Snowboarding down a LIVE VOLCANO!

Here I am (on the right) standing on the summit of Mt Ruapehu, the highest peak of the North Island of New Zealand.
In the background can be seen the large crater lake. This volcano's last major eruption was in 1996.

There are three ski-fields on Mt Ruapehu, Whakapapa, Turoa and Tukino.

The two major fields are the Whakapapa and Turoa which are commercially run, the Tukino field on the east side of the mountain is club operated, uses rope tow lines and is only 4WD accessible.
Im standing approximately on the south west side of the mountain from the Turoa ski-field, this ascent has the easiest and shortest route by foot after getting off the highest chair lift in the country.

After about a half hour - 3/4 hours walk, you reach the crater, after stopping for a short rest, we strap on our bindings and head down into the basin near the crater.
You can just make out the trails from other skiers and boarders on the left of the photo, that's the general direction we were heading, we had to traverse a little and then we carry on around the peak on the left and then make our way down back to the lifts for a good few extra km of trails in fresh powder above the actual skifield itself.
This was taken in October at the end of the season but we still had plenty of fresh show at the top that made up for the lack of snow at the bottom.
Here is another photo of the crater:

And another photo of me near the top of the lifts looking south

Another photo looking south:

The queues on the lifts can be real busy on a weekend, so I recommend weekdays when possible!
You can expect to wait up to half an hour with a line this long (there is at least this many people again behind me here)

At last we are on our way up for a good run!

This is the top lift station of the High noon express (the highest lift) we start our ascent by foot from here on.

Here are some others making the arduous climb to the top, thankfully the foot traffic from other boarders makes it easy as everyone has chipped steps into the snow with their boards or skis, making it much easier, and its real rewarding once you get to the top and get a good run back down!

This is another view looking south from the summit, there were quite a few up here this day, as the conditions were great. (this photo was partially double exposed on the edge by the last exposure on the film)

Here is another view looking down amongst the clouds that come and go throughout the day, you can see the terrain park to the left with good jumps made by the wonderful team at the Turoa ski-field :)

There is even a snow cave on the mountain where people spend the night!
I believe this is a naturally forming one that is there every year, created by the hot steam coming out of a geothermal vent on the mountain.

All in all its a wonderful experience for anyone into snowboarding and skiing alike, if you want to visit New Zealand for a ski trip, then August is the best time to come and have a guaranteed snow base.

Might see you up here one day! :)