September 2012 preview

Christchurch

Recreation challenges and rebuilding nature's cathedrals

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WIN Teva hiking boots worth $349.95!

Sick of the

nine-to-five?

Mountain guiding

Try a career outside

shortfall

Kiwi companies struggle to recruit top guides

Fishy business in the Sounds

Salmon farming the pristine waters of Marlborough

footwear guide How to buy the right boots, shoes and sport sandals

» The perfect day climbing and tramping Mt Egmont/Taranaki » In search of an historic bivouac in Mt Aspiring National Park » Trips in Wanaka, Canterbury, Northland and Tararuas

september 2012

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contents

september 2012

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38 FEATURES

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32 Fishy business in the

Marlborough Sounds Recreational access to the Marlborough Sounds could be jeopardised by a Government-backed multi-national salmon farming operation

38 Hard graft in the mountains New Zealand climbers pioneered the mountain guiding profession, so why is the industry here facing a shortage of qualified guides?

45 Outdoor jobs Careers for those who want to work where they play

51 Walking the walk

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One of four pairs of Teva Forge tramping boots worth $349.90!

Four outdoor educators who not only talk the talk, but walk the walk

WAYPOINTS 18 Places

Mt Barron, Arthur’s Pass National Park

20 A perfect day The best day climbing and tramping on Mt Egmont/Taranaki

23 Top 3 Three backcountry hot pools to soak in

25 See more Three places to see more Hooker sea lions www.wildernessmag.co.nz

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Your trips, your pix What did you get up to last weekend?

Clare Macintosh braved the cold at the top of the Pinnacles in Coromandel Forest Park with friend Tina Roys

Karen Eden spent three blue sky days in Nelson Lakes National Park in snow up to 60cm deep. (Yep, that’s Angelus Hut in the background)

Greg Dearsly visited Upper Tama Lake in Tongariro National Park

Fraser Skinner and friends had their plans for a trip to waterfall Hut in the spectacularly snowy upper Dobson Valley curtailed and had to instead opt for Kennedy Hut

Sisters Nina and Olivia Hutchinson spent a couple of days at Whakapapaiti Hut In Tongariro National Park

Harley James took seven-year-old Toby on his first ever tramp to Peak Hill, near Lake Coleridge

Georgia, Sophia and Grace Candy took in the views of Smugglers while walking in Bream Head Scenic Reserve at Whangarei Heads

Lee and Mike drove all the way from New Plymouth to the eastern Tararua's where they walked to Blue Range Hut to meet mates Barry and Hugh

Send your pix Send us photos showing what you did last weekend and you’ll win neat outdoor prizes. This month, all photos published get the photographer a Spork.

Head to www.wildernessmag.co.nz – search ‘last weekend’ – for full submission criteria.

The Over 40’s Tramping Club of Christchurch had to deal with knee-deep snow when they visited Bealey Spur Hut in Arthur’s Pass National Park

8 september 2012

Jacob Skinner and his dad Paul tramped around Canterbury’s Mt Somers on their first overnight Scout tramp together - an ‘awesome experience’

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Harper's Rock Bivouac

26 september 2012

Mark Watson goes in search of an historic bivouac in Mt Aspiring National Park

www.wildernessmag.co.nz

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Fishy business in the Marlborough

Sounds

32 september 2012

Critics of the proposed salmon farm expansion in the Marlborough Sounds say both the water quality and regional tourism are at stake if the plan goes ahead

Sometimes idyllic conditions lead to the trickiest situations. It’s a kayaking truism that’s now being applied to the entire Marlborough Sounds thanks to a multi-national backed aquaculture expansion. Mark Banham reports

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Hard graft in the mountains 38 september 2012

p Helping clients develop skills and confidence is one of the great things about being a guide

adventure consultants, mike rowe

Taking people mountain climbing for a living may sound appealling,but Josh Gale discovers New Zealand has a shortage of professional mountain guides – and for good reason Professional mountain guide Mike Roberts’ had a close brush with death while leading a client up the most dangerous section of Mt Everest.

Half way up the Khumbu Icefall (5486m) a massive series of crevasses began collapsing around them.

“The ice was churning and the collapse literally stopped at our feet,” Roberts says.

“The client on this occasion, and I've seen this before, wasn't aware of how close that call was.”

Roberts has led eight guided expeditions to Everest during his 15 years as a professional mountain guide and has taken his clients to the summit six times.

Given the terrain and altitude he works in, he has been in remarkably few dangerous situations. If mountain guides are any good, and want to stay in the game, they must excel at planning a safe return.

Roberts is currently leading a guided expedition to 4884m Carstensz Pyramid, one of the ‘seven summits’, which juts out of the jungle of Indonesia’s West Papua province.

As a guide, he’s climbed all over the world, earning a living while travelling and climbing some of the most iconic and exotic peaks on the planet. All at someone else’s expense.

It sounds like a dream job – the sort of gig you imagine hundreds of intrepid young mountaineers would fight tooth and nail to get into.

But despite the apparent adventure and glamour, the truth is only a hardy few want the job. Even Roberts is growing weary of it and in the near future intends to reduce the number of international expeditions he guides each year.

On average he’s done five trips a year for the last 14 years and the only reason he’s been able get away with it is by remaining single.

“When I was young I used to get completely absorbed in the bubble of the expedition life and was quite happy losing myself in it,” Roberts, 50, says. “Now I find myself slightly resentful about the amount of time it takes me away from family, friends and doing other things.

“For me, the idea of being able to have a stable relationship in a home situation is an important factor.”

Roberts works for Wanaka-based Adventure Consultants whose director Guy Cotter is struggling to find an able and committed pool of qualified climbing guides willing to take on international expeditions over the long term.

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Winter ridges A tramper climbs the ridge behind Luxmore Hut on the Kepler Track in Fiordland National Park with the Takitimu Mountains in the distance.

Shot on Fuji S5800 at f5.0 and 1/240.

- David Barnes

Submit your hotshots to editor@lifestylepublishing.co.nz

96 september 2012

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