TRAINING MOUNTAIN GUIDES

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25243, 23 July 1947, Page 9

TRAINING MOUNTAIN GUIDES

PLANS FOR SCHOOL AT MOUNT COOK

Applications to attend the training school for guides, which it is planned to establish at Mount Cook, will shortly be called by the Public Service Commission, according , to a statement by the general manager of the Tourist and Publicity Department (Mr L. J. Schmitt). He said the school could train about eight men. When the men have finished their training they will work at mountain resorts throughout the Dominion. Applicants must be in their early twenties, and preference will be given to returned servicemen. Training may take from two to three years and will range over a large area of the Southern Alps. In winter, when high climbing is not feasible, the men will probably be trained as ski instructors. First-class guides needed good physique and character said Mr Schmitt. One of the objections that had been held against guiding *as an occupation in the past was that after a certain age it was considered a guide could not continue the work and was compelled to find other employment. The department’s scheme would overcome this by transferring men who became too old for guiding to other jobs, such as forestry or work on high country sheep stations. A superannuation scheme would also be provided. Questioned about the department’s scheme for equipping huts in alpine districts with radio transmitters, Mr Schmitt said guides would be trained in the use of this equipment.