Reply To: Speaking of Mountaineering

The main problem with the Australian courses is that you will only get a limited amount of instruction relating directly to mountaineering simply due to the fact that it’s just snow and snow slopes, ie. no crevasses or mixed terrain or steep stuff, not much ice, no avalanche risk to assess, etc. . Sure they will be able to teach you self-arrest, snow anchors, rope techniques, snow caves, but you can pretty much learn that from books, but it’s the other stuff that they won’t be able to teach you that will be the most valuable if you do head to NZ or elsewhere for a climbing trip. Toddling along snow slopes is soooo different to being on steeper, icy, mixed terrain (ie. the fun stuff!).

It is worth getting a good mteering instruction book to get an idea of some basics – ‘Freedom of the Hills’ would have to be the best I know of. If you have had little snow experience, it is certainly worth a trip to the snowier regions of Oz – ski or snowshoe in, take a tent, have a play, but then from WA, it won’t cost that much more to go to NZ.

There has been some similar discussion on Chockstone also that might be helpful:

http://www.chockstone.org/Forum/Forum.asp?Action=DisplayTopic&ForumID=3&MessageID=3046&Replies=13&PagePos=0&Sort=#newpost