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Searching for ice climbing mentor/partner |
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17-Apr-2014 2:30:21 PM
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Hi all,
I am searching for a mentor/partner with experience in ice climbing/mountaineering. My last climbing trip was to the Swiss Alps some 3 years ago while at university to climb a few ‘easy’ 4000m peaks (I.e. Weissmies) and partake in a week long alpine skills course. Although my mountaineering activities have been somewhat dormant in the last few years I have never lost interest. Recently I have set a personal goal to climb Aoraki Mt Cook at the end of the year therefore I am looking to improve my technical skills and become more involved in ice climbing. I am currently working in Brisbane but will be moving down to Melbourne at the end of May. If interested please drop me a PM or email,
Cheers,
Darren
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17-Apr-2014 2:36:40 PM
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My advice is to join NZAC. They have a few trips planned in winter this year (to blue lake for ice) and at the end of the year for a few peaks. That's probably the easiest way to meet people with similar interests.
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17-Apr-2014 3:06:45 PM
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Thanks for advice Sabu
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17-Apr-2014 4:37:44 PM
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Don't choose simey, unless you like wearing KT26's and playing god on golden streak boulder at the arapiles
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18-Apr-2014 12:46:24 PM
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On 17/04/2014 Dargav wrote:
>Hi all,
>I am searching for a mentor/partner with experience in ice climbing/mountaineering.
>My last climbing trip was to the Swiss Alps some 3 years ago while at university
>to climb a few ‘easy’ 4000m peaks (I.e. Weissmies) and partake in a week
>long alpine skills course. Although my mountaineering activities have been
>somewhat dormant in the last few years I have never lost interest. Recently
>I have set a personal goal to climb Aoraki Mt Cook at the end of the year
>therefore I am looking to improve my technical skills and become more involved
>in ice climbing. I am currently working in Brisbane but will be moving
>down to Melbourne at the end of May. If interested please drop me a PM
>or email,
>Cheers,
>Darren
>
The Remarkables Ice and Mixed festival is a good place to meet up with fellow climbers and practice your skills, there maybe a few places left on the clinics. http://www.iceandmixedfestival.co.nz. There will be a good crew of Aussies headed over there this year, and there will be people around for the week before and after if you wanted to make a longer trip out of it.
Cook is a long climb and involves some reasonably serious terrain (big crevasses, ice cliffs). November and December are the normally the best months to climb it. Good option is to climb something easier like Dixon to see how your fitness and skills are before you commit to climbing Cook.
let me know if you need anymore info
Cheers
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18-Apr-2014 11:03:51 PM
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Thanks for reply Brendan, could you offer any info on getting some ice climbing and technical training in a bit closer to home (Melbourne). Iv read there are a few short ice/mixed routes on Mt Bogong and Buller.
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19-Apr-2014 9:22:04 AM
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On 18/04/2014 Dargav wrote:
>Iv read there are a few short ice/mixed routes on Mt Bogong and Buller.
http://www.chockstone.org/MtBulla/MtBulla.htm
http://www.chockstone.org/MtBogong/MtBogong.htm
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19-Apr-2014 10:04:35 AM
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ASM in Katoomba offer courses: http://climbingadventures.com.au/mountaineering-ice-climbing
You can actually get some really good mountaineering practice in the Snowies in winter, even if the steep ice has not formed. Most mountaineering is just cramponing up moderate terrain anyway and there are heaps of icy windblown slopes up high to do that from late June to September.
The problem with doing a course in the Snowies (aside from lack of glaciers etc) is that you lock in dates months ahead and this is a very unwise thing to do for the area. The weather is often bad and the backcountry is not an enjoyable or safe place to be in bad weather, especially for a novice. It's so flat you can get lost easily and the bad weather makes it hard to practice skills properly. Other than snow camping, shovelling and whiteout navigation.
So whatever you do, if you go up there, try and be flexible with the weather and timing, as it will make a big difference. Save the masochism for later.
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19-Apr-2014 11:57:16 AM
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These courses look interesting, has anyone done one?
I've also been looking at Aspiring mountaineering coursed in NZ, anyone done one of those?
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19-Apr-2014 1:41:56 PM
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Fixed courses are convenient to organise but are badly subject to the vagaries of weather, even more so in NZ. Any of the main NZ companies are fine for their courses. None will be terrible, but it's a people-business and you will get on better with, and learn more from, some guides than others, depending on you and your situation.
It's actually much better to get together with one or two mates of similar experience and hire a guide privately to give you instruction and take you out. You're not so subject to the random levels and personalities of a course group and a small rope of two or three is much more flexible in moving to take advantage of weather and conditions, plus you learn faster as you get more time with the guide and s/he can tailor it all to your situation. It costs more upfront, but is better value in the end.
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19-Apr-2014 7:22:10 PM
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Grow balls=send, Cooks cake walk. 40 packs of gue, a liter of water and the monkeys are sending.
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19-Apr-2014 8:27:13 PM
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On 19/04/2014 GroundFall wrote:
>Grow balls=send, Cooks cake walk. 40 packs of gue, a liter of water and
>the monkeys are sending.
are you drunk?
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19-Apr-2014 8:35:00 PM
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No, cook is cake walk. its a walk up. I will mentor the guy, he can come to California with me in June and learn how to belay properly and maybe even send.
send send send send send.
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19-Apr-2014 8:44:58 PM
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Are you a good climber? Why do you need 40 packets of gue to climb Cooke?
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19-Apr-2014 8:49:33 PM
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Don't you know the old saying?
40 packs of gue, a liter of water and the monkeys are sending. Wall in a day, base jump from top!
Leave your food at home, just take 40 packs of gue and one liter of water. :)
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19-Apr-2014 8:56:21 PM
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BASE jump off cook? Is this what your going to yosemite for, do you need this guy to carry your bags down east ledges? Does it still count as an ascent if you don't do the descent?
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19-Apr-2014 9:13:05 PM
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No, its just a saying, tried the gue thing once and its not a good idea, YUK!
If he wants to learn how to climb then he can come on a climbing binge with me, that will teach him all he needs to know. Climb a 4000meter peak every 2/3rd day for two months, he would learn alot.
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20-Apr-2014 1:05:23 PM
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On 18/04/2014 Dargav wrote:
>Thanks for reply Brendan, could you offer any info on getting some ice
>climbing and technical training in a bit closer to home (Melbourne). Iv
>read there are a few short ice/mixed routes on Mt Bogong and Buller.
I haven't really had any luck in Victoria finding frozen things to climb. I have been up feathertop a few times and poked around at Mt Buller.
Blue Lake is the most reliable winter climbing venue in Australia. Nothing fantastic but good to get skills up with crampons and swing the Ice tools
Try the NZAC Australia section page or post up here again for partners coming upto winter.
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