ALPINE CLIMBING COURSE 2020/21 COURSE NOTES 2020/21 ALPINE CLIMBING COURSE NOTES 2020/21 COURSE DETAILS Dates: ACC 1: October 19–28, 2020 ACC 2: November 16–25, 2020 ACC 3: December 7–16, 2020 ACC 4: January 4–13, 2021 ACC 5: February 1–10, 2021 ACC 6: March 8–17, 2021 Duration: 10 days Departure: ex Wanaka, New Zealand Price: NZ$3,850 per person Climbers take in the dawn as they begin their day. Photo: Olivier Baron The Alpine Climbing Course has been created to cater for fit and motivated people who want to learn modern-day alpine climbing techniques. This course focuses on the development of ‘hard skills’ pertinent to alpine-style mountaineering. Upon the successful completion of this course, Ultimately, we want you to complete this course participants will be capable of utilising their taking away the foundation for a successful and skills to attempt peaks of a moderate nature. safe climbing future. Those attributes that we feel What each person takes away from the course are most important and useful are: will be partly dependent on their own fitness, objectives and skill level prior to the course but all • Solid climbing standard and mountain awareness members should learn the specific skills required to • Sound judgement of own ability undertake ascents of straightforward to moderately • Good planning and preparation skills difficult summits. • Informed decision making • Technical mountaineering proficiency You will gain valuable experience on the course, and we aim to teach you the building blocks for a safe and enjoyable mountaineering career. SKILLS COVERED The following are the basis of skills taught during COURSE OBJECTIVE the course: Our objective on this course is to pass on to you the • Basic to advanced snow and ice craft skills that have made us at Adventure Consultants • Rope skills applicable to alpine climbing successful in our own climbing careers. We focus on • Glacier travel and crevasse rescue skills skill development while you climb mountains, so • Weather analysis you get to understand those skills in a real situation • Alpine rock skills and not in an artificial learning environment. Contents Copyright © Adventure Consultants Ltd 2020 3 A rope team negotiates the upper Tasman Glacier. Aoraki Mount Cook, Mount Tasman and the Minarets are on the sky line. Photo: Alfheidur Saemundsson • Introduction to mountain rescue OUR GUIDES • Route finding • Navigation The instructors on the Alpine Climbing Course are • Avalanche awareness all NZMGA/IFMGA qualified guides with many years’ experience, not only in pursuing their own Please note that factors such as weather and climbing careers but also in learning how to pass climbing conditions may at times dictate that some these skills on in an environment which is conducive skills are not covered in full. to accelerated learning. Our focus is to pass on the skills most necessary for developing into a highly competent alpine climber. COURSE PREREQUISITES Many courses focus primarily on technique, but This course has been developed to meet the these are often taught as technical skills in isolation, needs of people who want to learn how to climb meaning the course member often has not had the mountains and avoid the frustrations of courses actual experience of climbing a mountain by the that are entirely technically-based but lacking in course’s completion! experiential learning. Success with the highest margin of care is always A high level of fitness is important to ensure you a hallmark of our approach; promoting the gain the most from the course. We gradually realisation that even extreme pursuits such as high- increase the intensity of the exercises to allow altitude mountaineering can be undertaken safely. participants to increase their climbing strength and confidence over the duration of the course. A founding principle at Adventure Consultants is to recognise the necessity of positive Alpine climbing often requires long days with communication within the group to foster an open early starts to gain a summit and descend before and friendly approach to communicating and nightfall, hence stamina is a vital asset. There are reinforce learning processes. times when the weather may be rough and there can be periods of discomfort. This hardship makes Adventure Consultants is the only major guiding a summit extremely satisfying and one recognises company in New Zealand that employs only IFMGA that it takes special attributes to be a successful or NZMGA qualified guides, the most advanced alpine climber. training and certification program internationally. To gain these qualifications, guides must undergo Having previous rock or alpine climbing experience rigorous training and assessment on climbing will allow you to get the most from this course. skills, instructional skills, avalanche training and If possible, you should take the opportunity assessment, wilderness first aid, rescue training to develop your basic skills before the course and much more. The qualification takes 5–7 years commences, e.g. rope skills that can be learned to attain and ensures you are getting a world-class through local alpine clubs or rock gyms. professional service. Contents Copyright © Adventure Consultants Ltd 2020 4 Students practicing self arrest techniques. Photo: Taichiro Naka ACC students learn to climb independently. Photo: Alfheidur Saemundsson Practice crevasse rescue techniques. Photo: Alfheidur Saemundsson ADVANTAGES OF JOINING AN The guides at Adventure Consultants are recognised as amongst the best in the industry with the ability ADVENTURE CONSULTANTS COURSE to help you get the most from your time with us. With our headquarters at Lake Wanaka, we have the distinct advantage of short travel times to seek out the venues with the best weather and COURSE OUTLINE conditions. We have the options of the Westland, The following is a typical outline for the Alpine Aoraki Mount Cook and Aspiring National Parks, Climbing Course based on a prior course staged in plus the Remarkables mountain region with its Westland National Park: alpine rock, in addition to the popular crags around Wanaka itself. This enables us to get you into the DAY 1 most appropriate location much faster and gives a wider choice of venues. The group congregates at the AC office in Wanaka at 9.00am where the course participants meet the This course has been designed by Guy Cotter who guides and are introduced to the other course has been climbing for 40 years. Additional to his members. After everyone has had a chat, the extensive record in New Zealand, his career has guide outlines the course syllabus and explains in included numerous high-altitude expeditions, which mountains the course will take place. Next, including five ascents of Mount Everest and six we get together to discuss and then organise our other 8,000m peaks. personal and group equipment (bring all your gear with you, including those items you are not sure As an IFMGA Guide since 1991, Guy Cotter whether to include or not). Equipment pertinent recognises the need for people to learn about to the course will be discussed and you can get all ‘climbing’, and not just being taught the technical the advice you need concerning equipment from skills in isolation. This is not an easy task and the guides. Anyone requiring rental equipment requires experienced and highly skilled guides with will be fitted at this time (but please advise in good instructional skills to be achieved. advance of your requirements to ensure you are Contents Copyright © Adventure Consultants Ltd 2020 5 Course members navigating in cloudy conditions. Photo: Adrian Camm catered to) and final purchases can be made. Food hut system in the region when they are not too full, for the trip is pre-sorted by the guides. They are and we move our gear in before we sort ourselves adept at balancing food effectively so we neither to get out onto the snow. The group ropes up bring too little nor have to carry too much in our for crevasse travel training and we go for a walk packs. Basic rope skills and tying in are covered to on the glacier. Our other mountaineering gear is ensure consistency and to act as revision for those introduced as we go along with the rudimentary who already have rope skills. This enables us to get techniques needed for mountaineering—use right into it when we reach the glacier in a couple of an ice axe, learning to crampon and to self- of days. Trip planning is covered, followed by arrest. There’ll be a lunch stop, even though rescue first aid and decision-making. Once all this in mountaineering, lunch starts straight after is completed, we pack up for the trip. Excess items breakfast and goes all day... The first day out in can be left at our office for storage. We travel by the mountains is always exciting and, eventually, road to Fox Glacier Township (or Aspiring or Aoraki we will retire to the hut for a team cook-up and Mount Cook National Parks, depending on where maybe a lesson on weather forecasting while weather and conditions are best) so remember watching the sunset. a travel bag for use when overnighting in towns before and after the trip. DAY 3 DAY 2 An early start sees the group roped up and away just on dawn towards Aurora Peak. Here we need to place An early breakfast is processed then the group is snow anchors and belay on snow or ice towards the bundled into aircraft for the flight to the remote summit. At the summit, we rest with astounding views Franz Josef Glacier, and we get to see the awesome all around us and we get to see right up into the peaks of the region we will be soon scaling.