Tramping Taranaki style

Seen as Mel's away, I figured I could get out and do a harder walk/climb than I could do with the kids. My original idea had been to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing or something similar, but Mark, the friend from work that I was going with has already done that walk a couple of times so was keen for something different. So I figured Taranaki was a suitable option. Taranaki itself is 2518m high and is certainly mountaineering/ice climbing at this time of year. The walk up to Syme Hut on top of Fantham's Peak at 1962m is a more achievable goal.
So, we borrowed crampons and ice axes from another colleague and headed off nice and early Saturday morning. The walk was listed as only taking 3.5hr, but that would probably have been based on a summer day-walk rather than spring with an overnight pack, so we wanted to leave plenty of time. The weather forecast said that a little rain and wind could be expected in the morning, but should clear by the afternoon, followed by a clear night and morning, and then a change for the worse on Sunday afternoon. When we arrived at Dawson Falls Visitor Centre (900m) it was drizzling, but not windy. We hung around there for a little waiting to try and work out if the forecast was actually going to hold true or not - and eventually decided that it was clearing slightly and we'd go.
The first part of the walk is through thick mossy forest. As you get higher, the vegetation thins out to gradually lower bushes, followed by alpine grass. Higher still, and we started hitting snow and the grass gave way to occasional bits of moss. The crampons went on and we started the fun part - getting up very steep and slippery icy slopes. It didn't take too long before we were emerging from the cloud and getting fantastic views of Taranaki's main peak, along with views out over half of the North Island, still blanketed in cloud. It's probably just as well we couldn't see too far down either - slipping on the snow could have resulted in a pretty nasty fall. We made it to the top shortly after lunch time and found the hut relatively free of snow and ice. Another group of 4 that we'd seen below us on the snow arrived soon after.
The afternoon and evening was spent going outside to take some photos and then coming back into the hut to try and warm up again - there was a breeze of around 30-40km/h blowing, which made it decidedly cold outside. Sunset was spectacular out to the Tasman Sea, with the mountain casting a huge triangular shadow over the North Island. I attempted some star trail photos after dinner, but the intense cold meant my batteries didn't last the distance. I had a thermometer probe hanging out the window of the hut, and it said it was down around -4C outside, but it certainly felt a lot colder than that. Inside the hut was a balmy -1C overnight (no heating in DOC huts above the tree line!), but we managed to sleep well enough.
At first light most of the hut emptied out to enjoy the spectacular sunrise and the brisk air. Well, the sunrise anyway, the icy air was just a shock to the system. We had a relaxing breakfast before packing up and heading down the mountain. It was a perfectly clear day, so there was no problem seeing just how far there was to fall if we slipped... very far indeed. That made the icy walk a slow and steady affair - we didn't want to take any risks. After making it off the ice, it was just a whole lot of steps and track to get down - all straightforward.
So, a fantastic experience and beautiful mountain. And my legs are still really sore today...
(More photos at flickr as usual)