Glacier Hut (Central Plateau) Traditional Cache
Glacier Hut (Central Plateau)
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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Located at the aptly named Hut Flat, Glacier Hut is a small one-roomed hut clad in corrugated iron. It was erected entirely by hand in 1923 by New Zealand’s first ski club, and was this country’s first purpose-built structure for the sport of skiing.
Glacier Hut was the first building anywhere on the upper Ruapehu snowfields and it enjoyed 13 years in magnificent isolation until ski lodges as well as chairlifts and T-bars began to appear in later years. In the wake of this, the Tongariro National Park Board declared the tiny old hut to be an eyesore and demanded its removal. After a 25 year battle, Glacier Hut was officially gazetted by the Historic Places Trust in 1993 as a Category One Historic Place – the highest category. It has now been restored and contains skiing memorabilia.
In the summertime, the hut is easily accessible with a 20 minute walk up the vehicle track from the top car park. Remember you are in an alpine environment and dress accordingly as the weather can change quickly.
In the winter, with all the ski-bunny muggles and other huts nearby, extra stealth is required. It is best to spot the cache whilst wandering around nonchalantly, check no one’s looking, and then go for the grab. Please replace in the same position. Contains only a log book and pencil.
The hut is sometimes completely buried after a few heavy snowfalls from mid-season on, so cache may not always be available.
Don’t be intimidated by the muggle watching you from the window - she won’t tell anyone - honest!
Note: this cache seems to suffer from a bit of cache creep. It's currently moved to a wintertime position and I've tweaked the clue slightly accordingly.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqre ebbs yrsg bs qbbe