Reflections on a Technical Mountaineering Course

I was fortunate enough to be able spend a month in New Zealand late last year and during this holiday enrolled in a technical mountaineer course (TMC) with Alpine Guides. So I thought I might write some reflections on how the course went for those considering doing one.
Firstly the good stuff. As I come from the flattest continent on earth going into the mountains is a very foreign experience and without a doubt it was amazing. Walking over enormous glaciers beside crevasses that disappear into blue ice is nerve racking as well as awe inspiring. Then to be able to look around at peaks towering above you or great walls of ice and snow was beyond anything I had experienced before. For this experience alone the course was worth it. There were four of us on the course and we had two guides, Bill, a kind of grizzly Adams guy who had an enormous amount of experience (16 Himalayan expeditions, 6 seasons in Antarctica, numerous first ascents in Mt Cook NP, ski patrol, avalanche rescue etc). When we walked into a hut I noticed that most of the guides wondered over to him to discuss the finer points of the snow pack or the weather. Bill also knew a lot of gruesome ways to die in the mountains. It seemed that each new skill was coupled with a story of how one or another of his friends had ended up splattered at the bottom of a mountain somewhere. Our other guide was Yannick who had just finished his guiding ticket in Switzerland and was getting a few hours up. Most of his friends were still alive. The technical rope work was obviously a big part of the course and you get taught heaps of useful tricks. Having done the abseiling instructor's course I had to learn to be to be a lot less anal about backing everything up and rigging for every possible scenario. Three belay points! you were lucky to have one. It was just throw a sling around something solid looking and keep going. Crevasse rescues and ice climbing where probably the highlights of the course. It's not everyday you deliberately walk into a bottomless crack in the ice relying solely on the weight of your novice partner eight or so metres behind you.
There were some down sides to the course though. Whilst it is a 10 day course it is only 7.5 days in the mountains and of those days, 6 were okay for going outside. We probably only had 2 really good climbing days (good weather, hard ice). This wasn't such a big deal as we weren't there to bag peaks and most days we could do some sort of training. However if you want to have lots of mountain top experiences then the consensus was to go to Europe. Mountaineering in New Zealand involves a lot of time waiting for good weather. We shared a hut with some guys who walked in, spent four days waiting for good weather and then flew out in a break in the weather. Not my idea of a good way to spend $500.
The course was not that physically demanding but there is something psychologically destroying about walking in soft snow. For a few steps you go in up to your thighs, then the next few maybe up to your knees but then maybe a few steps on hard ice. You never know what will happen next so you can never really get a rhythm. It sends you crazy after a while. The sun was insane as well. No matter how hard you try it seems impossible to escape getting burnt. I did pretty well but ended up with sunburn on the bottom of my nose for the first time ever.
So all up the course was well worth the effort and the expense and was in fact a lot of fun. Jumping a two metre wide crevasse when your buddy has only paid out one metre of rope ends up a good laugh as is practicing self-arrests and throwing snowballs at steep slopes to start avalanches. So if you get the chance to do a TMC then I would say to go for it.

Walpole Wander - Intern hiking trip stories

Steve…

The Interns’ trip to Walpole was filled with great times and awesome adventures.
I’ll just share a few for this blog entry, and you can ask me about more of the
trip at a later stage.
Low light – there weren’t many bad times on our trip, but sometimes I give the impression that everything I do at Warriuka turns out peachy, which isn’t always the case, so I’d like to share a low light from my week. Ironically it was low–light and rain that turned out to put a dampener on the week. As we were walking on our first day we had underestimated the difficulty of the track, and therefore ended up walking in the dark. To add to our woes, the dark clouds had rolled in and it rained pretty solidly for about an hour and because of lack of preparation on my part, a lot of my clothes inside my bag were moist if not wet. Another factor that contributed towards having a bad day was that the shelter that we were staying in wasn’t on the Bibbulmun track, it was on a 4WD track, about 3km from where we thought it would be. So a hungry, night walking in the rain made me consider pulling the pin on the whole trip, but after a warm meal and some sleep and the sun shining in the
morning, it was only onwards and upwards from there. Highlight – there were many cool points along the way, from the food (including the powdered milk tasting good) to the time we were able to spend with God, being out in His creation. The biggest highlight for me was seeing God’s awesome power displayed in the ocean waves that were crashing along the rocky cliffs on the coast. This was in addition to the beautiful silhouette created against the hills as the sun set behind them. The rays of sunshine poking through from behind the clouds was a reminder that God has the time planned for rain and no rain and He is in control of everything.
I can’t wait for my next adventure with Warriuka and all the highlights and lowlights that come along with it.

Anupa...

Hiking is probably not the most exciting thing in the world, at least it isn’t
for me anyway!
So when we, the interns set out for the Walpole Wander last week I asked myself about 10 times during the first 2 hours of the hike "what in the world am I doing walking up and down hills carrying a back pack that weighs nearly 20 kilograms?" It was raining and dark by the time we reached the first hut on the Bibbulmun track and I wasn’t convinced that it was worth it. However, I needed to know why people hiked and why they chose to brave crazy weather and put their bodies through so much pain! So I decided to go on with the hike and complete it. I needed to know the answer.
The next morning we walked along Mandalay beach and it was beautiful!! Later on that evening we sat on the rocks
and watched the sunset. You know what I’m going to say next… yes!! It was awesome. The ocean reminded me of Gods power, His control over everything and how little I seemed standing there watching the huge waves crashing on the rocks. The next 2 days were pretty cool as well…quite literally! We were freezing on the last night. By the end I got a hint of why people do this; I had a sense of satisfaction when we walked to the car after the hike. I felt fitter and very lucky that I had been to places that only few people had seen. I have not fallen in love with hiking or anything but I know I will do it again if
I get the opportunity.
The pain was worth it in the end!

Hayley...

When we were told we were going to be leading our own intern expedition I have to admit I was a little apprehensive. No Matt, Ross or Dave if things go wrong or to encourage us along our way! However, I knew that we had been taught the skills we’d need and that I should have more faith in myself and my fellow wanderers! So with plenty of prayer, a 18kg pack, rainjacket, sunglasses and other essentials we set off for the Walpole Wander! The first day didn’t quite go to plan and we ended up walking in heavy rain and the dark. Morale was pretty low, we were all tired and to top it off I had a huge blister! I prayed that night that God would give us each the strength we needed to carry on and a new enthusiasm for the walk, and he did. The next day we saw some amazing views as we walked along the beach. I was reminded of God so much that day as we walked in his creation. As we walked along the beach I remembered the words of ‘footprints in the sand’ which focussed me on the fact that God was there walking with me. Also that day as we walked over the hills we saw a rainbow over the ocean which reminded me that God is faithful and keeps his promises. I think that day was my favourite day of the wander because we saw some fantastic scenery and a beautiful sunset and I really felt God’s presence. I have to admit
that there were times during the walk that I found it difficult to keep going but it was during those times that I felt closest to God. I was reminded of Paul’s words to the Phillipians ‘I press on towards the goal, to win the prize for which Christ has called me heavenwards.’ The Walpole Wander taught me heaps about myself and also helped me to meet with God in his creation so I thank God for his faithfulness & strength & for giving me some great fellow wanderers to share the experience with.

Fitzgerald River National Park Photos

So here we are, hiking along the southern coast line of Western Australia, in one of the states most(ly) untouched parks. Fitzgerald River National Park. There are trails, but the three of us chose to walk our own path most of the time, and followed the coast line as much as we could. We encounterd plenty of flora and some fauna, but the most amazing thing for me - Dave - was to learn that we walked through plants and past flowers that only exist in this national park, no where else. Now that is a fantastic concept!


The first morning we encountered a fantastic sunrise, and about 10 whales with calfs in the sheltered bays. Ross here is looking out over the ocean where a whale is swimming approximately 50m off shore. As with all photo ops, the whale decided not to smile for the camera.


This is the inlet crossing we had negotiate. Thankfully the weather was unusually warm and going shirtless wasn't such a big deal. We warmed up and dried off in no time, and even stopped later on to try and catch salmon with our treking poles and shoelace fishing line! No sucess sadly.



Matt found this whale bone on a small beach where we stopped for morning tea on the second day. Further along there is a bigger beach called 'whalebone beach', but we couldn't find that whale bone and renamed the beach, rubbish tip beach because of all the plastic and rope that had washed up.


The first evening the sunset was gorgeous. This is Ross and Dave hiking up one of the final sand dunes. Dune walking is really similar to walking in the snow, and sometimes I wished that I had crampons on.


The final inlet crossing, on the second last day. Only 1km from the car, and thankfully this time we didn't have to swim it! Tired and dirty it was a great feeling to cross the Hamersley Inlet and discover that we had walked further than planned for that day!