Spring ski touring

End of the ski field season but the perfect time for alpine ski touring on the high glacier terrain of the Tasman Glacier.

Bernie, Pete and Duncan from Auckland came on down for the classic Southern alps ski touring trip.

The lads enjoyed a tour to straddle the main divide, checked out some ice serac formations and a 10km ski down the Tasman glacier on 10 cm of fresh POW …….

Kelman Hut @ 2400m at the top of the Tasman Glacier

Mountain Guiding

Gaz and Phil are back from a great Fiordland Mountain adventure that went to Turners Biv at the head of Leader Creek( off Tutoko river valley below Mt Tutoko).

They flew in by Heli with Milford Helicopters, and then did a small excursion up toward Mt Madeline Glacier.

They then walked out down the rugged and not well traveled or marked leader creek exit route.

Amazing weather( which you need for such trips into the middle of the Darren mountains, Fiordland)

Awesome panorarmic veiw from up by the Madeline Glacier( spot Phil in red on round rock knob 1/3 in from left of pic)

from left: Mt Tutoko, Mt Madeline, Mt Syme

Alpine climbing course

IFMGA mountain guide Gaz has just arrived back from Mt Cook region where he has spent seven days teaching alpine climbing skills to 6 students with fellow IFMGA mountain guide Dave McKinley.

Learning to belay on snow pitches, Alpine climbing course at the Head of the Tasman Glacier, Mt Cook region.
Glacier Travel , Tasman Glacier , NZ

Belay stance and rope management. Alpine climbing course( ASC) with Alpine guides Mt Cook.

Mountaineering course

IFMGA mountain guides Gaz and Pablo have just completed a 7 day Alpine guides Aoraki, Alpine Skills course with 6 participants. Great weather and excellent conditions at the head of the Tasman Glacier, a great venue for covering the multitude of mountaineering skills for climbing in NZ and the world.

Ascending the North east ridge of Hochstetter dome.
Ice climbing on the Darwin Icefall

Private instruction mountaineering

Just back from the head of the Fox Glacier, Gary and Josh enjoyed 6 days of brilliant weather and conditions.

Ice climbing, glacier travel, snow and ice anchors, cramponing…. 1:1 private instruction customized….

Glorious West Coast morning

Pioneer hut – spectacular NZ mountain accommodation for a private instruction course

Crevasse rescue prussiking skills on the private instruction course

mountaineering crevasse rescue course

Mountain guide Gary is just back from the Mt Cook region where he instructed a 4 day crevasse rescue course for Alpine Guides.

This was based at Plateau hut, a fantastic venue for this with perfect crevasse terrain right beside the hut and spectacular views of Mt Cook, Silberhorn, Tasman, Lendenfeld, Dixon.

A wee climb on to Glacier Dome gave awesome 360 degree views of glaciers, moraine walls, terminal lakes, firn zones, neves, bergshrunds etc for the participants on the mountaineering skills course.

Prussiking out of a crevasse on the mountaineering course

Participants roping up for glacier travel

Rope rescue systems training

Alpine climbing instruction course

IFMGA Mountain Guide Gary is just back from the Mt Cook, Tasman Saddle area having just completed a 7 day Alpine Guides private instruction course for two clients who wanted to learn/hone their skills for further alpine climbing in the NZ southern alps.  The weather was pretty windy, making for spectacular weather clouds( which were fantastic examples to see and learn from) and the neve is well filled in making for easy glacier travel/access/egress for upcoming mountaineering trips.

lenticular cloud formation observed on the recent alpine climbing instruction course

Leading out on the Tasman Glacier , private instruction climbing course

Climbers in the Darwin Icefall, Tasman Glacier, Mt Cook

Ski Touring the Tasman Glacier

Early September had Mountain Guide Gary heading with two clients  up to the head of the Tasman Glacier for ski touring. New snow had recently arrived and they flew in by helicopter on a clearing Southerly, to be based at Tasman Saddle hut for a few days.

Take Photos, leave excellent ski tracks…..10-15cm of powder over a glacier base of hundreds of meters…

Shall we repeat? of course…..