole. I kept seeing this image in my head, how this guy has found me and picked me up.
One thing i learned on that day: Heroes don’t wear capes. They wear bright green rain jackets and trail runners.
