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General Climbing Discussion

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guides new zealand 26-Jul-2010 At 7:10:39 PM diddy

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I don't understand how this thread got jacked, nor the animosity. Wollemi you make no sense to me -- having a bad day and hate climbers? If you're not going to say anything helpful, then don't bother because you just add to the confusion for someone who just wants information on how to get into the sport.

Mountaineering is a good and fun sport, but for most Aussies it does take some commitment -- we don't have proper snow / mountains and many Aussies don't have basic snow skills / experience. Yes it is pretty straightforward plodding up the slope of a Grade 1 or Grade 2 mountain. But in most cases to get there you need to cross a glacier and if you don't know what you're doing, that is where you're in need of help.

So what has been said above is correct, but to try to summarise:

1. If you've got an experienced and patient mate who's willing to take you out, go with them. This is how most of us learn to rockclimb and it works for learning in the mountains too.
2. If you've got a mate who is keen to learn with you and do some climbing afterwards, then arrange to split a private instruction course with them, because that way you'll get the best bang for your buck.
3. If you don't have the option of doing either of the above, then do a TMC.

Of course there are some mountains in NZ where you can climb without having to cross a glacier. And so long as you have some boots, crampons and ice axe you can do some good trips. Examples include Mt Tyndall near Aspiring, the Otira Slide route on Rolleston, Mt Annette and the Annette Plateau outside of Mt Cook. You can play around these spots without worrying about doing anything too stupid that will get you killed (although Rolleston can have some steep exposed sections you might fall off!). You can also practice walking with a rope in the snow and preparing anchors / pulleys etc before you actually run the risk of falling into a crevasse.

But, that said, it will take a while to get confidence up before heading up to one of the higher altitude huts. With a TMC you can be reasonably confident that you'll learn enough to be able to head out and try some more interesting stuff..