Moderate level of fitness
River Crossing
If there’s one thing you should learn before heading into the backcountry, it’s how to safely assess and cross a river. Keep Reading
Rivers in New Zealand are generally cold and fast and are the leading cause of tramping-related fatalities.
This course will give you tools to assess if, where, when, and how a river should be crossed, for both solo and group situations. It is designed for people with very little to some river crossing experience, but you’ll still need to be comfortable walking on uneven ground.
Navigation
Have you ever seen somewhere on a map, far away from any road or track, and thought, “That looks like a cool place to go, I wish I was better at map reading…” Keep Reading
Or you’ve found yourself accidentally off-route in the mist or in thick forest, uncertain about where to go next? Well, this course could be your answer to a more confident trip next time!
On this course, we go over what the lines and symbols on common maps represent and how that relates to what’s around you on the ground, making sure you get a good grasp on identifying landforms and figuring out where you are based on what you can see. This is the key to navigation, which usually doesn’t need a compass!
Even so, there are many situations where a compass is essential, so we’ll spend time getting to know how magnetic north works and how this affects your use of the compass (including some crafty methods that greatly simplify the process – no more remembering “do I add or subtract?”). We’ll also go over some tips and tricks around route planning to make navigating your proposed trip even simpler.
Many navigation courses try to cram everything into a single day. Well, that’s long enough to learn the basics, but most people end up confused because they haven’t had enough time to put it all into practice. On this overnight course, we’ll head out after dinner to practice navigating in the dark, then on the second day we’ll do a proper off-track journey with you all taking turns to navigate extended sections.
This course is designed for people who either have no navigation experience, or have learned the basics in the past but feel like they could use a good brush-up on skills.
Advanced Navigation
So you’re pretty comfortable using a map and compass, and have a pretty good handle on pinpointing where you are on a map. Keep Reading
But there’s something about going really far off-track for extended periods that still makes you feel a little too far outside your comfort zone.
Find out why the people behind Mountain Journeys are amongst the best in the business at route finding in the Southern Alps. This is the course where we try to get really lost, then back out again. Where we choose a route where only the exact right decisions will allow us through smoothly. Where we’ll put you in charge for a long period, but with an experienced instructor on hand to make sure nobody gets into serious trouble.
We’ll go over several advanced route planning techniques and route finding tools (hint: it’s not your phone, but we’ll practice with those too), all undertaken on a self-sufficient journey through the mountains. Tip: some form of altimeter is essential for this course.
Snow Skills
Trampers wishing to cross alpine passes, hunters wanting to get into tahr/chamois terrain, anyone with an ambition to get into mountaineering: this course is for all of you. Keep Reading
Learn from an instructor with decades of experience, going over:
• movement across a range of different types of snow, walking in a way that maximises efficiency and safety
• how and when to use crampons
• how to use an ice axe – the most useful tool you can have with you in the mountains
• NZ mountain weather
• basic navigation in snow
• an introduction to avalanche awareness
• advice on clothing and equipment
How our alpine courses are different:
• We provide all alpine equipment so you won’t need to hire it
• We provide high quality breakfasts and dinners
• Our aim is to give you plenty of time on your feet – the more practice the better!
• We aim to spend a night camped up in the snow in our 4-season tents. This gives you a proper alpine experience, and avoids wasted time traveling to/from a roadside lodge each day.
Snow Skills Refresher
This course is for people who have already learned how to use ice axe & crampons, but it might have been a while since you actually used those skills, or you simply want some extra guidance before venturing off on your own. Keep Reading
The course can be tailored to suit the individuals who attend, depending on what specific areas you’d like to concentrate on.
How our alpine courses are different:
• We provide all alpine equipment so you won’t need to hire it
• We provide high quality dinners and breakfasts
• Our aim is to give you plenty of time on your feet – the more practice the better!
• We aim to spend a night camped up in the snow in our 4-season tents. This gives you a proper alpine experience, and avoids wasted time traveling to/from a roadside lodge each day.
Transalpine Skills
For those of you who want everything that’s on offer, this is the course that puts it all together. Keep Reading
We’ll aim to cover at least the same content as the River Crossing, Navigation, and Snow Skills courses, with extra time to give us flexibility and allow us to go more in depth. Each of our Transalpine Skills Courses are different – they’re heavily influenced by the experience levels and future ambitions of you and your fellow participants. Regardless, the key to the Transalpine Skills Course is that we undertake a real off-track journey through the mountains so that you don’t just go through the motions; you actually use your new skills.
This is a course for a group of friends wanting to do more trips together.
All alpine equipment can be provided by Mountain Journeys, although it’s best to bring whatever you already have, to become more familiar with it.
We did a Navigation course with Rob Frost at Mountain Journeys and it was excellent. We wanted to improve our navigation knowledge and confidence when out in the mountains. Happy to say we left the course achieving this and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We’re looking forward getting out there and testing our skills. Rob’s cooking and food choices were also excellent!
-Richard Harries
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Attended the river crossing course at Mountain Journeys and it was brilliant- very comprehensive as well as fun! Great for anyone keen to brush up on their river crossing skills, whether you are familiar with NZ backcountry tramping, or just getting into it.
-Lily Battershill
What exactly are transalpine trips, and what skills do you need to undertake them? Trans means across or through, so transalpine can be defined as across an alpine area. If you are to go across an alpine area, then you need to be able to get to it and from it, through subalpine and forested areas. In New Zealand, these areas usually involve little to no guidance in the way of marked routes, and there are many unbridged rivers and streams to cross.
So, undertaking a transalpine trip requires skills that relate to crossing rivers, navigating across untracked terrain, and travelling on snow. Things like knowing what gear and food to bring, understanding the weather, deciding where and how to camp, and what to do when things go wrong, must also be factored in.
Our courses are designed to give you the skills to undertake transalpine trips confidently on your own.
We’re currently taking registrations of interest for all courses – click here to register to let us know you’re interested in future courses. All courses are usually based out of Christchurch. All courses except river crossing can be based out of Wanaka on request. All courses are fully catered and include accommodation costs; free transport is also available.
