Whakapapa Birthday Weekend!

Helen seconding the lean first pitch of 'Comfortably Numb' (making it a bit harder than in normal conditions) on Pink Floyd Buttress, The Pinnacles at Whakapapa.

Tim on a mixed arete of an alternative second pitch, a variation to the lack of ice and abundance of loose rock on the original second pitch.

Left: Coming down from the Pinnacles (Right: compared to when we were last here in June)

Sunset on Pink Floyd Buttress from the Ruapehu Hut.

The Ruapehu Hut, Mount Taranaki and the lowering sun.

Mount Ngauruhoe at sunset.

Helen climbing up the ski field just after dawn.

Leaving the ski field far behind...

Overlooking the summit plateau and Cathedral Rocks on Mount Ruapehu.

Climbing up to Glacier Knob via it's South Face.

View from Glacier Knob.

Skinning across the summit plateau towards Cathedral Rocks.

On the rimed up Cathedral Rocks.

Climbing up to Dome with Cathedral Rocks behind.

Crater Lake and Tahurangi beyond.

Helen in front of Tahurangi, Ruapehu's highest summit, the crater lake is hidden between.

Helen skiing down the Whangaehu Glacier.

Tim skiing down the glacier.

All important lunch at the bottom of the glacier.

Tim skinning back up the glacier.

Brithday party in the Ruapehu Hut.

Pancake preparation!

Pancakes, in the loosest definition of the word.

Looking down the icy Grand Gully, Helen sitting on a rock in the middle of the picture. It was slightly lower than this point that the ski field's Lahar* siren went off warning us of an iminent Lahar through the ski field and promting us to move to higher ground. We were well above it anyway - it turned out to be a false alarm/test.

*A flow of pyroclastic material and water that flows down from a volcanoe, typically along a river valley - wikipedia

Pink Floyd Buttress. We climbed 'The Delicate Sound of Thunder' a steep ice pitch to join the right ridge line taken by 'Momentary Lapse of Reason'.