Alpine skills for hunters and trampers

5 days, $1500 incl gst, 3 cooked meals/day & 5 nights accommodation

This course is ideal for you if

This course has been designed to bridge the gap for summer trampers and hunters wanting to access above tree-line winter environments. By taking your existing tramping and/or hunting skills and introducing new relevant alpine specific skills, this course will equip you with the tools and develop your knowledge to help you travel safely in an alpine or winter environment above the tree-line.

Additional accommodation is available post course if you would like to stay on and develop and practice the skills that you’ve learnt on the 5 day course.

Our courses are highly adaptable to YOUR learning desires and outcomes, but as a baseline this course will include:

Personal Clothing and equipment
Alpine movement – footwork, crampon and ice axe travel
Non-technical rope use
Off-track/poor visibility navigation and trip planning
NZ weather forecasting (both in the field and planning trips)
Avalanche Awareness and companion rescue
Winter Camp craft
Risk management and planning in an alpine environment
Cold weather first-aid & survival.

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Venue

All courses are hosted at Ferrier Lodge at Temple Basin Ski Field, located above snowline, approximately 500m above Arthurs Pass proper. The lodge is warm and features hot showers, a bar, and plenty of indoor learning space when the weather is too inclement outside. Our drying room makes quick work of any wet gear you may acquire from time outside. With the glaciated peaks of the main divide of the Southern Alps in our backyard, nearby gorges, ice, and bolted rock routes, Temple Basin is one of the best places in the world to learn mountaineering skills! The peaks and rocky terrain of Arthurs Pass National Park provide a wide range of difficulty levels to advance your comfort in exposed terrain, with the lodge never too far away.

Access to the lodge is via a foot track, with a goods lift available to bring your gear up making the walk very pleasant! The lodge boasts a full time chef, a bar with craft beer on tap, and bunkroom accommodation based on four people to each room. The lodge is very comfortable with a drying room, hot showers, and a large lounge/dining area. Theory and rope skills are hosted inside a specifically designed lecture theatre.

Course content/instruction topics

The course will culminate in the planning and execution of a climb on the main divide of the Southern Alps. The extended time spent living high in an alpine environment allows participants a more thorough understanding of the vagaries of mountain weather and the changes in the snowpack. The 5-days of instruction offers plenty of opportunities for weather and snowpack dependent learning, for example, you will learn more from self-arresting and travel on different snow conditions.

The elevation of the lodge allows for close proximity to various peaks offering a wide breadth of skill development and inspiration! The development of climbing technique over different conditions and getting to know other participants well is another great advantage.

Itinerary

Arrive to the hill on Sunday evening during the usual goods-lift operation (4pm-6pm). Dinner on this first night is included in the course fees. Specific activities are highly subject to the weather forecast and conditions, however practical hands-on learning will be the main focus with the aim to spend as much time outside as possible.

All courses are weather dependent, but a potential course may be as follows. The course will begin with a brief lecture and course intro following breakfast on Monday morning. Later in the morning, you may be introduced to crampons and use them outside, while in the afternoon practice self-arresting skills with an ice axe. Tuesday and Wednesday will see you learning skills both outside and inside such as avalanche awareness and companion rescue, weather forecasting and trip planning, and alpine navigation techniques. Wednesday afternoon may be spent climbing your way up towards the divide, to spend the night in a snow cave in Upper Bills Basin. Thursday will see your descent back to the lodge practicing self-arrest skills, navigation and route finding along the way where you will spend the afternoon planning an ascent of Mt. Temple or another local peak. After assessing the avalanche condition and safe travel routes you will spend the day practicing skills learned so far to gain a winter summit in Arthurs Pass National Park. The course will end around 4pm and set you up for a weekend to put your new skills into practice!

Gear required

50L Backpack* with pack liner
Shell/storm jacket and pants – waterproof and breathable
Gaiters
Layers of thermal clothing
Hat, gloves – more than one pair
Sunglasses and sunscreen
Sleeping bag, sleeping mat
Transceiver, snow shovel and probe*
Bivvy bag* – for potential snow cave overnight
Compass
Head torch with spare batteries
Drink bottle – at least 1 litre
Notebook and pencil
Camera
First aid kit including personal medication and treatments for cuts, blisters and pain
Personal toiletries, towel

Personal climbing equipment including:

Heavy tramping boots with a stiff sole or mountaineering boots
Ice axe and crampons*
Climbing* or skiing helmet
Climbing harness and hardware*
Transceiver, shovel, probe*

The following tools are suggested however, not required.

1 x +/- 20cm ice screw
Snow stake*

*May be rented from NZSSI, please enquire for availability

Note

Included in price, all meals from Sunday evening through until Friday lunch, accommodation from Sunday through Thursday nights.

Participants should be over 18 years of age, of reasonable fitness and previous tramping experience. If you have some pre-existing condition about which the instructor should be aware in an emergency, it is your responsibility to communicate this. Information such as this will be kept confidential.