I was a little nervous as we decided to plan out our day of hiking the crater of Mt. Ruapehu.  We caught the far west ski lifts and then the t-bar that placed us high High HIGH on top the mountain. We didn’t stop there.  After getting up super high we had another hour and a half walk in the snow up towards the crater.  Since I haven’t been around the snow much, I was a little scared when I heard there was an avalanche warning due to the days before with snow and winds.  Since I was hiking with extremely experienced mountaineers that were well-equipped with those special avalanche beeper safety alarms and years of experience on this mountain, I believed I was in good hands and not to worry.  We walked and walked in hot but cold conditions. It was hot because of walking in deep snow up hill, but cold because we were so high up and in the snow!  It was hard to get comfortable.  Many times I felt like I just wanted to turn around and snowboard down the untouched snow, but I had to resist and keep walking.  I was told that the very top was something to see and I would regret not continuing to the very top.   And in the end it was true.  We made it to the top and the view was amazing.  Just a couple of us up there in the snow covered mountains and standing over an active volcano (last erupted in 2007) was amazing.  We gazed into the volcanic crater full of steaming hot geothermal water (too acidic to swim in).  It is something I will never forget.   Below shows a map of the volcano and the crater.   On top of all this greatness we still had the opportunity to snowboard down! YES! Just imagine how fun it would be to do that and it was exactly that! : )

I am feeling so thankful to see so much beauty from the oceans to the mountains.  In the middle of this picture you can view the Pinnacles.  The Pinnacles is where Sr. Edmund Hilary (first guy to climb mount Everest in 1953) used for training.

The mountains were closed because of high winds and snow.  It actually feels great to have one day completely off the snow.   We headed up towards Rotorua to a place called Theremal Dream or Wai-o-tapu.  Everywhere you look there was steam coming up out of the ground. The steam comes from yellow sulphurous pools.  To walk around the area of all these boiling pools is amazing, but the smell can be pretty bad because of the sulfar.   You can’t jump into these boiling pots, but you can definitely find others to soak in.

Today the weather wasn’t the greatest. The visibility was horrible on the mountain and was hard to see even 5 feet in front. The weekend made it super busy and the rain started to come down. So, after having the previous days be so nice, we decided to call it a day.  There are a ton of fun things to do in New Zealand and lots to learn about.   Just off the Whakapapa mountain there is a cool visitor center and in Turangi there are great walks to go on along a beautiful river.  It was nice to have a break, see something new, and stay cozy warm indoors for a change.

T- Bars.

Once I thought I got used to snowboarding and getting on and off the chairlifts without wiping out, I got introduced to t-bars.  T-bars are like generic chairlifts.  Instead of sitting and relaxing back up to the top of the hill, t-bars pull you up while your still standing and is a bit tricky to get used to.  The chairlift assistant man at the bottom of the lift grabs the bar and places it to your legs. You then hang on for dear life and hope you dont catch an edge.  I usually do all this for a couple seconds before I catch endge, fall and have to wait in line all over again. Total bummer (but if you give a wink at the liftees they might let try again without going back in line) . So over times of practicing the t-bar, I came up with some tips.

1. Do the t-bar however feels most comfortable to you and go with it.. people told me to do different things and ended up doing it my unique way.

2.  When going up hills make sure you drive your knees forward and booty is back..  this will help keep you stable

3. Focus on the empty spaces ahead of you…if you focus on the bright blue padded poles holding up the machine you will hit them for sure.. so keep you eyes forward and focused into space!

4. If all else fails and your tripping up.. just grab the bar like your tow in surfing.. drop in off track a bit so the bar tightens and just keep pretending your behind a jetski.  Works like magic!..and people will comment on your style!

5. Although you want to hang around at the end of the t-bar to rejoice your achievement of making it to the top..you got to clear the space or you’ll get attacked by the upcoming t-bar riders coming up at full speed.

Wow! The day was forecasted to be rained in and snowing, but we went to check it out anyway and totally scored! Hardly anybody was around, no lines and a bunch of fresh powder to ride.  I loved it. I haven’t been in snow so fresh and soft before.  New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places.  So amazing! Plus, everyday I feel like my boarding keeps improving.. just remember to reach out and “turn the door nob”.  This tip was told to my dad from Gerry Lopez and passed to me.  It helps open my shoulder when I ride making it easier to link turns!

The first day on the mountain started off  a bit rusty.  It has already been a year since the last time I snowboarded and thought it was going to be easier to pick up again.  After a half day of getting used to it, I finally was able to ride down carving from toes to heels.   Snowboarding is such a great feeling.  Similar to surfing in some ways but can be so different at the same time. We had great sunny skies and fresh snow. Since the day was so beautiful we stayed up for hours until our legs and bodies couldn’t move anymore. Hopefully we will find some hot thermal pools to ease the pain for tomorrow.

This summer has been pretty busy with many trips to LAX airport! Just got back from the Dominican Republic, and now off to New Zealand.  I had a bit of time in California which was fun, but now I am packed for the winter season in New Zealand. Got to train up for the upcoming Butterfly Effect Snow Edition in March 2011!! Yes! Get ready! : )

Back in California now and lots going on! Today Red Bull held a Flugtag event.  They launched different contraptions into the water off a dock. It is a crazy idea but kind of fun to watch.