October 2008

Here's your reminder to take a break with us this summer. Longer days, warming weather, bring it on! 

We offer some interesting ways of assisting you blow away the cobwebs ... 

Conditions:
With a lower than normal snow season for most of the Southern Alps for most of the winter, there has been a series of spring storms that have begun to really fill in the glaciers. 
Most ice routes are drier than normal. Great travel in the hills at the moment but get back to the hut early before the snow turns to mush. 
Mt Aspiring National Park - good coverage with a recent dump of 50cm. SW Ridge of Aspiring in great shape.
Pioneer hut region - spring conditions with good coverage on the glacier.
Mt Cook region - hard melt-freeze cycle with good coverage on the the glacier.

Guide news:

Marty Beare: Marty has just returned from the European Alps where he has been guiding with our partner Jagged Globe. He reports being extremely busy, working an average of six days per week for twelve weeks. Most of his time was spent in the Swiss mountains based in the alpine resorts of Arolla, Grindelwald, Saas Grund, and Zermatt, plus the occasional foray to Chamonix. Marty describes the climbing conditions this season as superb, with a fortuitous combination of great weather, good snow cover, and dry alpine rock. Most of the classic alpine trips in the Euro mountains are easily within the grasp of the average Kiwi and Australian client. They typically require just a half day-trip approach (often assisted by mechanical uplift) to a mountain hut. From the hut a standard day involves a round trip of 6-10 hours of glacier travel and rock scrambling. With practice it is feasible to attempt some tremendous pyramidal-shaped classics such as the Obergabbelhorn, the Weisshorn, and yes, also the Matterhorn. 

Steve Monks guiding in NZ's southern alps: From mid December to the end of January. Steve Monks is certainly the most famous international climber to have come out of his home town of Bristol, Steve now lives in Natimuk, Australia outside of the alpine season. He is renowned in the local climbing scene for an appetite for exploring and pioneering many climbs in some of Australia's wildest places - such as the incredible "Totem Pole" sea stack in Tasmania. Steve has climbed in the Alps almost every season since 1977, notable achievements including the first British ascent of the ‘Supercouloir’ and the second British solo (there have only been two!) of the Eiger Nordwand. He still climbs to an extremely high standard on both rock and ice - when climbing with him you can’t fail to learn a lot and his boundless enthusiasm is sure to rub off! Bookings for Steve are currently open...

Recommended reading: 
Aat Vervoorn "Mountain Solitudes" ISBN 0-908802-64-1 Craig Potton Publishing
The brilliant follow-up to A V's acclaimed first book "Beyond the Snowline". It draws on 15 years of solo mountaineering and tramping in the rugged south westland section of NZ's southern alps - a country that includes the high peaks of aoraki/mt cook and mt tasman, the distant mt hooker, and such wild and remote valley systems as the Landsborough, the Paringa and the Copeland. In a reflective and oroginal style, Vervoorn explores a number of central themses, particularly that of gaining matery in, rather than over, the mountain environment, and a rejection of the notion that a good mountaineering trip has to have close shaves and suffering to be successful. Both intelligent and humorous, this is not only book about adventure, but an insightful look at the experience of mountain travel and life in the wilderness, and why it profoundly affects so many people.

Ama Dablam 10th expedition (9 Nov - 9 Dec 08) is FULL. Aspiring Guides director Marty Beare will be joining Caroline Ogden as a guide on this year's Jagged Globe Ama Dablam expedition. http://www.jagged-globe.co.uk/exp/itinerary/ama+dablam.html The expedition is fully booked with 12 members (including six climbers recruited via Aspiring Guides) plus Marty and Caroline. You will be able to follow their progress on the news page of the Jagged Globe website.

Jagged Globe climbs it's Sixth 8000er!
At 0600 GMT 4th October 2008, Adele Pennington, Leader of the Jagged Globe Manaslu Expedition called by satellite telephone from Camp 3 (c7,400m). She reported that, along with Mingma Tshiri (Nepali, 13 Everest Summits) plus one New Zealander, one American, four Brits, and 5 Sherpas, she had climbed the world’s eighth highest mountain. Manaslu is the 6th 8000 meeter peak to be climbed by a Jagged Globe team. The first was Broad peak in 1991 (led by Aspiring Guides director Steve Bell) followed by Cho Oyu (1993), Everest (1993), Shishapangma (1994) and Gasherbrum II (1998). The 2008 Manaslu team was originally destined for Cho Oyu, but the Chinese closure of Tibet to mountaineering expeditions forced the team to change its objective. Jagged Globe then took the opportunity to attempt the less known Manaslu, which lies entirely within Nepal. This resulted in a wonderful outcome for the team, and JG's first new 8000er for ten years.

Ideas on excellent mountain expeditions with AGM
Four day ascents -- easy and more difficult climbs (The Footstool, Mt Sealy, Earnslaw, Barth, Dixon, Minarets, Lendenfeld, Barff, Brewster). http://www.aspiringguides.com/four_day_ascents.html
Five day Mt Aspiring http://www.aspiringguides.com/mount_aspiring_tititea.html
Five day Mt Sefton http://www.aspiringguides.com/mount_sefton.html
Six day Mt Tasman http://www.aspiringguides.com/more_great_ascents.html
Six or seven day grade 5 alpine ice http://www.aspiringguides.com/grade_5_climbs.html
Six or seven day Aoraki/Mt Cook http://www.aspiringguides.com/mount_cook_aoraki.html
Seven day Climbing Week http://www.aspiringguides.com/summit_week.html
Twelve day SW ridge of Aspiring & Aoraki/Cook http://www.aspiringguides.com/sacred_ancestors_cook_aspiring_.html
Non-helicopter climbs http://www.aspiringguides.com/eco_climbs_no_helicopters_.html
Ideas on courses (our group size is 2-4)
Seven day intro Mountain Skills course http://www.aspiringguides.com/introductory.html
Eight day Expedition of Mt Aspiring course http://www.aspiringguides.com/advanced_courses.html
Eight day Steep Alpine Ice course http://www.aspiringguides.com/advanced_courses.html
Private Instruction courses http://www.aspiringguides.com/private_instruction.html
One day Sharpen UP program http://www.aspiringguides.com/sharpen_up_program.html

Ideas on treks http://www.aspiringguides.com/wilderness_trekking.html

Whether your desire is to take those first steps into the world of mountaineering, develop state-of-the-art climbing techniques, reach a summit, join an expedition, learn ice climbing or just take time out in the mountains, join us for a safe and enjoyable mountain experience.

The team at Aspiring Guides - climb-trek-ski