Mountaineering Trip to the New Zealand Southern Alps – Expedition Beanie Grant 2019

2019 UNSWOC Beanie Grant – Mountaineering Training Trip to the New Zealand Southern Alps

Participants: Jenny, Henry, Maria, Brendon, Ash, Jeffrey, Matthew, Stephen

Over 50 years ago, our club (The Climbing & Mountaineering Society) had a clear goal: to create a safe, unique and supportive community of climbers within our university to climb mountains together. They achieved it. Nowadays, UNSWOC is a thriving community with hundreds of active members learning skills, leading trips, sharing their knowledge, and exploring the outdoors. However, mountaineering, the heart of our club and our most technical discipline, has almost vanished. Over the years, a lack of investment in the development of mountaineering skills has led to a massive reduction in the practice of this challenging sport. To overcome this problem, we have formed a team with some of our most active, skilled and experienced trip leaders to bring mountaineering back to the UNSWOC.

The president, vice president, treasurer, training officer, gear officer, former gear officer, former events officer and caver of the year have meticulously planned a mountaineering training trip to New Zealand to safely develop our mountaineering skills and teach them back to the club. Our itinerary includes the completion of a 7-days High Alpine Skills Course with the NZ Alpine Club followed by 2-3 weeks of self-sufficient alpine ascents around the Mt Cook and Mt Aspiring National Parks. The 2019 UNSWOC Expedition Beanie Grant will go towards subsiding a small part of the course.

In December 2019 we will hike to the Aoraki Mount Cook National Park in the south of New Zealand, a well-known area for alpine rock, snow & ice sites. Throughout the course, the 8 participants will get training on crampon and ice-axe skills, alpine rock, snow and ice climbing techniques, glacier travel, crevasse and improvised rescue techniques, snow and ice anchors, belay systems and pitched climbing, abseiling, route selection, mountain navigation, weather forecasting, avalanche awareness, hazard management and emergency shelters. To conclude our training, we will ascend Kaitiaki Peak (2222 m) or Turner Peak (2341 m) with our instructors. Afterwards, our team will attempt to summit Mount Brewster unguided using the knowledge obtained in the course. Mount Brewster (2516 m) is the highest peak in the eastern corner of the Mount Aspiring National Park and requires classic New Zealand alpine climbing skills. Depending on the conditions, we will climb the South Ridge from the Mount Brewster hut, a steep snow ridge to the summit graded 2+.

Success in mountaineering comes from training, experience, good decision-making and good teamwork. All the participants have been training for the past year, including leading sport and trad single and multipitches, trips to the snowy mountains, Coogee Death Stairs, carrying heavy (20-30 kg) backpacks, swimming, running, cycling and hitting the gym. Knowledge of knots, anchor-building, rope rescue techniques and crampons use has been covered and practised. Upon our return, we will be highly committed to sharing our skills by taking suited members ice climbing and glacier crossing in the Snowy Mountains (2 weekend-long trips per year). Furthermore, we will run a minimum of 8 one-day workshops per year focused on teaching the partaken course’s curriculum. Once UNSWOC has regular members involved in mountaineering, the permeation of its skills and knowledge will not be hindered by the shortage of skilled people but only by the willingness of members to learn and be involved. It is time for UNSWOC to go back to its roots and climb big mountains again, and thanks to the UNSWOC Expedition Beanie Grant to make it possible.