About our intermediate-advanced alpine climbing instruction courses

The Total Alpinism course is aimed at mountaineers who want to learn/improve their technical skills to attempt the huge array of peaks of New Zealand's Southern Alps and/or the greater ranges of the world. It covers some alpine rock skills but is geared towards snow and ice, which New Zealand is renowned for.

This New Zealand intermediate to advanced climbing course will be run either in Mount Cook, Westland or Mt Aspiring National Parks, depending on prevailing weather systems and conditions. All these mountaineering areas are ideal venues for an intermediate - advanced climbing course in rugged but beautiful glaciated terrain; with excellent training peaks for participants to apply their skills, under the watchful eye of their expert mountain guide.

Some skills and knowledge are particular to the New Zealand mountains but most are applicable to any mountain range/terrain in the world. You will be taught to the latest international standard.

Intermediate/Advanced climbing Course Objectives

• ice climbing, alpine rock climbing
• anchor selection, placement and set up
• intermediate-advanced crampon technique
• equipment selection
• route planning and mountain weather
• glacier travel
• crevasse rescue - mechanical advantage systems
• rock rescue
• rope handling, abseiling, belaying, knots
• climbing roped up - moving together on runners/ridge travel
• avalanche awareness

Pre-Requisites for our Intermediate/Advanced Climbing Courses

A previous background of rock climbing, trekking or a beginners/basic climbing course is desirable, as is a good level of fitness for the week.

Logistics for our Total Alpinism courses
Price: NZ$	1 person	2 people	3 people	4 people
	$5229	$3129 pp	$2425 pp	$2152 pp
Length of trip:	7 days
Season	November-April
Location	Alpine glacial setting eg Fox or Franz neve, Barron Saddle. This will depend on weather and conditions at the time of the course.
Transport:	Drive to Fox glacier or Mt Cook village, fly to hut. Fly/walk out of venue. Return drive to Wanaka.
Price Includes:	Guiding fee, hut fees, local accommodation, GST of 15 %, party technical equipment e.g. rope, stove, fuel, ground transport, food
Price doesn't include:	Personal clothing and equipment, flights in and out of mountains, personal rental equipment. More about flights

bookings taken anytime: e-mail please

2012 Total Alpinism 7 day scheduled mountaineering course $ 2830 pp (conditons apply) from 4-10 March

Need help to organise YOUR personalised course? simply contact us by clicking here

Private intermediate-advanced alpine climbing and mountaineering courses: get in touch with your dates

Our Instruction Clients on Total Alpinism Courses say:

"Thank you for everything: for great hospitality; for good food; for hitching us a lift on a helicopter; for making us jump off a cliff; for taking the piss eternally for a couple of minor slips (who needs ice screws and belay plates anyway?!?); for putting up with Rob's failure to grasp the two of spades; for clear, helpful hints guiding and instruction wise; and for making us think 7 no trumps, not 6 spades!

Seriously though... it's been a great six days. The choice of location was top notch, the cooking was cracking, the routes you picked were brilliant and it was a great laugh to learn from you - a good combination of clear instruction, deep patience and taking the piss when appropriate! You both made our time in NZ very, very memorable. Thanks a million and best wishes".

Lorna & Rob, Jan 2008, UK

Some Instruction Images

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