60 New Zealand Woman’s Weekly
S
nowshoeing. Once upon
a time this would’ve
conjured up images of
tennis raquets strapped to
sturdy boots, but not anymore.
Today it’s a more sophisticated
business, as my son Theo and
I discovered during the recent
school holidays. Theo and I
joined guide Peter Hitchman
from Chris Jolly Outdoors to
give it a try.We set off for Tukino Skifield,
on the eastern slope of Mt
Ruapehu, and park just below
the ice line for our adventure.
Following a safety briefing,
Theo and I strap on our space-
age footwear. Made of plastic
and metal alloy with rubber
straps, snowshoes are
reminiscent of old-fashioned
roller skates. Moving in them is
easy thanks to their sharp steel-
toothed crampons, the traction
they provide is astonishing and,
once we get going, I feel as
though I could scale tall,
snow-covered buildings.
Emulating intrepid explorers
of the past, we march up
deserted valleys and alongridges, high stepping through
the pristine white landscape.
Along the way, Peter – who
also leads interactive survival
walks – teaches us a bit about
mountain craft. On the subject
of survival, Peter also serves
hot drinks, home-baked biscuits
and a wholesome lunch. We are
snow newbies, or ‘Snoobs’ as
Theo declares, and the alpine
environment captivates us,
making our hearts light in its
crisp mountain air.
Rather than satisfy our
appetite for snow, snowshoeing
merely makes us hungry for
more. Theo and I have only
ever skied on an indoor slope,
so the next day we decide toESCAPE to the
give outdoor skiing a whirl.
Arriving at the top of
Whakapapa’s Bruce Road, we
hire gear from a veritable United
Nations of young snow workers
before being taken under the
wing of instructor Jasmine,
from Switzerland.
She’s skiied since the age
of two and is also a chocolatier
and, honestly, Jasmine couldn’t
be a sweeter teacher to her
enthusiastic students. It’s fair
to say we are pretty excited.
For us, skiing in the actual wild
is as exciting as snorkelling in the
tropics for the first time after
only ever swimming in pools.
Starting at Happy Valley, we
learn rule number one – whenSky Waka is within
Tongariro National
Park and has views
that are hard to beat!ELISABETH
EASTHER AND
HER SON FIND
AN ICE WAY TO
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