Leaving New Zealand as a 19
year old mountaineer in 1968 to climb in the remote Andes of Peru was something
that shaped my life. I later became director of the NZ Outward Bound school at
Anakiwa and the Arapaepae Outdoor Pursuits centre and I believe this has given me a unique insight
into understanding why New Zealanders are world leaders in so many adventure
activities and I have observed that any
form of adventure teaches us to push ourselves beyond our own self-imposed
limitations, and find talents we never thought existed. In 1993 I was in a team
that received similar funding from the Hillary Commission’s Explorer Douglas
fund which enabled us to take a group of Westland High School students on
climbs in the upper Franz Josef Glacier area. All went on in later life to be
high achievers. (photo below)
Ii is inspiring to see Sport
NZ Hillary expedition Grants giving so many young New Zealanders an opportunity to test ”their skills, courage,
determination and physical boundaries will be pushed to the limit – all in a
bid to achieve something special in the great outdoors and inspire other New
Zealanders to do the same.”
I was particularly pleased to see one grant being given to an expedition
running the full length of the South Island consecutively with a Snow Dog team.
I feel it is somehow a tribute and acknowledgement to the
greatest feat of exploration in Antarctica by New Zealanders using dog teams by
the Northern Party of The Trans Antarctic Expeditions (1955-58) which left
Scott Base on the 4th of October 1957, comprising, Brooke, Gunn, Warren and
Douglas. They returned to Scott base on February 6th 1958 having travelled over
1000 miles by dog sledge and had obtained the information required for the
preliminary geological and topological mapping of 20,000 square miles of rugged
mountain country. In terms of knowledge gained, geological, exploratory and
topographical, this journey might well be regarded as the most rewarding in
Antarctic history. A tribute to the two teams of huskies that pulled all the
equipment, food and supplies for 127 days. Full story here.
I wish all the recipients of grants every success and will
follow your exploits with a keen interest. Here is further information provided
by Sport NZ Hillary Expedition Grants.
Kiwis attempt world-firsts with Sport NZ Hillary
Expedition Grants
23
December 2014
Seven
teams of adventurous New Zealanders will test their mettle when they embark on
some world-firsts as part of Sport New Zealand’s (Sport NZ) Hillary
Expeditions.
Seven
teams of adventurous New Zealanders will test their mettle when they embark on
some world-firsts as part of Sport New Zealand’s (Sport NZ) Hillary
Expeditions. Their skills, courage, determination and physical boundaries will
be pushed to the limit – all in a bid to achieve something special in the great
outdoors and inspire other New Zealanders to do the same.
The
latest Sport NZ Hillary Expedition Grants will help fund Kiwi adventurers in
Antarctica, Denmark, Brazil, Peru and New Zealand. All of the expeditions will
involve world-class outdoor challenges and include:
- Paddling five class V rivers
in Brazil that have never been descended before
- Multiple new canyon descents
around the West Coast, Mackenzie Basin, Wilberforce Valley and Nelson
Lakes
- Making a landmark ascent of
Peru’s notoriously technical Mount Taulliraju’s West Ridge
- Establishing a new rock
climbing route on an iconic 313m sea stack known as Troll Finger
(Trøllkonufingur) on the remote, sub-arctic Faroe Islands in Denmark.
- Running the full length of
the South Island consecutively with a Snow Dog team
- Creating 30 new rock
climbing routes in 30 days throughout West Coast’s Bullock Creek
- Skiing one of the world’s
largest ice caps in the South Pole.
“We are
an adventurous and pioneering nation with a strong culture of excellence in the
outdoors, and these expeditions embody that spirit,” says Sport NZ Chief
Executive Peter Miskimmin.
He says the Hillary Expedition Grants not only honour the way Sir Edmund
Hillary inspired New Zealanders, but recognise the length outdoor adventurers
go to in extreme environments to achieve their goals – an attitude worthy of
support and admiration.
To qualify for a grant, expeditions might include any one, or a combination, of
outdoor activities such as tramping, mountaineering, rock climbing,
cross-country skiing, white water and/or sea kayaking, mountain biking and
sailing.
“Kiwis
set their sights high and these expeditions are a great example of that. Each
person will need to be physically and mentally tough to succeed. They’ll need
to plan well, yet be ready to deal with the unexpected.
“Most of
these are world-first challenges and I hope that, like Sir Edmund Hillary,
these adventurers go on to create their own inspiring stories for other New
Zealanders to share,” Miskimmin says.
Information about all seven teams and their expeditions, as well as previous
Hillary expeditions, can be found at www.sportnz.org.nz/hillary.
The first
expedition to kick off is Gradient and Water’s on 27 December 2014 in Brazil.
The expeditions
GRADIENT AND WATER – PADDLING FIVE CLASS V RIVERS
IN BRAZIL
The
Gradient and Water expedition will see a team of five keen kayakers paddle five
class V rivers in Brazil’s Espirito Santo and Matto Grosso that have never been
descended before. The expedition is expected to take between 75 and 90 days,
starting on 27 December 2014 and finishing around 30 March 2015.
By documenting their expedition, the team intend to promote Brazil’s emerging
kayaking community and stimulate domestic and international interest in Brazil
as a kayaking destination.
“We have
discovered what we believe will be the next mecca for kayaking, what could
become a place like the Himalaya is to climbing. We’ve identified two regions
for exploration, Espirito Santos which is a granite wonderland similar to the
Sierra Nevadas in California; and a Northern state called Matto Grosso which is
infamous for its huge rivers, remoteness, wildlife and hostile indigenous
population. Neither of these regions have seen much kayaking exploration, if
any at all, making the majority of rivers we descend world first descents,”
says team member Jordan Searle.
Jordan
was also part of a 2010/2011 Gradient and Water Hillary Expedition, which saw
the team successfully kayak eight never-before-paddled river ascents in Papua
New Guinea. He was joined by Ari Walker, who is also heading to Brazil for this
expedition.
Jordan is
a West Coaster and has been paddling for nine years, during which time he’s
completed fifteen first descents in both New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. He
also instructs and mentors at the University of Canterbury Canoe Club, and is
an active member of the West Coast White-water Search and Rescue.
Ari also
has some decent paddling under his belt, having kayaked his way around Chile,
Argentina, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, USA, Brazil, and Canada over the last
two years. His background in mechanical engineering may prove to be useful in
the more remote areas of Brazil.
Other
team members include Christchurch-based teacher Barny Young, who has been
paddling for 11 years, coming from a background of Canoe Polo in which he
played at a national level. Since devoting his time to white-water exploration,
he’s completed first descents of the Harmen River, Roaring Meg Creek, Upper
Whataroa, Upper Wanganui, Toaroha Canyon and Rocky Creek.
Fellow
team members Joe Morley and Jared Johnson hail from the UK and United States
respectively. Joe is the current ‘Sickline’ extreme kayaking world champion,
and narrowly missed out on making the UK Olympic team in 2012. Jared brings a
wealth of experience to the team, with 20 years of paddling class V rivers
under his belt. He is also a world-class climber, adept at providing rope
support for river gorges when necessary.
“None of
our team are ‘professional’ athletes, and I think it is our simplicity that
sets us apart,” says Jared. “We’re not flashy people using cutting edge
technology, we’re just going to put in some hard yards and get the result… at
least 6 World-First descents.”
NZ
CANYONING TEAM – ATTEMPTING PREVIOUSLY UN-DESCENDED CANYONS IN SOUTH ISLAND
Over
three weeks in March, a team of six will be attempting to complete and document
first descents of nationally and internationally significant canyons on the
West Coast, Mackenzie Basin, Wilberforce Valley and Nelson Lakes.
The NZ
Canyoning Team includes some of the pioneering members of the NZ canyoning
community and the expedition will be the first major canyoning expedition
undertaken by New Zealanders in New Zealand.
The
international canyoning community has recently awakened to NZ’s huge canyoning
potential and there has already been a French expedition here with more planned
for the future. The team hopes their expedition will lead the charge for more
international expeditions to NZ for canyoning.
“Canyoning
is one of the fastest growing new adventure sports, and NZ has phenomenal,
world-class canyoning potential,” says team member Richard Bramely. He says
there was virtually no canyoning community in New Zealand ten years ago. He and
his fellow team members, Daniel Clearwater, Toine Houtenbos, Annette Phillipps,
Neil Silverwood and Justin Venable, have drawn on their previous experiences in
caving, kayaking and mountaineering, and applied them to canyoning – travelling
overseas to learn canyoning techniques from established communities.
Nelson
local Richard has come from a caving background. The management consultant is a
part-time canyoning guide for Abel Tasman Canyons and has been an integral
member of many caving alpine expeditions both in New Zealand and
internationally. He was recently part of the team that made the connection
between Nettlebed and Stormy Pot caves in New Zealand, resulting in one of the
deepest caves in the Southern Hemisphere.
Team
members Daniel Clearwater and Toine Houtenbos have both been canyoning for ten
years. Daniel has descended over 200 canyons around the world – of which 32 are
first descents. He has kept meticulous records of all his descents since he
began, which form the basis of the first NZ canyoning guide book, which he
intends to publish in 2015.
Toine has
worked as a canyoning guide in Europe and South Africa before making the move
to New Zealand. In 2010 he travelled to Japan to train with the Commission
International de Canyon and wrote the Code of Practice for Recreational
Canyoning in New Zealand. He is also the founder of commercial canyoning
operation Abel Tasman Canyons, and has completed around 600 canyon trips in
more than 100 different canyons around the world – 25 of which are first
descents.
Like
Toine, Annette also studied with the Commission International de Canyon. Both
she and teammate Neil recently completed the first descent of New Zealand’s
Gloomy Gorge, which has attracted the attention of international media for
being one of the most challenging canyons worldwide.
Justin,
an emergency and rural hospital doctor, is an accomplished international
kayaker and canyoner with a background in competitive white water slalom. His
passion for white water kayaking has seen him complete multiple first descents
around the world and in New Zealand, including the steepest kilometre of
kayaking in the southern hemisphere – the Waitaha River’s Windhover Gorge.
The team plan to complete and document the first descents of what they describe
as canyons of international significance – the Amethyst Ravine (Whataroa, West
Coast); East Sabine Chasm (Nelson Lakes National Park); Tuke River upper canyon
(Hokitika, West Coast). They also intend to complete and document the first descents
of what they describe as nationally significant canyons – Thar Creek, Paradise
Creek and Mary Stream Waterfall (Hopkins Valley, Mackenzie Basin); and Hut
Stream (Wilberforce Valley, Selwyn District).
In
addition, they plan to complete and document first descents of a number of
canyons which could be descended by intermediate-level canyoners, including May
Creek (Hohounu Range, West Coast); Camp Creek (Alexander Range, West Coast);
Scarcliffe Creek and Takahe Creek (Wilberforce Valley, Selwyn District).
NZ ALPINE
TEAM – SUMMIT UNCLIMBED WEST RIDGE OF TALLIRAJU, PERU
The NZ
Alpine Team is planning the world’s first ascent of the unclimbed West Ridge of
the 5830m Taulliraju in the Santa Cruz Valley of the Cordillera Blanca – part
of the greater Andes Range in Peru.
Taulliraju
attracts much attention due to its imposing nature, and the technical
difficulty of the climbing routes on the mountain. Until recently, the West
Ridge has been a virtually unobtainable objective due to its highly technical
and corniced nature. There appears to have been only one serious attempt on the
West Ridge of Taulliraju in 2007, an attempt thwarted by poor snow conditions.
As such, the West Ridge remains unclimbed in its entirety.
The NZ
Alpine Team’s expedition will commence in early May 2016, and is expected to
take around six weeks.
The team
consists of four young New Zealand climbers – Rose Pearson, Jaz Morris, Frazer
Attrill and Pete Harris – ranging in age from 20 to 25 years. For the past two
years, they have been mentored through the New Zealand Alpine Team. All four
are technically competent on snow, rock and ice and have a solid foundation of
Sothern Alps Mountaineering, and all will be going on an overseas climbing
expedition prior to the 2016 Taulliraju Expedition.
TROLL
FINGER EXPEDITION – ESTABLISHING A NEW CLIMBING ROUTE ON FAROE ISLAND’S TROLL
FINGER
In
September 2015, a team of three New Zealand adventurers will set out to
establish a new rock climbing route on an iconic 313m sea stack known as Troll
Finger (Trøllkonufingur) on the remote, sub-arctic Faroe Islands in Denmark.
Specifically,
the team plans to make a first ascent of a new route on a 70 meter-long
overhanging start. It will mark the second ever ascent of Troll Finger. (The
first ascent was led by a Faroese team in 2012, and team member Jack Grinsted
says photographs from the expedition show the potential to develop a new direct
route that follows an excellent line of rock features).
Additionally,
the team hopes to explore other new areas for climbing in the Faroe Islands –
bolting new routes and running a workshop for local climbers.
The Troll
Finger expedition team has a proven track record of working together and
successfully documenting successful expeditions in the past, including
challenging trips into the Darren and Paparoa Mountains in New Zealand.
Jack is a
strong mountaineer and rock climber with numerous first ascents to his name. He
has been a key driver for the establishment of rock climbing around Punikaiki
on the West Coast and has helped to establish several new crags and over 30
climbs in Bullock Creek and Punikaiki River. He also has experience in
climbing remote mountains at high altitude.
Jack’s brother, Tom Grinsted, has had a life of adventure mountaineering and
tramping in New Zealand, as well as climbing throughout Europe. He also mentors
young people in the outdoors with the Foundation of Youth Development’s Project
K.
Jason Blair adds further strength to the team with his vast experience as a
professional adventure photographer based on the West Coast. He’s a
former competition climber, and has excellent technical rock climbing skills.
GREAT
SOUTHERN SNOW DOG TRAVERSE – RUNNING SNOW DOGS ACROSS THE FULL LENGTH OF THE
SOUTH ISLAND
The Snow
Dog team aims to run more than 1,000km in one continuous journey across the
full length of the South Island over a month in winter 2015 – the first time
this has ever been attempted in New Zealand.
The
expedition is modelled on the most famous dog sled race in the world – the
Iditarod in Alaska. The 1000km race takes place every year in March in below
zero temperatures, through long hours of darkness and across treacherous
terrain.
In 2014,
New Zealander Curt Perano completed the race, and is providing support and
inspiration to the Great Southern Snow Dog Traverse team as they take on a
uniquely kiwi version of the Iditarod in New Zealand’s South Island.
The plan
is to follow a route down the island that maximises snowy terrain and will
require a variety of mushing techniques. The route will also pass
by more populated areas such as Hamner, Tekapo and Wanaka where others can join
in on the journey and learn more about the sport of mushing.
Typically,
events involving teams of huskies in New Zealand are more like ‘sprint’ races
of 5-10kms, and team member Sarah Wilson says the dogs and human teams will
need to retrain themselves from being sprinters to being the equivalent of
ultra-marathon runners – requiring months of preparation for the dogs and
mushers so that they are able to pace themselves for a long journey.
The team
is made up of four members and includes Sarah, Erik Bradshaw, Kate Smith and
mentor Colin Whitley who will not only be bringing his seven huskies along for
the expedition, but also years of experience in working with and racing
huskies.
Sarah is
an experienced mountaineer and adventurer and organised the successful Cook to
Cook expedition, which received a Hillary Expedition Grant in 2013. She
has spent the 2014 winter training in mushing techniques and entered the
“Wanaka Snow Dog” festival in the skijoring (skiing with your dog) event.
In 2011 she was rescued from burial in an avalanche and since then has been
passionate about raising awareness of avalanche safety and funding for Aspiring
Avalanche Dogs.
Erik
Bradshaw has been back country skiing and climbing for over 30 years and has
completed expeditions in New Zealand, Himalayas, Antarctic and North America.
In 2011 he completed the first ski traverse of the Southern Alps starting at
Nelson Lakes and finishing in Fiordland 45 days later. Erik has also been the
recipient of a Bravery medal from the Royal NZ Humane Society.
Kate
Smith is an experienced musher and has trained and competed in sled dog racing
since 2008. She is also an experienced mountaineer and ex glacier guide.
BULLOCK
CREEK EXPEDITION – ESTABLISHING 30 NEW ROCK CLIMBING ROUTES IN 30 DAYS
In
January 2015, over the course of 30 days, the Bullock Creek expedition team
will set out to establish 30 new rock climbing routes over as many days in the
West Coast’s Bullock Creek area.
Bullock
Creek is situated in a part of New Zealand that has little to no sport climbing
and the team of six aims to unlock the potential for a diverse set of climbing
routes by camping in a rock bivouac at the crag and putting up various routes
over the course of a month.
Team
member Neil Silverwood says the area has the potential to be one of New
Zealand’s premier rock climbing destinations. The 100m high, north-facing
cliffs run unbroken for six kilometers along the valley wall, and much of the
rock is immaculate and featured, he says.
He will
be joined by fellow climbers Neil Warrington, Ashley Millar, Jen Robinson and
Troy Mattingley, bolting routes that are moderately graded so that they appeal
to a wide range of climbers and climbing abilities. The team also plans to
create a free online guidebook that will include all of the existing routes and
our 30 new routes.
As a West
Coast local, the expedition is in Neil Silverwood’s back yard. Neil’s a strong
climber with a passion for exploration, and has been involved in the
exploration of several new rock climbing areas.
Neil
Warrington is one of the top climbers based on the West Coast and a prolific
route developer. He lives and breathes the sport and has climbed around the
world, as well as undertaking a huge amount of route development on the West
Coast.
Ashley is
also an accomplished rock climber and one of the strongest in the team. He is
an excellent sport climber and regularly onsites routes graded in the mid-20s.
Jen is a
passionate sport climber based in Nelson, and Troy Mattingley lives in
Christchurch and is amongst the top climbers in the country.
4CAPS
EXPEDITION – SKIING THE LARGEST ICE CAP IN THE SOUTH POLE
The 4Caps
Expedition has evolved from a dream of Hamilton-based twin brothers Zac and
Josh Lyon to ski the world’s four largest ice caps in Greenland, South Pole
(Antarctica), Patagonia and the North Pole.
In August
this year they completed the crossing of Greenland and with some assistance
from a 2014 Hillary Expedition Grant, they will depart for Antarctica in
October 2015.
The
entire challenge is expected to take three years and will see Zac and Josh walk
about 5000 kilometres across all four ice caps. If successful, they will be the
youngest to complete the trek.
Olympian
and trans-Atlantic rower Rob Hamill is the expedition director and says that
while he wasn't sure initially whether the young men had what it takes to
complete such a mission, he was quickly convinced.
With an
ice cap already under Zac and Josh’s belt, they have been treated to a wealth
of learning and experience. However, it's no mean feat, with the boys having to
regain weight between each stage due to the arduous nature of the journey.
Zac says
that safety will be the biggest challenge in Antarctica, with measures needed
to manage the cold. The boys will need to push well beyond the limits of both
physical and mental endurance – battling slow starvation, whiteouts, crevasses
and serious sub-zero degree temperatures.
