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00 1100 Ruapehu volcano

Volcano·New ZealandNew Zealand

Mount Ruapehu

2,797m

North Island Volcanic Plateau

Summit weather

W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation
2,797m
Prominence
2,797m
Isolation
341km
Relief
1,408mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
55°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
All yearSee month by month ↓
First ascent
1879
Summit
39.2817°S, 175.5686°E

Active stratovolcano in central North Island, New Zealand

Mount Ruapehu is a volcano in the North Island Volcanic Plateau (New Zealand). Its summit stands 2,797 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 2,797 m, and the nearest higher ground is 341 km away. It was first climbed in 1879.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,389 m), it rises 1,408 m. The steepest side is the east face: 32° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 55° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Ohakune, 20 km away at 588 m: 2,209 m below the summit.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

Mount Ruapehu for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

8.8/10

Difficulty to the top

Mountain walk

Most path sections around the top are T3 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

  • 1.6/2.57 waymarked routes and 15 path sections nearby
  • 1.5/1.523 huts and shelters
  • 2.0/22,209 m of ascent from the valley
  • 1.5/1.52,797 m of prominence
  • 1.5/1.511 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 0.6/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

3.3/10

  • 2.5/434 km of downhill runs
  • 0.8/1.522 ski lifts
  • 0.0/1.5lift station heights not mapped
  • 0.0/30 months of snow at about 1,088 m

Runs by difficulty

  • Easy 17 km
  • Intermediate 8 km
  • Difficult 8 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 1,088 m, in the middle of the ski area: no snow.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
  • Snow on the ground all month
  • Snow some of the time
  • No snow
  • This month

22 lifts · 0 km cross-country

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

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Snow

When there is snow on Mount Ruapehu

At the summit, snow all year round. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Summit2,797 msnow all year round
Snow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all month
Halfway up1,692 msnow from June to October (some years from May to October)
No snowNo snowNo snowNo snowSnow some of the timeSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthNo snowNo snow
Ohakune588 mno snow
No snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snow
  • Snow on the ground all month
  • Snow some of the time
  • No snow
  • This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Mount Ruapehu, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average February afternoon the summit reaches about 8 °C; on July nights it falls to about -12 °C. In 6 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In February the 0 °C line climbs to about 3,960 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, March is the driest month (60 mm) and June the wettest (103 mm).

1,000 m2,000 m3,000 m4,000 mSUMMIT · 2,797 mOHAKUNE · 588 mJanuary: 3,850 mFebruary: 3,960 mMarch: 3,600 mApril: 2,990 mMay: 2,450 mJune: 2,020 mJuly: 1,850 mAugust: 2,020 mSeptember: 2,330 mOctober: 2,620 mNovember: 3,000 mDecember: 3,400 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °COhakune high °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January7-4213,85064128.8
February8-4223,9606397.9
March5-5203,60060117.0
April1-8162,99081135.7
May-2-9122,45088164.4
June-5-1192,020103173.6
July-6-1281,85090184.0
August-5-1192,02088184.7
September-3-10112,33089165.4
October-1-9132,62089166.1
November1-8163,00070147.3
December4-5183,40089147.3

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 713 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. Heights drawn 2× taller than lengths, so the shape can be seen.

West – east
2,797 m1,171 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
2,797 m1,149 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 11°NNE: 20°NEE: 32°ESE: 13°SES: 17°SSW: 9°SWW: 13°WNW: 10°NW

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Mount Ruapehu

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Mount Ruapehu seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

A lift reaches 2,322 m — just 475 m below the summit.

  • 23mountain huts and shelters

    Blyth Hut (1,380 m), Lupton Hut (1,370 m), Ruapehu Ski Club Lodge, Ruapehu Ski Club Hut and 19 more

  • 9cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways

    Rangatira Express Quad Chair, Delta Quad Chair, West Ridge Chair, Parklane Triple and 5 more

  • 5ski areas

    Tūroa Ski Area, Whakapapa Ski Area, Tukino Skifield, Whakapapa and 1 more

  • 7waymarked hiking routes

    Round The Mountain Track, Round the Mountain - 02 Waihohono Hut to Rangipo Hut, Round the Mountain - 03 Rangipo Hut to Mangaehuehu, Round the Mountain - 04 Mangaehuehu Hut to Ohakune Mountain Road and 3 more

  • —via ferratas
  • 1climbing crags and routes

    Whakapapa climbing crag

  • 8named glaciers

    Mangatoetoenui Glacier, Whakapapa Glacier, Summit Plateau, Whangaehu Glacier and 4 more

  • 6viewpoints

    Silica Rapids and 5 more

  • —campsites
  • 2hotels, B&Bs and chalets

    Ruapehu Lodge, Skotel

  • 7restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

15 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T1T3T4
  • T1 hiking
  • T3 demanding mountain hiking
  • T4 alpine hiking

Towns at the foot

  • Ohakune20 km · 588 m
Car hire at NPE airport (Napier)Discover Cars · Affiliate link

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

Alpenglow on Ruapehu (52285020607)
Geoff McKay from Palmerston North, New Zealand · CC BY 2.0
Down Ruapehu (32151104913)
Simeon W from Wellington, New Zealand · CC BY 2.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1991–2020 average7851-2-5-6-5-3-114
2020+1.1+2.5−0.5+0.7+0.7+1.3+0.6+0.7−0.3+1.8+0.2−0.3
2021−0.5+1.4−0.2+0.4+0.4+1.4+1.1±0.0−0.5+1.0+1.6+1.8
2022+1.6−0.2−0.7+0.8+1.4+0.8+1.4+1.1±0.0+0.2+0.9+0.8
2023−1.1−3.3−2.4+0.1+1.1+0.9+0.4−0.8+1.5+0.9+0.1+1.1
2024+0.6−0.2−2.3+0.8−1.1+1.3+0.8+0.8+0.3+1.0+0.7+1.6
2025−0.9+2.1−0.2+2.3+0.9+0.9+1.7−0.3−0.1+0.5+3.4+0.7

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

1,978 mMount TongariroNew ZealandNew Zealand18 km away2,518 mTaranaki MaungaNew ZealandNew Zealand130 km away305 mTaumatawhakatangihangakōauauotamateapōkaiwhenuakitānatahuNew ZealandNew Zealand145 km away

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q207284) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profilesCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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