And yes, after the last trip up to Mt Ruapehu with mild conditions (but soft snow) this weekend was a cracker! Saturday had nice cold and dry weather for most of the day, allowing a good tramp up the slopes, along the Pinnacles and then down into the next valley. Amazing to see such wide slopes with no skiers, no people, actually no tracks at all but but our own.
Walking on crampons felt quite a bit better with some exercise. Our snowcraft-coaches sent us up and down some steep slopes, learning to trust your footing and experience the difference in snow conditions, going from icy to powdery sometimes within a few metres.
As Mika wisely chose to give her knee a bit of a rest, she made some Dutch apple pie and 'kruidkoek' in the lodge while the others were out getting hungry, which earned her lots of compliments. Because our own oven broke down some time ago, and we won't bother the landlord to have it repaired for these last few months, we're now frequently testing cafes for the perfect apple pie, but still we think our recipes are really good (thanks to both our mums).
