| I didn't reach the summit, but I'll sign since I am submitting the page. My experience with the mountain is below:
Very early in the morning, I set off for Tahiti and Mount Aorai. The wife and kids had plans for a boat excursion on this day, and I left while everyone was sleeping. This would be the final climb of the trip.
I took the early ferry to Tahiti and then took the early morning bus to the suburb of Pirae, where I started walking towards the mountain. Luckily, I caught a ride to Le Belvedere, where the route began. I had forgotten my food bag in Moorea, so I bought a pizza in the restaurant, and had them box it up for my planned two-day climb. At first it was just cloudy, but after the first two hours or so, it began to rain. What a surprise. I knew that November is the beginning of the rainy season, but this was getting ridiculous. I was completely soaked, but continued up the mountain. At the first hut, I dropped everything, and continued towards the summit hoping for better weather. It never came, and it was a downpour the whole time. Because of all the wet climbs I had done in the past few days, my feet were sore. I continued in the afternoon towards the summit, until at the higher elevations it actually began to become cold. The fixed rope sections were a pain in the rain, but not as bad as they were on Mouaputa. Although I was high on the mountain, I lost all hope of better weather, and also lost my desire to climb the rest of the mountain. I headed back to the first hut in the rain to get my stuff. I fell several times in the super-slick mud, which made for a sore butt. I was soaked and decided it would be a good idea to walk back to Le Belvedere and catch a ride back to Papeete. The heck with all this rain. I walked back to Belvedere, but never got a ride. I actually walked all the way back to Papeete, and there were no busses this late. I arrived after mid-night after completing one of my longest days ever. I checked into the nearest hotel (Prince Hanoi), and fell asleep without eating anything. It was a long and hard climb.
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