HiTAC March 2023

President’s Desk We had an awesome crew of seasoned and first time helpers on this year’s Taranaki Alpine Clubs Open Climb, The event having an 80 year old colourful history, this year saw the climb to go ahead under the revised safety plan in which extensive member feedback was collected and incorporated generously by Jonathan Crane and Sophie Tucker. It was a great day all round with generally well prepared participants and even though there was no epic views, the chilly wind seemed to give punters an alternative sense of achievement pushing beyond their prior limits. All 64 participants descended […]

HiTAC February 2023

President’s Desk Kia ora koutou current and prospective club members, I hope everyone is feeling well rested, and started the steady mahi to work off that holiday indulgence bulge. We have heaps of exciting trips coming up but before we start we have a final hurdle in the way. Giving up to one hundred punters a smile on their face as they join the open climb. Some of you conscripted into helping out may be feeling a bit more relaxed now that we have changed to smaller parties, therefore only ten names to learn instead of twenty and others anxious […]

HiTAC December 2022

President’s Desk With Christmas holidays immediately upon us, I hope our membership has managed to avoid the pitfalls of getting caught up in the spending frenzy of sales on offer or at least find a rare genuine bargain. One way to avoid it entirely, which me and my family are opting for this year, is the good old spend limited secret santa, so everyone can use their hard earned money to self gift themselves some new toys or an adventurous holiday. The Rock Rats otherwise known as the Taranaki tuataras who predominantly climb on plastic who the club supports with […]

Trip Report: Bush Skills Navigation Nov 2022

I recently attended the OTNZ Bush Navigation Skills course and have to admit (shamefully) my map reading skills certainly would not have saved me if I was to get lost on a solo mission off the beaten track on the maunga but thanks to this course I can say I probably have a 50% chance of finding my way out. Magnetic North, True North , Grid North! Very important first bit of information to learn. I had never used a compass before so that was a new experience for me, you can’t always rely on the GPS or other people. […]

HiTAC November 2022

President’s Desk Kia ora folks, Spring is well and truly here, and rather than the club leaving its members to hibernate we have plans to keep them training over the warmer months. This training consists of alpine and sport rock climbing, navigating alpine routes rarely visited and ticking along in the background preparations for the club’s annual open climb. Therefore I will keep this president’s desk to the point as you have a lot of trip reports and upcoming trips below to read through. First up, well done to the first time Taranaki maunga summiters and the experienced mentors who […]