Nothing can quite describe the feeling you get that first morning you unzip your tent in Whanganui Bay and catch the hint of orange in the sky.
From the previous article on climbing anchor basics, one of the fundamental qualities an anchor should have is that it is definitely strong enough for the expected forces it may experience. We’ll expand a fair bit on that in this discussion of anchor strength.
Black and white image of snowy mountain
I really hate alpine starts. I am someone who likes my sleep. I climb so...
Climbers on summit
This adventure was the stuff legends are made of. That one adventure people might spend...
Rock climber on boulder
Climbing grades have always been an entirely subjective affair. Part of the reason for this...
Rock climbing anchor
Whether at the local crag, on a multi-pitch rock mission, or in the alpine on...
Mountain hut at dawn
When I became the General Manager of the New Zealand Alpine Club seven years ago...
Big mountain
Phase 1 of the project showed that some Arowhenua whānau were deeply suspicious of what...
black and white image oif mountaineers near Aoraki
Human waste is causing considerable environmental and cultural harm in alpine areas globally, as well...
Mountain view across lake
This research sought to gain insight into the ways that Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua whānau...
Mountain vista
A couple of years ago, Karen Leacock at the New Zealand Alpine Club identified that...
Two journal covers
If you've never contributed to the Journal before, make this the issue you do! This...
Alpine climber snow face valley of cloud
If you've been following this week you'll know that we have just one category and...
Rock climber sun shining
The judging for this year's NZAC Photo Competition is now complete! Tomorrow we will reveal...
Kea flying over mountain pass
The judging for this year's NZAC Photo Competition is now complete! Stay tuned to our...
climber on rock face
The judging for this year's NZAC Photo Competition is now complete! Stay tuned to our...
person inside a alpine hut
The Mountain and Climbing Culture category underwent some changes for 2024 with photographers asked to...
rock face and waterfalls

The judging for this year's NZAC Photo Competition is now complete! Stay tuned to our...

The NZAC Tititea Aspiring and the Otago Alps Guidebook launch, held on September 5th, 2024...

After hours of climbing, finals, training, flights, unknown costs traveling across NZ for the biggest...
Tititea Aspiring And The Otago Alps
A not to be missed event. Join us in Wānaka to celebrate the launch of...
Skiers in alpine terrain
As the South Island is gripped by what some have described as 'powdermonium', it is...
helicopter with rescuer on longline
Winter is upon us and many of us will be out in the hills having...
Chart of different hypothermia levels and treatments
Winter has arrived and many of us will be out in the hills having fun...
Training wall with arty defocus effect
If you want to train for rock climbing (or do train), this article is for...
image of climber with types of heat loss
Winter has arrived and many of us will be out in the hills having fun...
text banner
During the next six weeks ACAT are doing a big push to double their regular...
Rock climbing crag
The Tukino side of Ruapehu is an arid, barren landscape which would make a great...
Tupiki Scholarship
 The Tūpiki Equity Scholarship is intended to support climbers who need assistance to access the...
Festival advert

New Zealand Alpine Club and Wānaka Climbing Club are pleased to announce the first edition...

Spread from guidebook

Those climbers interested in Fiordland will be aware that the Darran Mountains (2006) guidebook by...

Climber on sheer wall in dark forest
Further up the road and in the gorge area is Mangakara, something of the Wild...
Climber on crack climb above lake
Whanganui Bay is the jewel in the crown of North Island cragging. If you think...
Rock outcrop with climbing routes marked
Since the demise of The Climber magazine and its Letter To The Editor pages, there...
Website view
We have prizes to give away. Explore the new site and answer these three questions:
Mountain view
The North Face has opened applications for the Explore Fund in Australia and New Zealand...
Clouds and sun around a mountain top
If you've been following this week you'll know that we have just one category and...
Deer in habitat
The entries are all in and this year's NZAC Photo Competition has now been judged...
Fisheye view of climber in cave
The entries are all in and this year's NZAC Photo Competition has now been judged...
The entries are all in and this year's NZAC Photo Competition has now been judged...
Portrait of climber with frosted face
The entries are all in and this year's NZAC Photo Competition has now been judged...
Mountaineers on glacier
The entries are all in and this year's NZAC Photo Competition has now been judged...
Competition climber on indoor boulder problem
The fourth and final round of the National Indoor Bouldering Series for 2023 took place...
Volcano at sunset
The release of the coroner's report on the deaths of two climbers on Taranaki in...
As the snow starts to accumulate around the country, the long wait for the ski-touring...
The NZAC Board election starts today (29 June) and runs until 5pm on 24 July...
Climbing coach looks up
It's Volunteer Week, so today we've got an interview by Rachel Musgrave of Rowan Hodgkinson...
This winter, Whanganui Bay will once again open for a restricted season of climbing access...
word cloud image
The NZAC Annual Membership Survey 2023 was conducted using the same methods as previously but...
Climber on lichenous ignimbrite
The Aotearoa Climbing Access Trust is busy working away on access issues to keep climbing...
Competition climber on indoor boulder problem
The National Indoor Bouldering Series is NZAC's premier climbing competition event, and this year's first...

May 29th 2023 is the 70th anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Everest—the world's...

Sitting on a stool of limestone at the bottom end of the bank, the sun...
Paraclimber competes in climbing competition
On 16 May, New Zealand athlete Rachel Māia will again compete for the podium at Salt...
Sculptured-looking rock surface
The almond croissant is the staple of sweet baked goods in the forest. Every boulangerie...
When you organise a climbing trip, the different choices you make around what transport to...
Timber and stone hut in forest setting
After a significant project to rebuild Aspiring Hut and ensure it remains standing for many...
Blue cage door with stencil 'School Room'
The nature of the rock here creates these features and forms, which quite like the...
Dinosaur destroying an RV at Joshua Tree
The USA is the land of the enormo; massive cars, endless strip malls and super...
Climber's campsite with van and tents.
There was only one thing for it, much like the other extreme cultural experiences that...
Four climber's silhouettes
The rock in Gateway is straight out of a 1950 abstract expressionist gallery, showing works...
evil-looking machine
Like just about everybody on the internet this week, I sat down with ChatGPT for...
Cover of publication
Climbing historian Grant Hunter has put together a descriptive bibliography covering the golden age of...
Three climbers in desert
One of the many things I was not ready for before travelling to the United...
Three boulderers
New Zealand Alpine Club has financially supported this expedition and this is the first time...
Alpine hut
If the above is a headline you never want to see, NZAC needs you to...
Climber expresses himself on steep rocks
HBO's new show The Climb … is executive produced by actor Jason Momoa and his...
Powerband Podcast
Daniel is one of the best-performing all around climbers that this country has produced and...
The Aspiring Hut refurbishment is progressing well. As with any building project, getting out of...
We were privileged to have Graham Zimmerman, Piolet D’Or Recipient and President of the American Alpine...
Today, The North Face announces that applications for the 2023 Adventure Grant are now open.

Reminder of the New Zealand Alpine Club AGM

Friday 28th October 2022

Doors open 6.30pm...

Come join us to celebrate the 2021/2022 year at our Annual General Meeting. We will...
Classic Banff
Enjoy online 'Classic Banff ' - a collection of much-loved Festival and World Tour films from...

Aspiring Hut is owned by NZAC and managed by Department of Conservation (DOC) under the...

Competiton boulderers observe the problems before competing
Hangdog Wellington hosted the final leg of the 2022 National Indoor Bouldering Series at the...
Portrait and quote
The Mount Everest Foundation (MEF) is a grant-giving body supporting exploratory scientific and mountaineering expeditions...
Rock climber above sea
Judging is now complete on this year's NZAC Photo Competition. With all the category winners...
Silhouetted climbers
The winner of the Youth category for this year is the image shown above, by...
Camper on peak
The winner of the Mountain And Climbing Culture category for this year is the image...
Mountain goats
The winner of the Alpine Nature category for this year is the image shown above...
Mountain landscape
The winner of the Alpine Landscape category for this year is the image shown above...
Ice climber
The winner of the Alpine Activity category for this year is the image shown above...
Aspiring Hut Tramp - Left to right are Alfie, Florence, Gilan, Rowan
The iconic Aspiring Hut has been a base for many adventurers, young and old, for...
MCT Trapping
Aspiring Hut is an iconic hut in the Aspiring National Park – and for MCT...
Climbers in gym
The primary objective of Global Climbing Day is to lower the barriers to entry into...
Author and climber
Bill Beaven is one of the last links to that wonderful period after World War...
Female climber on boulder in alpine setting
We often lament the fact that sheer representation from females climbing outdoors is not widespread...
Female climber on competition boulder problem
Christchurch's Uprising gym is always a great leg of the NIBS circuit. There is a...
AAC logo
The panel tackle the tricky topic of highlighting first female ascents, and discussing female first...
Explore Fund Promo
The North Face announces the official launch of the Explore Fund in Australia and New...
Mixed climbing
Mountains teach us powerful lessons. The practical way that I carry these lessons with me...
It is my honour and privilege now to have the axe passed to me.
word cloud image
The data shows that our members undertake a diverse range of climbing and snow sports...
Logo
We are pleased to announce the launch of the NZAC Tūpiki Trust. The trust has...
Climber in competition
The National Indoor Boulder Series has been growing in every sense of the word for...
NiBS has returned to Queenstown in 2022 for a cracking first round held at Basecamp...
Climbers in the alpine
From May 23rd to May 27th, 2022, David Allfrey, White Magro, and Graham Zimmerman opened...
Para climber
New Zealand Paraclimber, Rachel Māia, finally got to compete in the IFSC World Cup AL2...
Man in kayak
Members who volunteer their time to the wider climbing community through volunteer instruction, running events...
Portrait of Graeme Dingle
The newly-formed Aotearoa Climbing Access Trust has continued to grow and put in place an...
Footsteps on snow
In New Zealand, mobile phone coverage is very limited in backcountry areas. While some climbers...

Nank has crossed the Main Divide for the last time. He will be relieved —...

Climbing equipment

A lot of climbing protection systems have some built in redundancy, but it is important...

Woman climbing steep rock.
Everybody loves end of year lists, right? Here at NZAC we like to celebrate climbing...
bouldering
Everybody loves end of year lists, right? Here at NZAC we like to celebrate climbing...
Banner image

Anybody with more than a passing interest in New Zealand rock climbing should know a...

Book cover

Wānaka remains one of the most active areas in New Zealand for rock climbing, with...

Mountain hut

By Jane Morris

Photo by Geoff Spearpoint

 

Here’s something that would be great to...

Female climber on steep rock.

By Christina Rivett

Back in March 2019 extreme flooding from a storm had washed away...

It is one of those cold, dark nights you read about, when things go awry. ...

Climber On Rock
It’s not like the route was my idea, exactly.

The short film Link Sar, directed by Graham Zimmerman, is now available via EpicTV...

Rock climber clips carabiner
The winner of the Rock Climbing category for this year, and the overall champion, is...
Late evening camping scene in the alpine
The winner of the Mountain and Climbing Culture category for this year is the image...
Two kea playing
The winner of the Alpine Nature category for this year is the image shown above...
Himalayan Peak
The winner of the Alpine Landscape category for this year is the image shown above...
Ski mountaineer navigates icefall
With a bit of a delay due to the Level 4 restrictions, judging is now...
rock shoes
It's time for the third instalment on everything you need to know about rock shoes...
Book spread showing mountain photograph
Those of you who enjoy our club publications are likely very familiar with the exceptional...

UKC have published a piece written by Charlie Creese in remembrance of Athol Whimp, one...

Boulder problem
Only a day after the Olympic climbing fever was peaking and the very first Olympic...
olympic rings symbol

Competition climbing has just appeared in the Olympic Games for the first time and by...

A collection of climbing shoes

Following up from the introductory article Rock Shoes 101, today I’ll discuss the idea of...

Guide information to bouldering area

Powerband Podcast is a podcast series conducted by John Palmer looking at New Zealand rock...

Female competitor on competition boulder problem
With the race for the overall series titles hotting up after Round Two, Saturday saw Round...
When I first started rock climbing twenty years ago, there were a lot more men...
Aerial view of coastal rocks
The Aotearoa Climbing Access Trust, funded by NZAC, is on a mission to create sustainable...
A collection of climbing shoes

Newish to climbing? Have you been hiring shoes in the gym up until now, or...

Competition climber on steep overhanging boulder problem.
Saturday was Christchurch's turn to host a NIBS round and what a round it was...
Would you, or someone you know, like to guide the New Zealand Alpine Club into...
NIBS Wellington
Round One of NiBS 2021 was hosted this year by Hangdog in Wellington. A shipment of...
Walking tracks across a crevassed glacier
English climber and writer David Craig once made the observation that mountains ‘ … act...
The Landsborough River and surround ranges.

New Zealand Alpine Club have now published our new Ōhau–Landsborough Alps guidebook. This 216-page guidebook...

Book shelves in the NZAC library

Some members may not be aware that New Zealand Alpine Club holds an extensive library...

The Direct route on Pope's Nose

In The Climber issue #72 (winter, 2010) a feature ran with six of the last...

In The Climber issue #72 (winter, 2010) a feature ran with six of the last...

Boulderer falling from high on a seaside boulder
Whatever, whoever, wherever—climbing has only two dimensions: difficulty and danger. Don’t believe the hype when...
Climber moves dynamically on competition boulder wall

By Richard Waldin, President, Climbing New Zealand.

As we head into 2021, it is difficult...

By James Broadbent

The Vertical World is an incredibly diverse one. It’s outdoors and indoors...

Climber bout clouded valley

I don’t get out enough. I imagine that’s not an uncommon state  of affairs, but...

Woman bouldering

Rach ‘the Mus’ Musgrave is arguably one of New Zealand’s most enduring hard climbers. Despite...

A resin rock climbing hold for indoor walls

‘Aerobics for the 90s’ is how rock climbing was described in a magazine article promoting...

Female climbing in competition with crowd watching.
Cirrus Tan discusses the perceived stigma around competition climbing in New Zealand.
Woman climbing steep rock.

Throwback Thursdays will reproduce features which have appeared in past issues of The Climber magazine...