Beginner’s Snowschool 2 - July 2010

When the winter chill comes
blowing in around this time, it can only mean several things: mochaccinos,
thermals, and SNOW. Our group of ten trampers and climbers (or both) headed
down to the mountains on a chilly Monday night for Round Two of this year’s AUTC
& AURAC Beginner’s Snowschool. The majority of the group had little
experience with alpine climbing, so this was the best place to learn the basics
of mountaineering – ice axe and crampons techniques, ice climbing, self
arrests, a trip to the summit, and avalanche rescue practice - they were all in
store! We were in good hands too, Craig Smith and Kat Collier were our
instructors, bringing with them years of alpine and tramping experience.

Just so that we could fully
immerse ourselves with the sub-zero temperatures we would soon face on the
mountain, we spent the first night tenting at a DOC campsite near Whakapapa,
after arriving near midnight. It was COLD. Enough said. From the crack of dawn
we readied ourselves for the steep three hour climb up the ski-field to our
home for the next three days at the NZ Alpine Club hut. Luxury was an
understatement – microwaves and kettles were a far cry from the bare sinks and
open fires of the traditional tramping hut. We didn’t complain!

First up we learnt the techniques
of self-arresting using ice axes. We simulated falling down a steep slope in
every possible position – feet first, head first, backwards… and those without
gaiters quickly learned why they were useful! The idea was to roll onto one’s
stomach from whatever position they were sliding, head pointing up the slope. That
way weight could be exerted from the shoulder onto the ice axe head, digging
hard into the snow. Provided the snow wasn’t overly icy, you would slow down
very quickly. The uncontrolled toboggan with eight of us linked together
sliding down the slope was particularly exhilarating!

Later in the day we all had a
crack at ice climbing. The key was to trust your equipment – the snow anchor we
used for top-roping could theoretically hang a snow plough for example. Most of
the techniques from rock climbing carried over - three points of contact at all
times, but instead of foot and hand holds we had two slightly smaller ice picks
and crampons to help us scale the ice-laden cliff face. This first experience
in ice-climbing gave us a tantalizing taste of a large part of what mountaineering was about.

The weather was amazing
throughout the whole trip, and we were rewarded for our efforts that evening
with an incredible sunset beyond Mt Taranaki, which stood crystal clear all of
130km away in the distance.

The next day was reserved for climbing
to the summit of Mt Ruapehu - the wind had picked up, but a thermal layer,
t-shirt, and jacket was sufficient for the climb. Kat taught us en route about
how to test a snow profile for the risks of an avalanche – luckily we were
treading on secure terrain! It was a moderate three hour climb to the plateau,
but the last section of ascent to the one of the three major peaks,
Paretetaitonga was exceptionally steep. Secure front pointing with the crampons
and using ice axes kept us safe to the summit, and we stood at 2751 metres eating the most
satisfying block of chocolate there was! Views were out-of-this-world,
stretching out to Mt Taranaki, closer down the mountain was Turoa and
Whakapapa, and Mt Nguaruhoe & Mt Tongariro were remarkable from this
height, everything perfectly clear. Unreal.

 The descent from the summit was easily twice
as tricky, climbing down backwards made the foot placements harder to see, but
nothing a little teamwork couldn’t fix!

Our evening talk that night
covered the basics of avalanches, one of the major hazards of mountaineering in
certain alpine areas. Temperature, snow sensitivity, and the aspect of the slope
are all factors contributing to avalanche risk. Talk turned towards snow
shelters – ice caves, snow mounds, snow trenches, and igloos… a couple of us
were very interested in how they were made, and as it turned out, night-time or
pre-dawn were the best times to make them. Matt Lillis was the most
enthusiastic of us to make one, and before long Stephen and I were compelled to
join him, we trudged into the darkness and the cold with 5 layers of thermals
each. Brave, yes. Crazy… most likely. Hayley didn’t quite share our motivation
to head out of the toasty hut at 9pm…”It’s just that it’s so…outside!”

We discovered the snow conditions
were almost perfect for cutting out blocks of snow, they held together
brilliantly without crumbling. So after nearly three hours of back-breaking
shoveling, cutting, carrying, tripping… we had completed our very own igloo!
Craig channeled our efforts as chief architect, but he was soon trapped within
the cocoon of snow, as he wedged the blocks together higher and higher. To keep
our shelter windproof we dug out a small tunnel in which to dive out
underneath, leaving the roof unfinished till morning. Matt wasn’t satisfied
there however, and Stephen & I were reluctant at first, but we eventually decided
it was worse to leave any regrets on the mountain… so we joined him to spend
the night in our brand new home! The open roof even made for a great star-dome!
It was an amazing experience for us three, waking up at 7am after over six
hours of sleep felt completely triumphant. Only one problem…how to wrench those
frozen boots on…

We rejoined the team at the hut
for porridge and carried on with the day’s activities; practicing using the
avalanche rescue transceivers. For the engineers in the group this was an
interesting application, using the radio devices to locate another buried
transceiver by narrowing down the distance from the victim that flashed on the
screen. Once we had the buried beacon located to a grid square of about 30cm x
30cm we used avalanche probes (like long tent poles) to work out their depth, and
finally shoveled out the transceiver to safety!

Evaluating the course (inside our
completed igloo of course), it seemed everyone had found the three days
thoroughly useful and it had definitely inspired a new wave of mountaineers.
Beginner’s school was an awesome trip, and I’m sure we’ll now all be itching to
get more exposure in our new snowy playground and before long take on the
Advanced Snowschool next year!

By Alastair McDowell