Activities of the New Zealand Alpine Club.
Every year the NZAC organises a national program of rock, snow and ice climbing courses throughout New Zealand. These courses are advertised in advance in NZ Climber.
Typically:
- The courses are open to Members from all Club Sections Professional guides are employed to instruct.
- They cover revision of existing skills, new techniques, and the improvement of instructional methods.
- The courses are subsidised by both the NZAC and the Hillary Commission. This subsidy helps to increase the level of climbing
ability in section instructors, aspiring instructors and trip leaders.
- Where possible, the courses are held in locations across New Zealand to make them accessible to everyone.
Most sections also organise local instruction courses in the form of indoor lectures followed by practical climbing sessions.
Climbing camps and meets to bring climbers together in the mountains have long been a focal point of Club activity. They are organised irregularly by the different Sections, and there have been some 25 meets and camps since the initial camps in the 1930s. It was with a fine sense of history that the Club chose the Rees Valley for the 1991 Centennial Camp, as this had been
the location of the first of the major camps, organised by the Otago Section in 1931-32. Three of the participants of the original Rees camp were also present in 1991.
Normally, the Club holds a photographic competition every year. The competition is effectively a competition between the different Sections, although a number of individual prizes are awarded to Club Members as part of the judging process. The
details of the photographic competition are given in Appendix 2.
The competition is intended to:
- Stimulate interest in mountain and rockclimbing photography.
- Assist members to attain a higher standard of photography.
- Provide a source of photographs suitable for use in Club publications.
- Top photographs will now be shown on the NZAC Home Page
The Club has a substantial library in the Headquarters Office in Wellington. This has largely been built up from donations and bequests from Members, notably the 1992 Stan Conway memorial collection from Nelson.
The library contains a wide variety of books covering climbing and exploration around the world. Areas covered include Asia, Europe, South America, New Zealand and others. The collection also includes a number of journal sets, including The Alpine Journal (UK) and the Himalayan Journal. The books and journals have been partially catalogued, and a listing is available from Sections or the Headquarters Office. Club Members wishing to borrow books should contact the Club Librarian through the Headquarters Office.
Unwin Hut contains the Glasgow-Scott collection of mountaineering books which was anonymously donated to the Club.
Most Sections have individual libraries from which books may be borrowed by Section Members.
The collection and preservation of documents, correspondence, photographic material, diaries, scrapbooks and relics relating to mountaineering is an important aspect of the Club's activities. Most of the Club's Archives are deposited in the Hocken Library, University of Otago. The Library staff will assist researchers and can make available copies of material at cost. From time to time the NZ Climber contains information on the NZAC deposits held by Hocken Library.
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Page created by Tom Bennion,
Alastair Smith,
and Murray Scott. Last modified 26 June 1996.
Climbing Instruction