Vlog #11 - Mount Pirongia

Video Music By: Josh Woodward

It was a great idea... at the time!

With my instructor being off sick and a limited service being provided by air traffic controllers, my flight was unfortunately cancelled today. My roommate Will and I therefore tagged along with the rest of the CP who were on their rostered days off to have a crack at climbing Mount Pirongia. Having to drive 45 minutes from Clearways to the start of the trail, most of us had forgotten the fact there had been rain, rain and nothing but rain the week before and therefore the trail would somewhat water logged on our arrival! Nevertheless, up we went!

As the above photo demonstrates rather well, it was far from solid underfoot. I don't think I've ever laughed so much as one by one we fell over into what can only be described as the mud equivalent of quicksand. In fact, by the end of the walk we'd all given up on trying to keep our trainers / boots dry as they would need a good wash anyway. On the plus side, this made the climb more interesting and actually required the use of our brains in order to figure out the most suitable path around the pits of waterlogged soil. After a good few hours walking - having only made it to the viewing point and not the summit - we decided to turn back before night fall so we could keep both our limbs and Class 1 medicals intact as the combination of darkness and pools of mud would be pretty dangerous! 

In the end it was a great day had by all and I think we'll be back here at some point to reach the top. Perhaps at the tail end of winter though, so the path has had time to dry out a bit. I hope you enjoy the Vlog. You'll certainly see that many of us experienced a fall or two, perhaps with the worst one being that I nearly slid off the edge of the viewing point! It could've been quite a drop if my feet hadn't become wedged! 

All the best,

George.