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Tongariro Alpine Crossing (Summer)

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Photo ofTongariro Alpine Crossing (Summer) Photo ofTongariro Alpine Crossing (Summer) Photo ofTongariro Alpine Crossing (Summer)

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Trail stats

Distance
14.78 mi
Elevation gain
3,136 ft
Technical difficulty
Difficult
Elevation loss
4,298 ft
Max elevation
6,542 ft
TrailRank 
38
Min elevation
2,539 ft
Trail type
One Way
Time
9 hours 4 minutes
Coordinates
4444
Uploaded
November 4, 2018
Recorded
January 2016
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near Whakapapa Village, Manawatu-Wanganui (New Zealand)

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Trail photos

Photo ofTongariro Alpine Crossing (Summer) Photo ofTongariro Alpine Crossing (Summer) Photo ofTongariro Alpine Crossing (Summer)

Itinerary description

*Rated difficult due to the length and lack of opportunities to turn back given the one-way nature of this route. In terms of terrain difficulty, it isn't too strenuous. There are some steep bits (particularly the uphill Devil's Staircase and another slippery downhill section, however it is generally a moderate difficulty hike. We met a lovely 70 year old lady who completed the route and wasn't a regular hiker.

Whilst the day started incredibly overcast, we were lucky for the clouds to disperse early on and were rewarded with wonderful view for the rest of the hike. The cloud was unfortunately very thick when we made it to Mount Ngauruhoe, so we did not attempt to climb it. However, this meant we climbed Mount Tongariro, which gave great views over Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu. So in the end this was a blessing rather than a curse!

This is, of course, I highly recommended hike if you're in the area. We rented a car, parked on the northern end of the route (which would be our destination) and made use of a prebooked bus service to the start of our route, meaning we ended up where we had parked the car.

Total distance: 23.75 km (14.8 mi)
Total time: 9:04:13
Moving time: 7:59:39
Average speed: 2.62 km/h (1.6 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 2.97 km/h (1.8 mi/h)
Max speed: 10.80 km/h (6.7 mi/h)
Average pace: 22:55 min/km (36:52 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 20:12 min/km (32:30 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 5:33 min/km (8:56 min/mi)
Max elevation: 1986 m (6516 ft)
Min elevation: 782 m (2566 ft)
Elevation gain: 1107 m (3633 ft)
Max grade: 37 %
Min grade: -43 %
Recorded: 29/01/2016 19:13

Waypoints

PictographWaypoint Altitude 3,773 ft

Beginning of bus journey (Start)

Tongariro Alpine Crossing (Start)

PictographWaypoint Altitude 2,566 ft

Northern car park (End)

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