In the latter part of March, IFMGA mountain guide Gary Dickson went into Pionner, Fox Glacier for a week where he instructed three NZMGA candidates in Snow and Ice guiding techniques and knowledge.
Snow and Ice guides training
Tag Archives: New Zealand Mountain Guides
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
Snow and ice guides training
February saw IFMGA Mountain Guides Gaz and Jamie deliver for the New Zealand Mountain Guides Association a week of intensive guides training for candidates aspiring to become Climb, Ski and Trekking guides.
Training guides to international standards.
Mountaineering course
January 2018. A mountaineering course was run by Internationally qualified and experienced mountain guide Gary Dickson with two keen beginner mountaineers from Sydney , Australia.
IFMGA, Professional Mountain Guides around the World
NZ mountain guides assn assessments
Nov/Dec had IFMGA Mountain Guide Gary working as an assessor for the New Zealand Mountain Guides association as an assessor for two four day NZMGA hard ice guide courses. Both these courses where run on the lower Tasman Glacier ice, a first for the associations training and certification scheme ( usually these courses have been held on the west coast glaciers). All eight of the candidates who put themselves forward for this aseessment( the highest award in NZ for Hard ice glacier guiding) ended up passing. Well done to them all.
Alpinism in Europe
In July, Mountain Guide Gary Dickson did two trips around the MonteRosa massif – the classic “spagetti tour” which involves alpinism in both Switzerland and Italy, enjoying the spectacular scenery of this alpine world and the excellent alpine culture of Swiss and Italian mountain huttes/refugios.
The matterhorn at sunset on the classic “spagetti tour” MonteRosa Chain , Switzerland/Italy.
2016 specialized mountain training in Iceland
Again this year , Mountain Guide Gary Dickson travelled to Iceland in June and worked with Icelandic Mountain Guides and this year some other glacier guides from Iceland with their training and certification requirements for the Icelandic glacier guiding industry.
specialized mountain training in iceland
the power of icelandic milk for mountain training
Iceclimbing in iceland
Iceland – specialized mountain training
Comming up in June, IFMGA Mountain Guide Gary will be heading for two weeks to Iceland to continue his work with Icelandic Mountain Guides with their glacier and alpine trekking guide program. This is specialized training and assessment that gary enjoys being involved in so a high quality and safe mountain product can be offered and delivered to clients in a special and spectacular setting 66 degrees North.
Iceland – very different part of the planet that!
Alpine technical consultancy
Recently Gary used his extensive technical alpine background and international guiding qualifications to do a field audit of commercial rock climbing activities.
1:1 alpine climbing instruction course
Early April saw IFMGA Mountain Guide once again head back to the head of the Tasman Glacier for a 1:1 ratio alpine climbing instruction course for a chap from Sweden.
Mountain Guides Qualifications
Tasman Saddle hut, your base for a mountaineering instruction course