National Instruction Courses
Back Country Skiing | Freda Du Faur | Advanced Alpine Skills |
High Alpine Skills
High Alpine Skills Course, Mt Cook
January 30th - February 4th, 2011
The New Zealand Alpine Club is running a High Alpine Skills Course for those NZAC members' who have participated on a Basic Instruction Course or instructed in a trainee capacity.
The course will run for six days from January 30th - February 4th and will be based at Mt Cook. Instructors will be qualified NZMGA Mountain Guides.
The course will cover the topics:
- Snow skills- use of crampons and ice-axe
- Glacier travel and crevasse rescue
- Pitched climbing on rock and snow
- Soft snow anchors
- Rock anchors
- Route assessment and avalanche evaluation
- Alpine bivvying/ camping
- Basic weather assessment
The course will be based on foot, rather than utilising helicopter or fixed wing access.
It will also be ‘bivvy' based rather than ‘hut' based. This will keep the cost low and hopefully instil a ‘walk-in' ethic in the participants. However, it does mean it is important participants have a good level of fitness.
At a minimum, you must be familiar with these basics:
- Fitting and adjusting your crampons quickly
- Putting on your harness quickly
- Tying the rope into your harness with a recognised knot quickly
- Belaying
- Abseiling
- Knots: figure 8, bowline, prussick, clove hitch, Italian hitch, tape knot, butterfly
- Coiling a rope quickly
- Basic use of your ice axe.
- Self arresting
The cost of the course is $875. Additionally, participants will provide their own transport and food and pay their accommodation at Unwin Lodge and any other huts used during the course.
Email the application form to :instruction [at] alpineclub [dot] org [dot] nz or ph. 03 337 7595
Freda Du Faur Mountain Skills for Women
December 3rd, 2010 marks the centenary of Freda Du Faur's ascent of Aoraki/ Mt Cook- the first ever by a woman.
To celebrate the New Zealand Alpine Club is hosting a six day alpine instruction course for women at Mt Cook.
The course is designed for women who have good basic mountaineering skills and a good level of fitness, and would like to move towards becoming self sufficient alpinists in glaciated mountain terrain.
The dates are: November 28th - December 3rd 2010.
The cost of the course will be NZ$950This will include six days instruction and a helicopter flight.
The instructors will be qualified female NZMGA guides.
The course will
cover:
- Snow skills- use of crampons and ice-axe
- Glacier travel and crevasse rescue
- Pitched climbing on rock and snow
- Soft snow anchors
- Rock anchors
- Route assessment and avalanche evaluation
- Basic navigation
- Alpine bivvying/ camping
- Basic weather assessment
****There is also the capacity for women who took part in last years High Alpine Skills Course to use this course to further develop their skills.
The course will be ‘fly-in, walk out' and will use tents rather than huts. If huts are used (due to bad weather) this
will be an extra cost for participants. By using tents the cost of the course
will be reduced, and participants will learn the skills of snow camping.
**In order for this to work, it is imperative that participants have good fitness and be able to carry a 20kg pack.
Participants will be expected to provide their own gear and food, although NZAC Head Office will give as much assistance as possible in sourcing rental equipment.
As the course finishes on December 3rd, participants have the option of staying on at Mt Cook until the next day (4th Dec) to take part in the Centenary Celebrations (an afternoon tea and forum with speakers, followed by a dinner at The Old Mountaineer Café with key note speaker.)
To download an application form click here...
To download a personal clothing and gear list click here...
To download the group gear list click here...
Cancellation Insurance
The New Zealand Alpine Club is able to provide cancellation insurance to Freda Du Faur course participants at a cost of $47.50 per person.
Details of the cover provided by ACE Insurance are here. If you are interested in taking our cover for your course fee payment, please contact Margaret [at] alpineclub [dot] org [dot] nz
For further info contact Pat on 03 3777595 or email: pat [at] alpineclub [dot] org [dot] nz
At the end of last year's High Alpine Skills Courses, some people asked the possibility of a ‘follow-up' course to further develop their skills.
The NZAC is offering those HASC participants from 2009, who have been actively climbing throughout the year and have an excellent level of fitness, the opportunity to take part in a six day "Advanced Alpine Skills Course" at Plateau Hut with a fully qualified NZMGA guide.
The course will be "flying-in, walking-out."
The dates for the course are: December Sat 18- December Thurs 23
Participants would be expected to arrive at Mt Cook on the afternoon of Dec 17.
The cost of the course is: NZ$1250
****This will cover: instruction fees, a helicopter flight, Plateau hut fees and administration costs. It does not cover hut fees for Unwin Hut before or after the course. Participants will be responsible for sourcing their own equipment and will bring their own food.
The course will focus on helping participants make supervised ascents of peaks chosen by the guide to suit the skills of the group.
The course will cover:
- Route finding in crevassed and steep mixed terrain.
- Recognising hazards and avoiding them
- Pitched climbing on rock, snow and ice
- Descending safely
- Building fail proof anchors in rock, snow and ice
- Crevasse rescue
- Reading the weather
- Hut ettiquette
To reiterate: To qualify for this course, participants must have been actively climbing and putting into practice the skills learnt on the HASC. A high level of fitness is also important. The course will only run if there are enough suitable applicants.
Cancellation Insurance
The New Zealand Alpine Club is able to provide cancellation insurance to Freda Du Faur course participants at a cost of $62.50 per person.
Details of the cover provided by ACE Insurance are here. If you are interested in taking our cover for your course fee payment, please contact Margaret [at] alpineclub [dot] org [dot] nz
If you are interested in this email: pat [at] alpineclub [dot] org [dot] nz ....for further information and an application form.
NZAC Winter Instruction Programme
Brought to you in conjunction with Black Diamond
This winter the NZAC, in conjunction with Black Diamond, is offering instruction courses for those members' wanting to improve their ice climbing skills, or become back country skiers.
Have you ever been stopped on a route because you couldn't climb that pesky pitch of ice between you and the summit? Or wanted to tackle that frozen water fall but not had the confidence? Or been worried about how to get down again? This is the course for you!
Based at Porter Lodge, you will be taught the correct skills for leading on ice by qualified guides. It's best you've had some experience, whether it's taking part in the ‘Whack n' Dangle' weekend at Fox or a day top roping at Ruapehu, although strong rock climbers will do well on this course.
Check here for a condensed syllabus. Click here for a list of the equipment you will need.
- When: July 16th- 19th (three days)
- Where: Fox Glacier
- Cost: $650 (Includes accommodation, instruction, ropes,)
Introduction to Back Country Skiing
Always wanted to go backcountry skiing but been unsure of what's involved? This course is a chance to learn the ins and outs of back country skiing in some of the best mountain ski terrain in the country.
Based at the remote Mt Olympus Ski Field Lodge, participants will learn how to be safe and efficient on skis in the mountains. Topics include: equipment, trip planning, terrain analyses, avalanche analyses, avalanche victim search, snow shelters etc.
Check here for a condensed syllabus. Click here for a list of the equipment you will need.
Nb: This is not a ‘learn to ski' course, nor is it an Avalanche Awareness Course. Participants are expected to be strong intermediate (or better) skiers with excellent fitness!
Click here to see if your skiiing is up to this course.
Although there will be an avalanche awareness component to the course, participants would expect to do a separate course on the subject if they were to continue with back country skiing.
- When: September 5th- September 10th (five days)
- Where: Mt Olympus Ski Field
- Cost : $1250 (Includes: food, accommodation, instruction and a nominal daily lift pass for access)
Courses hold eight people each with a 1:4 guide student ratio.
If you are interested in either of these, contact Pat Deavoll for further information and an application form.
pat [at] alpineclub [dot] org [dot] nz Ph. 03 377 7595
Recent Courses and Other Instruction Information
NZAC High Alpine Skills Course, Mt Cook
February 1-5, 2010
The New Zealand Alpine Club ran a High Alpine Skills Course for those NZAC members’ who had participated on a Basic Instruction Course or instructed in a trainee capacity.
The course ran for five days from February 1st – 5th,2010 and was based at Mt Cook. Instructors were qualified NZMGA Mountain Guides. The ‘chief’ guide was Ray Button.
The course covered the topics:
• Snow skills- use of crampons and ice-axe
• Glacier travel and crevasse rescue
• Pitched climbing on rock and snow
• Soft snow anchors
• Rock anchors
• Basic ice-screw anchors
• Route assessment and avalanche evaluation
• Basic navigation
• Alpine bivvying/ camping
• Basic weather assessment
The course was based on foot, rather than utilising helicopter or fixed wing access.
It was also ‘bivvy’ based rather than ‘hut’ based. This kept the cost low and hopefully instilled a ‘walk-in’ ethic in the participants. However, it did mean it was important participants have a good level of fitness.
The cost of the course was $600. Additionally, participants provided their own transport and food and paid their accommodation at Unwin.
View images from the 2010 High Alpine Skills Courses
Beginner Instruction | Intermediate Instruction | Advanced Instruction | Avalanche Awareness| Club InstructionPlan andPolicy
Each of the Club Sections organise their own program of local instruction courses covering beginner and intermediate level rockclimbing, snowcraft, and ice climbing. Other courses cover mountain first aid, avalanche awareness and rescue techniques. Please see the section homepages for further information on courses being run in your area.
Section Beginner Climbing Courses
Every year there is also a number of section instruction courses on rock, snow and ice climbing throughout New Zealand. These courses are advertised in advance through the sections and those interested should check out section newsletters for details:
Auckland, Central North Island, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago
- Courses are open to Club members from all Sections. Volenteer Club instructors donate their time to instruct.
- The courses are subsided by both the NZAC and Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC). This subsidy helps to increase the level of climbing ability and skills in Sections, aspiring instructors and trip leaders.
- Where possible, the courses are held in locations across New Zealand to make them accessible to everyone.
Don Bogie's Snowstake Strength Report July 2005 (pdf 429kb)
For further instruction options check out the following webpages:
New Zealand Mountain Safety Council (NZMSC)
New Zealand Mountain Guides Association (NZMGA)
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