On Sunday the 25th of March, a group of four keen unicyclists and their support crew climbed to the Summit of Mt Taranaki in the early hours of the morning. I did not sleep on Saturday night.
Will and his parents picked me and Ben up sometime after 3am, and we met Henry and his Dad at the North Egmont carpark. With my 20" learners unicycle strapped to my pack I set off in the dark up the translator track. The others were using torches and I preferred the starlight so I tried to stay a bit ahead to prevent their light from adjusting my eyes. At Tahurangi lodge the door of the shelter had been modified and I waited for the others to catch up there. Will's parents stayed there and planned to meet us during the descent.
The walk to the summit was relatively uneventful- just your usual gruelling climb up scree and rocks to the icy crater and finally the top. The sun came up over a blanket of clouds when we were nearly half way up- I usually try to get to the top for sunrise but this time I was relying on other people's time so we left later than I would have planned for. I was first to get to the summit and I assembled my unicycle- attaching the seat, seatpost and pedals. I rode around near the top for a bit, doing some one footed idling and kinda standing on my unicycle a bit on the very top of the summit- to lay claim to probably being the first to unicycle on the top (not that it matters).
The others arrived and we made ourselves comfortable, snacking and sheltering for a bit as well as having our pictures taken. We did some poses for the camera with the scenic views in the background and rode a bit- I fell onto my knee, that was quite funny. Everyone else had mountain unicycles and knee pads and helmets etc, and I just had my 20" which I had attached a KH seat with a handle to, and fingerless gloves for safety.
I walked down the mountain carrying the 20" unicycle- with the terrain much too dangerous and rocky for riding (for me). I was able to ride on the ice in the crater though, that was an interesting feeling since it is much flatter there than the snow on the skifields. Ben, Will and Henry attempted quite a few lines right from the top and down the Lizard- with no big injuries but plenty of close calls. Ben's MUni flew out of control once and bounced down 30m to come to a halt near to some climbers, who looked a bit startled by the falling hazard.
Once we got down to the scree I found it much more ridable- although it was quite hard going especially at the top where it was very steep. Quite often I'd stand on the unicycle, it would sink into the stones half way up the tire, then I'd pedal and it would wrench to one side and throw me off. Other times I would ride 15-30m and it was an unreal sensation of getting speed and then being able to stop pedalling as the wheel just carved through the stones using gravitational potential and momentum to plow onwards.
Ben did some really good runs- perhaps 70m or more on his best ones. Will did some pretty good ones too, poor Henry was battling with it but having fun all the same. Ben sprained his ankle and took a break from riding for a bit. I bashed my shin on a rock but it was only a small bruise. Me and Henry both complained of getting lots of small stones down our pants after bailing.
Once down to Tahurangi lodge it felt like we were almost home. We stopped for a snack break and filled up with water. I was pretty hungry by then cos I had not had dinner the night before, but I was running on excitement. Henry's dad did lots of filming for us, we would wait for him to go down ahead and then ride past him. Going down the puffer was much nicer on the 20" with the KH handle rather than squishing my fingers into the seat bolts like I did last time. 20" is actually quite good for riding down a mountain on because the low gear ratio makes it easier to maintain your speed consistency.
Once we got back to the cars we were all buzzing about what we had done. We all had fun- loving our mountain for all the beauty and riding it has to offer. The weather was perfect. I should be able to post some pics on here sometime once I lay my hands on them. If anyone reading this lives in Taranaki and has never climbed to the top- it is highly recommended. Go with someone who has been before or just make sure you plan your trip well. The mountain claims many lives, but it also makes our lives so much richer and interesting when treated with respect.