Mountaineering Courses
The Ski Mountaineering Course is based in the Aoraki / Mount Cook region but depending on conditions it is also possible to travel to the Mount Aspiring or Westland National Parks or the Remarkables, near Queenstown.
These venues provide a range of terrain and ski touring and mountaineering objectives to explore and practice the skills and decision making to keep you safe on your own ski mountaineering adventures.
Meeting at our base in Wanaka at 8:30, you meet your guide and go through gear checks and the plan for the trip. It is a 2.5 hour drive to Mount Cook Airport to fly into the mountains. Once settled at the high alpine hut, the group will head out to cover the skills of the course and explore the area with day packs.
Course topics will be covered whilst exploring the névés, cols, and summits with day packs. On the last day, the tour will ski down the Tasman / Haupapa Glacier for a helicopter transfer back to the village. The itinerary is flexible and subject to weather.
Visit our Downloads page for course resources to prepare for the course.
Topics include:
The course takes place in a remote mountain environment so participants need to have some experience touring and be familiar with their touring equipment.
Ski or splitboard crampons are mandatory for glacier trips. For splitboarders, we also highly recommend dedicated snowboard mountaineering boots over downhill boots. These offer a stiffer sole with heal welts for compatibility with boot crampons and better edging when boot packing in firm snow. Also a slight rear flex for more comfortable uphill travel and a rand for protecting the longevity of the boots.
Further advice on ski and splitboard touring equipment can be found on our Knowledge Base article: Equipment for Ski and Splitboard Touring.
We work with MT Outdoors and Wanaka Splitboard Rentals to arrange hire ski touring equipment.
If hiring equipment, we recommend having a few warm up days around WÄnaka before the course.
Can't make these dates? Get in touch to arrange other group or private dates from August to Ocotber.
Register interest below for more information.
Inclusions: applicable taxes, NZMGA certified guide, accommodation in the mountains or at our Kea Lodge, all food, flight into and out of the mountains, and transport from Wanaka.
Exclusions: Ski and splitboard touring equipment. This is available from MT Outdoors in Wanaka.
If you need accommodation in Wanaka the night before or after the course, shared and private rooms are available for clients in our Kea Lodge which is adjacent to the WMG Base.
If the course is unable to spend the entire time in the high mountains due to weather, day or overnight trips will be carried out from Mount Cook Village or Wanaka using nearby ski fields to continue the learning.
[Our guide] did an outstanding job of creating building blocks of learning – e.g. around crevasse rescue – so each of us was able to assimilate the learning involved at a rate that was appropriate for each of us. He also very skilfully managed and created situations where we could test ourselves at a level at which we were comfortable, without specifically calling this out. He is exceptional as a guide and brings a number of qualities to guiding which are very difficult to teach and which make him stand out to me.
— Ruth, Summer Mountaineering Course
