So You Want to Start Climbing?
Whether you’ve been eyeing up peaks from the valley floor, want to take your indoor climbing skills onto real rock, or have a specific summit goal in mind, you’re in the right place.
The New Zealand Alpine Club has been helping people get into the mountains since 1891. We’re not a guiding company; we’re a community of over 4,700 climbers, from complete beginners to Himalayan and Yosemite veterans, united by a love of climbing and the outdoors.
Choose Your Path
Climbing in New Zealand generally falls into three streams. Many people cross over between them, but it helps to know which direction you want to head first.
ROCK CLIMBING
Starting at indoor walls and progressing to outdoor crags. You'll learn rope skills, belaying, lead climbing, and eventually trad (traditional) climbing and multi-pitch skills for bigs walls.
MOUNTAINEERING / ALPINE CLIMBING
Heading into the mountains with ice axe, crampons, and rope. This includes snow climbing, glacier travel, and eventually technical alpine routes combining rock, ice and snow. The skills needed for transalpine journeys also fit here.
SKI MOUNTAINEERING / SKI TOURING
Taking your skiing off-piste and into the backcountry. This ranges from day tours through to multi-day traverses.
All three pathways are covered by NZAC instruction programmes.
Starting Mountaineering
If you want to climb peaks, travel on glaciers, or venture into snow and ice terrain on transalpine adventures, here's the typical progression:
STEP 1: BASIC SNOWCRAFT COURSE
This is where almost everyone starts. A 2-3 day course run by your local NZAC Section covering:
- Trip planning and weather
- Ice axe use and self-arrest
- Crampon technique
- Navigation and mountain hazards
- Avalanche safety
Prerequisites: Good fitness and usually a background in tramping (you'll be walking uphill in boots carrying a pack), and gear suitable for alpine conditions. You can hire crampons and ice axes, but you'll need your own boots (at least 3/4 shank stiffness), hardshell jacket, and layers.
Cost: $150-$1000 depending on Section and what's included (some include hut fees, food, travel and gear hire. Some courses are run over multiple weekends and include a separate avalanche skills course).
Age: 16+ for most courses. Under-10s need a caregiver waiver.
STEP 2: GET OUT AND PRACTICE
After your course, the best thing you can do is get into the mountains with others and practise your skills. Join Section trips, find partners through your Section's Facebook group, and start ticking off objectives appropriate to your level.
The guidebook The High Pathways is specifically written for snowcraft graduates looking for suitable objectives. ClimbNZ (climbnz.org.nz) has route information and grades for peaks across the country and there are many regional guidebooks available to help. Start with the grade 1 climbs for routes that rarely need rope work.
STEP 3: SOLIDIFYING BASIC SKILLS
If you haven't already, consider doing an Avalanche Skills Course Level 1 (formerly Avalanche Awareness), and a Navigation Course. These are offered by many NZAC Sections and commercial operators. These combined with Basic Snowcraft and plenty of hours practising will give you a solid base to advance.
STEP 4: INTERMEDIATE SECTION COURSES
Once you've got some mileage on beginner level climbs, NZAC Sections run Intermediate Snowcraft courses to develop your skills on steeper terrain that may need rope work and two ice tools to safely navigate.
Following one of these courses you can start to look at the grade 1+ and 2 climbs in The High Pathways guidebook or on ClimbNZ to consolidate your learning.
STEP 5: INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED NATIONAL COURSES
Once you've got some mileage on intermediate climbs, NZAC runs national courses to develop your skills further:
- Avalanche Skills Course 2 (ASC2)
- High Alpine Skills
- Leading on Technical Ice
- Intro to Backcountry Ski Course
- Glacier Ski Course
These are more intensive (and more expensive as they all use highly qualified professional instructors) but take your skills to the next level. You don't need to do them all, rather focus on what fits best with what you enjoy!
Starting Rock Climbing
If you're climbing indoors and want to get outside, or you're new to climbing entirely:
STEP 1: LEARN THE BASICS INDOORS
Most cities have climbing gyms where you can learn to belay, tie in, and develop movement skills in a controlled environment. This is a great foundation before heading outdoors. It's not a strict pre-requisite but it is recommended if available.
STEP 2: INTRO TO ROCK CLIMBING COURSE
Several NZAC Sections run courses to transition climbers from gym to crag:
- Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury/Westland, and Otago Sections all offer rock instruction
- Wānaka Crag Fest (held annually in late summer) has clinics for all levels
You'll learn about how to choose and use equipment correctly, belaying, climbing technique, route leading, and crag ettiquette. Many commercial operators also offer these types of courses.
Prerequisites: It's great if you've climbed inside and know how to put on a harness and tie-in, but it isn't a pre-requisite. You can be a complete beginner.
Age: 16+ with caregiver waiver for under-18s.
STEP 3: FIND PARTNERS AND CLIMB
Once you have basic outdoor skills, the best way to improve is mileage. Many Sections run weekly summer climbing meetups at local crags. These are great for finding regular partners.
You can also connect with climbers through:
- Your Section's Facebook group
- Regional climbing Facebook pages
- Section club nights (open to non-members)
To be more self-sufficient, you might also consider a Sport Climbing Course (so you can competently lead climb on bolts) and then more advanced styles such as Trad Climbing and Multi-pitch.
Whatever you choose, rock climbing is a really inclusive sport where you 'compete' against yourself. You can be at the crag with friends, and while you are practicing on lower grades your friends might be sending it on the hard stuff right next door.
Starting Ski Mountaineering
If you're a skier wanting to explore the backcountry, from day tours to alpine traverses:
Prerequisites: You need to be a strong intermediate skier comfortable in varied snow conditions. This isn't a programme for learning to ski; it's for taking existing ski skills into mountain terrain.
STEP 1: AVALANCHE AWARENESS (ASC1)
Highly recommended before your first ski touring course. While some avalanche content is covered in the touring courses, avalanche awareness is so critical that it's worht doing as a standalone course first. Many Sections and commercial providers run ASC1 courses through winter.
STEP 2: INTRODUCTION TO BACKCOUNTRY SKI COURSE
This National course covers:
- Touring techniques
- Using skins and ski crampons
- Terrain assessment and route selection
- Avalanche risk management in practice
- Backcountry navigation
Cost: Around $1500
Gear: You'll need a ski touring setup (skis with touring bindings, skins, ski crampons) plus avalanche kit (transceiver, probe, shovel). Boots must be ski-tour compatible. All of this can be hired, but make sure your setup is compatible and fits well before the course; if you are hiring have a trial run with the gear shop prior to the course.
STEP 3: GLACIER SKI COURSE
Once you've got backcountry experience, the Glacier Ski course takes you onto glaciated terrain; roped travel, crevasse rescue, and multi-day ski traverses in the high mountains.
Finding Partners: Sections run ski touring meetups through winter. These are a good way to find regular touring partners and learn from more experienced skiers.
"I Want to Climb [Specific Mountain]"
We get asked this a lot. Someone has their eye on Ruapehu, Aspiring, Aoraki or a peak they've seen from a hut, and wants to know how to get there.
The honest answer: it depends on the peak, the route, the season, and your experience.
Peaks are graded for difficulty, but grades only tell part of the story. A route that's grade 1 under good snow cover might be much harder on loose rock in late summer, and vice versa. Weather and conditions change everything.
Our advice:
- Do a Basic Snowcraft course first
- Talk to your instructors about realistic local objectives for your level
- Build experience on easier peaks before committing to bigger goals
- Check ClimbNZ for route information and grades
- Come to a Section night and talk to experienced climbers
We'd rather you build up steadily and stay safe than rush into something beyond your current skills. Would you decide to sail around the world and then just start the next day? Probably not.
The mountains aren't going anywhere.
If you are desperate to get up a technical high peak in a limited amount of time, it is worth talking to one of the excellent guiding companies we have here in New Zealand.
Visting New Zealand?
If you're here for a trip and want to climb:
Finding partners: Your best bet is Facebook; look for regional climbing groups or the NZAC Facebook group. You could also drop into a Section club night (no membership required) and chat to people there. Details are under each Section on their page on this website.
Route information: ClimbNZ (climbnz.org.nz) is the free national database with over 13,000 routes. See something that doesn't match the description? Log an observation so everyone else can get that information too.
Is membership worth it? Non-residents can join NZAC. It's probably worth it if you'll use other benefits like discounted hut stays at some of our 15 huts, or gear discounts at NZ retailers. For a short trip focused on cragging, you might not need it; but you're welcome at any Section night regardless. You might consider donating to the Aotearoa Climbing Access Trust (ACAT), a close partner of NZAC who works to keep our access available, regardless of the length of your stay. That's just good climbing karma.
What About Commercial Guides?
You might be wondering about professional guiding companies. These include Alpine Guides, Alpine Recreation, Aspiring Guides, Wānaka Mountain Guides, Queenstown Mountain Guides and others. They are excellent operators and many NZAC members use them.
The difference between guided ascents and courses:
A commercially guided climb offers a direct route to specific objectives. Want to climb Aoraki/Mount Cook? A guide can take you there (conditions and skills permitting) without years of building up experience first, or having a trusted climbing partner.
The guiding companies also offer instruction courses.
NZAC and commercial courses are about building skills for independent climbing. We're training you to make your own decisions in the mountains: to assess conditions, choose objectives, manage risk, make decisions and climb with partners rather than following a guide.
The difference between NZAC and commercial courses. NZAC courses are heavily subsidised by using trained volunteer instructors for beginner courses and Club funds at the National course level to make courses as accessible as possible for members. The national courses use instructors wiht the same high levels of experience and qualifications as commercial operators. After an NZAC course, you've got contacts, a Section, and people to climb with for years to come.
Many people do both. Learn skills through NZAC, build experience on your own objectives, then hire a guide for something beyond your current level. They're complementary, not competing.
Why Join NZAC?
You don't need to be a member to attend a Section club night or use ClimbNZ. But to book courses and access most benefits, you'll need to join.
WHAT YOU GET
- Courses: Access to Section and National instruction programmes at a fraction of commercial guiding rates.
- Community: 11 Sections across NZ (plus one in Australia), each with their own trips, club nights, and social events. This is where you find climbing partners for life.
- Huts: Member rates (usually 5-%) at 15 NZAC huts and lodges, from roadside lodges to high alpine bivvies.
- Events: A full calednar of climbing-related events including the BANFF Mountain Film Festival, National Indoor Bouldering Series (NiBS) and Crag Fest.
- Discounts: Gear discounts at major retailers, reduced rates at climbing walls and ski fields.
- Publications: NZ Alpine Journal (twice yearly) and discounted guidebooks for many climbing areas.
- Insurance: Access to overseas travel and rescue insurance options.
- Grants: Apply for an expedition, bolting or publications grant to support your next project.
- Advocacy: National level lobby and submissions supporting access to climbing areas and conservation fo the alpine environment.
Cost: From $130/year for individuals.
The discounts alone often pay for membership. But most people stay for the community, the friendships, the shared trips and the mentorship from more experienced climbers.
We're not a business selling you a service. We're a club of people who love the same things you do.
Your Next Step
Find your local Section here:
Each section runs their own programme of courses, trips, and social events. Get in touch with your local Winter or Rock Instruction Coordinator to find out what's coming up.
Questions? Come to a Section club night (no membership needed) or contact us at [email protected]. We're happy to point you in the right direction.
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