Trips and Meets are hosted by & on behalf of current members of the CW Section of the New Zealand Alpine Club. You need to be a current member of the NZAC to participate. Participants will need to be totally self-sufficient in the environment and have the skills, experience and judgement to undertake alpine and related mountaineering activities consistent with the level of experience required, independently and safely.  Safety is the responsibility of each individual member.  These are not guided trips and meets, nor do they involve any instructional training or tuition of any kind being given to members. Members are expected to stay as a group throughout the trip and to work as a team. Please ensure you have read the CW Trip Policy before signing up and attending a trip. 

Depending on forecast and actual conditions, we may call off a trip or meet, change the plan, or change the requirements of a trip. This is solely at the discretion of the Trip Leader/Meet Coordinator and a call will be made on the before the scheduled departure date and you will be contacted via email or text to confirm. We have a maximum and minimum number of participants.

Want to run a trip for the club? Email the Trips Coordinator now. 

Under 18's are welcome to join trips and courses through parental/guardian permission. Under 18's will be vetted by the organiser for the Trip or Meet. 

A club trip is a great way to spend time with like-minded people, share some adventures and give back to the outdoor community. Most trips involve moderate to intermediate mountaineering but they can include anything from tramping and rock climbing to mountaineering objectives. The trip leader is not a professional guide or instructor, as a trip leader you organise and lead the group only.

What is involved?

• Pick an objective and date.

• Use the trip leader worksheet to plan your trip.

• Get in contact with the trip coordinator.

• Your trip needs to be signed off to make sure all points are ticked off. The trip coordinator can also help you with any questions you have regarding the planning.

• The trip gets advertised in the newsletter and/or the Canterbury Westland Facebook page.

• You organise the participants and do pre-trip preparations

Some Ideas! Mt Aiken, Binser, Avalanche Peak, Mt Cloudsey, Torlesse, Avalanche-Bealey Traverse, Castle Hill Peak, Longfellow, Avalanche PeakCrow Valley, Mt Oates, Murchison, Temple-Phipps Traverse, Mt Somers, Mt Guinevere, Mt Rolleston, Mt Philistine.

This list is a suggestion of day or overnight trips which could both be run during summer or winter. All these trips are achievable in a weekend. If you have another objective in mind just get in contact with the trip coordinator.

Trip difficulty/risk

Generally speaking, club trips should be relatively low risk. As an example, mountaineering trips should be alpine grade 2 or lower. Trips planned for harder/riskier objectives are unlikley to meet with approval from the trip coordinator or the committee. Ski touring/tramping/rock climbing trips are subject to a similar risk assessment. If you wish to lead a more difficult trip, contact the tri coordinator directly and discuss it with them beforehand, otherwise your trip may be suspended. 

Emergency communications

The New Zealand Alpine Club has a policy that all club trips must have "field communications," so that you can call for help if necessary. If you are planning a trip that remains within mobile phone coverage, then a simple mobile phone will suffice. Otherwise, you will need a satellite phone or a personal locator beacon (PLB) or equivalent. The section has a number of these that can be borrowed by trip leaders.

Let the committee know that you are back safely

When you get back from the trip, you should let the committee know that you have returned safely: a text message to one of the committee members is sufficient, as is an email to the committee email address.

Trip Planning Workbook Guide 

Trip Planning Workbook Template 

Trip Registration Form Template