Dive into the map

After figuring out whether to fix the bindings regular or goofy, there was nothing to stop him. Getting a feeling for the right balance is the first step to a successful snowboarding career. Secret hint for anyone who wants to have a go - do not wear too many thermals on a warm day! Our friend lost an estimated 3 litres of sweat this day…

I was really impressed by Aaron’s performance. He said he did water skiing before. Good on ya mate!

I don’t know how often he fell over that day, but he always got up again. Good spirit, and that’s how you learn it.

Champion performance! Have fun practising on Mount Ruapehu as soon as the season starts!

Fair enough - took some effort to get up here you know. But now is pay-off time, so enjoy it as much as you can and be glad you went for it that day.

Well, let’s just call it one of those days where the weather forecast wasn’t even remotely exaggerated and conditions are near perfect. Started our tour around 8.30 am - not an early start, but early enough to beat the crowds for most of the trip. Can you tell who took the photograph? Ah well, that was easy…

It’s really just a pleasure to be out there and enjoy the views while slowly but surely climbing further to the top.

One of the most famous mountains around - you can see the exceptional shape of the mountain from far away, but the closer you actually get to it, the more majestic it builds up in front of you. Some of the walls are overhanging and you are advised NOT to ski or snowboard down the main rock wall in the middle of the image - NOT even if you are one of the more extreme ones out there! Also, you are meant to be quiet when passing this area as the marmots are asleep an estimated 3 meters underneath the surface. You don’t want to wake them in the middle of winter - they get REALLY grumpy!

Nice play of scale, shape, texture and light I reckon. The slope you’ve been dreaming about the night before…

And there we are - that’s us on the summit - ready for the downhill part of this trip.

Concentrate and then just trust your senses!