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General Climbing Discussion

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Preparation for New Zealand TMC 30-Jun-2009 At 6:49:34 PM adrian

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There's some good points above, and some I disagree with. Having done a TMC in January, here's my point of view.

You SHOULD have the skills they say. This doesn't mean you need to know how to rig z-pulleys, but you should be able to tie basic knots, belay, abseil, build an equalised anchor and know how to ascend a rope with prussicks. You should also be as fit as possible and mentally prepared to keep functioning when you're tired, cold and wet in the dark. Not only will this help you get more out of the course, but importantly the rest of the course participants expect this from you.
On my course, 3 of the 4 participants (me included) were fit and experienced climbers - the other participant had never rock-climbed, couldn't belay or abseil, and was physically unfit. Not only did it make it a less than enjoyable experience for him, it slowed the rest of us down dramatically which was incredibly frustrating, and more to the point he was actually endangering us in some situations. On this course the person on the other end of the rope is trusting you with their life, so you have an obligation to have the skills they expect you to have.

All that said, it's a great experience, so go get the skills you need and enjoy the course. Also think about the timing with November - last summer the bad weather didn't break until January, and courses before mine in November and December spent over half the course in the hut, sitting out bad weather.