This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
by Marie Henderson Photos by Sue Higgins
After an amount of prevaricating I signed up for AIC. I had been on snowcraft the previous year and it had been very educational. Coming from a relatively flat farming area in Australia, it seemed a good idea to go out for a bit more instruction on some white slopey stuff.
After signing up I bought the "Touching the Void" dvd, borrowed "The White Spider" from the library and checked out the 8000 meters website (www.8000metres.com). If AIC involved contemplating the white slopey stuff from the comfort of your own lounge, I was set!
There are five parts to AIC and an introduction night. The introduction night was much like snowcraft, but with some ropes and tying knots thrown in. I took my various bits of rope home and practiced regularly, guessing there would not be too much time to think about such things once we hit the slopes. Alien Higgins would instruct me along with Steve Austin. Steve had been on snowcraft last year too and we had also been on the Tappy trip down south together following snowcraft. I had also been on a few trips with Allen and Sue Higgins. Cool, this meant they already knew I was a lemon and wouldn't be expecting too much.
Part 1. Indoor Rock. This was indoor at Fergs getting used to ropes and going up and down the walls in various ways. It was great weather for the indoors and I was glad we weren't using up our weather luck yet. Allen and Sue were off leading a trip in the outdoor weather though, but they would have it in hand. Sylvia stepped in to instruct us, and question our sanity. Hmmmm... well I was mostly busy trying to sort out all this new stuff in my head so didn't have time to think about it too hard.
Part 2: Outdoor Rock. This was at Titahi Bay, again getting used to being on the ropes. This time Sue joined in the team. A sling here and there, anchoring, placing protection with runners (using what nature had provided), belaying, rappelling, escaping the system, climbing and descending, and even more. A big day out for the brain and the body. Delayed until Sunday, the bet paid off and we won some awesome weather... and a few moments to enjoy it. For the first time Steve and [ got to share our surprise at the confidence of Allen climbing. I also got to be "on the leash” for the first time and did not feel demeaned by it at all, but in contrast actually felt rather grateful! I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the day, although I hardly wanted to admit it. We had only just begun.
Part 3: Snow 1. The first weekend on the snow! A whole new addition of tools and gear! Steve and I had clocked up some miles up with ice-axes and crampons already, but there was also ice-hammers and snow stakes and snow pigs to get to grips with (literally). Also travel with ropes isn't just for slopes, sometimes you might be on the flat with someone down a crevasse. I found I would not be able to drag anyone out unassisted - that's something I am still pondering. After lunch we went for a test run on the lower slopes of the pinnacles area, up some gully and down another. Ice is tough stuff. Slopes I would be fine on in the bush made me feel very “exposed”. Allen did stuff that made me and Steve have to share our surprise again (how sweet, we were forming a team bond, maybe this was a training technique employed by Allen). I got to go on the leash again, but I found it fairly nerve racking coming down though so I was not about to put up a fight. I also had a glimpse of why people would get into this: the sun was setting as we went down and the view, glorious though it undoubtedly was, seemed to be accentuated in its beauty. I can only assume this was an effect of the "alert" chemicals running my brain at the time. Dinner was being served when we arrived back at base. Good timing. Allen gave a group talk with dessert on avalanches... Hmmmmm... Sunday was more instruction, notably digging avalanche pits and practicing the glacier travel techniques. I was stuffed from Saturday and cut any corner I could. Allen and Steve dug nice pits while I directed. Come Monday and the body was complaining even more.
Part 4: Snow 2. By now I had kicked in with some outside AIC training, a bit of hill climbing during the week and a trip to Fergs to get the monkey going. It seemed to pay off (I could put on and take off jumpers on Monday without too much pain). Sue joined us again and added to the general banter and gave Allen someone to climb with . It was straight into it this time. Over to the pinnacles and off we go. Steve and I were on one rope, doing the best we could, and Allen and Sue on another, showing us how much we still had to learn. It was a busy day again, with some additional new bits for interest, but more focused on learning by doing. On the down side for me, my temper was fraying as we descended, and darkness crept in. The body was coping okay, but time for the mind to pack it in! I whined. Next time Steve, permission to push me off... Dinner had been served when we got back, but some nice people had kept us a plate each aside. No doubting it, hunger is the best gravy.
Part 5: Snow 3. This was to be new territory on Taranaki (previously we had been based form the club Lodge on Ruapehu). The weather wasn't looking useful, and I had a good reason to stay at home for a change, so I piked! Steve dutifully offered to take care of my packets of trip timtams for me. So supportive! I provided the timtams and waved them off at the station. Taranaki would have to wait for another day.
Thanks to Sharron for organising AIC and snowcraft, Allen and Sue for being patient and fun, Steve for not pushing me off, Shane for his boots and all the leaders and punters who made it an enjoyable experience.