To be honest May and June are pretty slow in Wanaka, the days start getting pretty short and the lack of sun starts to make everything seem to be a bit past its use-by date. Everyone begins to focus on the last week of June. 

Until then the mountains are bit like a cold swimming pool, but finally the waiting ends and we have ICE. Once the mountains freeze, the fun begins. First the frozen waterfalls and then the skiing turn Wanaka into a winter playground. Ice climbing comes first while the snow cover is still thin. 

Our hut at Black Peak is the perfect place for people that want to thrash and dangle on a frozen waterfall. As the snow gets deeper, ski touring takes over. New Zealand is way underrated as a ski touring destination. 

The fact is, the mountains here are so rough that compared with the out your door kind of touring available elsewhere in the world it can be a bit daunting here. But with a little local knowledge ski touring here is world class. We are blessed with multiday trips for beginners as well as ski mountaineering and glacier skiing for the more advanced.

Space is available on the following courses :

Winter Waterfall Ice Climbing at Black Peak - 4 days : 28 June to 1 July, 2 to 5 July, 9 to 12 July, 13 to 17 July

Pisa Range Ski Tour - 3 days : July through September

Black Peak Backcountry Tour - 3 days : August and September

Winter Backcountry Awareness Course - 4 days : July through early Sept

Summit to Sea Ski Tour - 5 days : 26 to 30 August, or ask about private tours at any time July through September

IT'S SNOWING - UPDATE -

Aspiring Guides go to Peru

There are so many places to climb in New Zealand that we do not get the wandering eye very often, but every now and then an opportunity comes that is too hard to resist. 

We mentioned in our last newsletter that Aritza Monesterio had come to work with us over the summer from Peru. Well, he was such a big hit with us we realized that we would be crazy not to take advantage of his connections. We have designed a trip to three of Aritza’s favorite peaks. 

This trip is designed to be the perfect step up for our clients who have done ascents such as Mt Aspiring. But this is much more than just a climbing trip -  friendly people and amazing scenery make a visit to the Cordillera Blanca a must for anyone who loves mountains. The guides here reckon the best part will be strapping your pack on to a donkey instead of carrying it yourself!

With Gavin Lang coming from New Zealand we are hoping to get together a team of 4 climbers for August 2010. Whitney will be going to Huaraz to visit Aritza in May so watch this space. If you are interested, visit http://www.aspiringguides.com/cordillera_blanca_peru_2010.html

Whitney loses faith, finds it, then loses it again.

When the weather looked dodgy for a planned trip to the Darrans, I was forced to rethink my plans. The weather to the south was terrible but luckily north of Wanaka the forecast was good. 

Long time client David Lording had climbed in many of the usual areas so the hunt was on for some new terrain. After the usual mulling over of maps it was decided to do a circuit of the North and South Temple Valleys and have a go at a classic alpine climb, Weta Prowler. 

Located about half way between Wanaka and Mt Cook, the Temple Valleys are reached by driving up the Lake Ohau road to the Dobson Valley. A long days hiking brought us to the foot of what was referred thereafter as “The Mother of All Scree Slopes”. Rising like an arrowhead out of this massive pile of choss is Steeple Peak. The South West Face is a clean face of rock with a brilliant outlook, first climbed in 2002 this route to the summit of the spire is called Weta Prowler. 

After a luxurious night at Chateau Bush, the mental crux of the climb proved to be about half way up the scree slope. The idea that any supreme being would be so cruel to make someone scale this pile of shattered schist was proof to me that God does not exist.  After several eternities the route was reached and the climbing began. Easy pitches with just enough sting to make us thankful for the rope, were a nice warm up as the sun finally reached the face. The climbing slowly steepened with a spectacular culmination in a large dihedral. 

The climb was in the bag – except for the Russian Doll summit where each time the peak was reached it would reveal another unseen pitch to climb. Finally, after a few choice words about the secretive nature of New Zealand guide books, the summit was reached. With a beautiful climb on a perfect day, my faith in God was restored, until I got halfway down the way we came up in the morning. My faith was weak.

WIN A JACKET!

People resort to all kinds of strange activities when they are hut bound. A very flash Aspiring Guides down vest (size med or small) goes to the first person to tell us exactly what these two are finding so important?

What do Guides do with their time off?

You may wonder? You'd think they'd all lie down with a nice cup of tea after a strenous summer of guiding in the NZ Alps. 

But no! They're off on exciting private adventures of their own which we'll reveal more about in coming newsletters. Some of the really crazy ones enter multi-sport and mountain biking endurance races! Check out Gavin Lang on his bike for the EPIC 125km mountain bike race around Lake Hawea. It was suitably hideous weather, and I was disappointed to see that Gavin is still looking remarkably clean despite his protests that he was, in fact, covered in mud from head to toe!

Man are these guys addicted to endorphine or what?

OTHER EXCITING TRIPS COMING UP!

What did you do this April? Well if was not spent skiing the Haute Route then maybe you should start getting it together for next year. Whitney will be leading a trip with the details to be announced. Get your name in early for more information and start dreaming.

Can't wait to strap the planks back on the feet.

Cheers

Whit Thurlow, Chief Guide, IFMGA