Remarkables Ice and Mixed Climbing Festival Event Schedule
Thursday
Club AGM (time TBA), Queenstown Events Center. All members welcome.
Registration for the Festival & social drinks 5pm – 8pm. Queenstown Events Centre. Joe O’Connell Drive, off State Highway 6, Frankton
All attendees must register in advance online and again in person on Thursday night to be part of the festival. The official festival briefing will be held at 7.00 pm on Thursday night.
Attendees will select routes and or areas they wish to climb in on each day of the festival. All multi-pitch routes should be climbed with teams of three. This helps ease congestion on the mountain.
At registration all participants will receive a free festival tee shirt!
All Expedition Climbers Club members may attend the event. However as places are limited it is a first come first served basis. Once you have confirmed your attendance and your club membership fee payment is up to date there are no further costs. Your club membership and confirmed registration covers your entry to all guest speaker talks, slide shows and gear auctions.
Clinic meeting times will be announced the evening prior, typically 7-8am at the bottom of the Remarkables Ski Field carpark next to the highway, to allow for carpooling.
Friday
General Climbing Location: as arranged with your climbing partners.
Chicks ‘N’ Picks Location: South Face of Single Cone or Alta Ice one day, and Telecom Tower the other day.
Snow Craft 1&2 Location: top of the Shadow Basin Chair Lift or near the outlet of lake Alta.
Mixed Climbing Location: Telecom Tower West Face, just past the Shadow Basin chair lift.
Ice Climbing Location: Touch Down (South Face of Single Cone) or Lake Alta Ice area.
Learning to Lead Location: as arranged with your instructor.
Introduction to Back Country Ski Touring Location: Lake Alta, Wye Saddle area.
Friday Night
Your registration cost includes a free evening pass to all festival talks and auctions. There are no door sales for just the evening events, but you are welcome to sign up for membership to attend both evenings and other ECC events. This is a club member event only.
Dinner from 5pm – 10pm at Queenstown Events Centre (Joe O’Connell Drive, off State Highway 6, Frankton).
Slide shows from NZ’s top alpine climbers.
Climbing quiz with great spot prizes
Learn and hear from our iconic Kiwi mountain climbers about just what it took to climb the first ascent of some of NZ’s most popular alpine faces.
Reminder of times to meet in the morning. Return lost gear to registration. Ask for new route info.
Saturday
Second day of general climbing and clinics. Meeting times and locations as per Friday, see above. Ice & Mixed climbing clinics will swap from Ice to Mixed, and vice-versa.
Saturday Night
Your registration and club membership includes a free evening pass to all festival talks and auctions. There are no door sales for evening events, but you are welcome to sign up for membership to attend both evenings and other ECC events. This is a club member event only.
Dinner from 5pm – 11pm at Queenstown Events Centre Joe O’Connell Drive, off State Highway 6, Frankton.
Awards are allocated for :
The Macpac Hardest New Route of the Festival (male and female team award)
The Macpac Hardest Repeated Route (clean red-point or onsight male and female award)
The Macpac New Zealand Alpinist of the Year
Major prizes will be awarded for each of these categories.
Expedition Capital Fund Fundraising Auction.
Festival Party!
Sunday
Typically several groups will complete the Remarkables Grand Traverse on Sunday Morning. There may also be a Back Country Ski Touring Adventure (in association with Erik Bradshaw and Earth Sea Sky). These are organised organically on the Saturday evening.
As always, use your own judgement and act accordingly. We take no safety precautions, we provide no equipment or other assistance (but a friendly climber may give you beta), we make no weather/traverse condition assessments and we expect those that take part to use their own judgement and common sense! This is no different to any other day you climb in the mountains. It is just like a normal day of mountain climbing where you must exercise your own judgement and make good decisions to keep yourself safe. Do not assume that just because there are other people on the climb you will be any safer than if you were doing it by yourself.
Earth Sea Sky Back Country Ski Touring Adventure. The ski touring adventure is designed to be fun, social and cardio intensive but is normally an ad hoc event organised by Erik Bradshaw or others on the Saturday night. The tour will take you through moderate general alpine terrain with the goal that most participants should be able to complete the course in around 3 – 6 hours. A briefing will be given during the Saturday night of the event, if it is taking place. This is a perfect event for those who do not feel comfortable climbing the Grand Traverse and are looking for a fun but challenging ski tour.
Sunday night
We encourage a social night and drinks – we like the Frankton Arm Tavern.
Not organised – just a loose get-together of people who haven’t had to go home yet.