Black Peak Ice Climbing

This is a trip report of a ice climbing trip I did while I spent three weeks in New Zealand. Most of this time was spent in Wanaka and the surrounding area. I participated in two of Aspiring Guides’ courses during this time. During other times I skied at Treble Cone. This page concentrates on the ice climbing course run by Aspiring Guides.

The ice climbing course was held over a three day period in July. It was based at Aspiring Guides’ hut to the south of Black Peak. Access and regress from the hut was via helicopter to maximise the climbing time. The ice climbing area is located on small cliffs below the hut and above Blue Creek.

During our time there the ice conditions were excellent. This made the climbing a lot of fun. Some of the ice formations have so rarely been climbed that they are still to be named.

I can highly recommend this course to anybody. The guides were very friendly and knowledgeable. An added advantage with Aspiring Guides is that most of their programs have a two day contingency. This means that if the weather is unstable at the beginning of the course they will postpone the commencement for up to two days.

Click on thumbnails for larger image.