CLIMBING SCHOOL

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21783, 12 October 1940, Page 4

CLIMBING SCHOOL

MOUNTAINEERING INNOVATION Though most sporting activities are suffering a partial eclipse at the present time, and the ranks of mountaineers, like others, have been thinned by many engaged in military duties, it is the aim of the clubs to carry on so far as is possible. With this end in view a scheme for a Climbing School to be held in the Christmas-New Year holidays is being actively pursued by the New Zealand Alpine Club in conjunction with the Group Travel Association N.Z. In the past the difficulty of the embryo mountaineer has been to know how to begin, for to climb with guides was in most cases beyond his means, and to climb without involved in the initial stages the braving of unknown and all too real diffculties. The climbing camps held in the past from time to time to a certain extent overcame the difficulty, but they were held at rather infrequent intervals and were necessarily limited in their scope. The position has therefore been met by the inauguration of a Climbing School where for 10 days those who attend will be put through a definite syllabus of mountaincraft by the best experts available. By this method the well-known initiative of New Zealand men and women can be directed to the production of efficient guideless climbers. Course of Study Mr Frank Barta is to be chief instructor assisted by other well-known mountaineers. The climbers will assemble at the Ball Hut which will serve as a base. There they will be taught walking on ice and snow, rope technique, the use fo ice-axe, crampons, etc. The other huts on the Tasman Glacier will be available as the scope of instruction extends to such things as step-cutting, anchoring, the choosing of routes over, round and in crevasses. Rock-craft will lie studied too, and the instructions will lead on to mountain expeditions where the lessons will be put into practical application in snow and rock climbing The courses will be of about 10 days’ duration each and will be held from Christmas right on throughout January if sufficient support is forthcoming The innovation, if successful will represent a great advance in the development of mountaineering in New Zealand.