Pat Deavoll

Despite a rather uninspiring front cover, this book is a very tidy little package and bound to stand any budding mountaineer in good stead.
Alpine Guides (Aoraki) Ltd have revised their technical manual several times since the first edition came out in 1995 and each reincarnation has been an improvement on the last. This edition is fresh, concise and, as it claims, an ?accumulation of state of the art New Zealand mountaineering techniques and information, developed over many years by New Zealand mountain guides based predominantly at Aoraki/Mt Cook.?
The chapters? particularly well done are those on ?Snowcraft,? which gives a definitive description of soft snow anchors, the construction of which is often a trouble point for new climbers; ? Mountain Weather,? which can be difficult to pr?cis at the best of times, and ?Navigation,? for the same reason.
The section on soft snow anchors gives an excellent description of the relatively recently approved ?upright mid-clip? system for snow stakes. It?s interesting comparing this edition?s recommendation for compressing the snow at the front of the stake versus the 1995 edition where it says, ?Care should be taken not to disturb the snow in front of the trench.? The new edition also says to compress the snow inside a snow bollard rather than leave it undisturbed, which is new to this reader!
One small gripe is the lack of conviction the writer has in describing the hard snow ?upright top clip? for a snow stake. ?If it can be driven in with less that 15 solid hammer blows,? it says, ?the snow is probably not hard enough.? Why not have courage of conviction, Alpine Guides, and say ?is not hard enough!?
The chapter on ?Mountain Weather? is a terrific summation of vagaries of New Zealand meteorology. It even manages to explain wet and dry air lapse rates and freezing levels in plain English and has some little gems in the section on forecasting tips, like ?If the forecast weather map shows three isobar lines (at 4 MB spacing) across the South Island it?s probably going to be too windy to climb in the high mountains,? and, ?if you look into the (upper level) wind the Low is on your Left.?
It can take years for a mountaineer to pick up this type of knowledge, or they can read it in this book and be applying from the start of their climbing career.
Believe it or not, some mountaineers go a lifetime without having a good grasp of the basics of navigation. Maybe they?ve never had to use a compass in earnest, maybe they rely on others to make the decisions. The ?Navigation? chapter in the book pares navigation back to the basics but again gives succinct tips like ?when following a bearing with two or more people on a rope its best for the rear person to have the compass,? and ?if it all goes wrong return to your last known location if possible. Otherwise, refer to Chapter 10, ?Snow Shelters!?
Small enough to go carry in a pack, sturdily bound and well thought out, this small publication is true value for money!

This iconic product from Berghaus has been around in various incarnations for many years- I got my first pair in 1984. There are numerous other old codgers who swear by them; in fact I?ve heard say they are the best product Berghaus ever made.
Essentially the gaiter provides a gore-tex cover for your foot and lower leg and a
tight rubber rand that?s designed to fit really snugly around the circumference of the boot and boost, if not guarantee their waterproofness They also add a little bit of warmth to your boots by putting a membrane between you and the outside. The fit is roomy so trousers can be tucked easily inside, if you like that look
Unfortunately they are a real pig to fit on your boot as the rand is an extremely tight fit? but take heart! The struggle is worth the effort. Depending on the boot a certain amount of ?adaptation? may be needed (to either the boot or the gaitor), namely removing the rubber strip that goes under the ball of the foot if it proves too difficult to stretch around the sole. One tip is to use a spot of superglue or skin-glue to attach the rand to the toe as it is prone to popping off, particularly if the gaiters are fitted to boots with a flexible sole.
Some folks (the strong ones) take the gaiter on or off as and when needed. However I have mine living eternally on my plastic boots (if I took them off I?d never get them on again!). Others will see them as over-kill for summer mountaineering but I?m hoping to one day get a second set for my leather summer boots. My only reservation about this is the effect summer moraine bashing in New Zealand will have on the rubber rand- it may wear it out sooner rather than later.
Despite being clearly more expensive than other gaiters on the market, they are well worth the extra money?waterproof, warm and hard wearing and as a bonus, they?ll increase the lifespan of your boots

I go through poles like water!
I either snap them between rocks on the moraine, or break them whacking my crampons to clear the snow.
So it?s with some relief I?ve discovered the Black Diamond ?Expedition? poles. These three section adjustable poles are of all-aluminium construction, and although quite heavy (at 629gms), they are undoubtedly robust. I have even used them as a snow anchor.
The three sections lock together with a plastic ?flick-lock? that has a lever that uses a cam-action to pinch close the lock when the lever is folded into the shaft. These locks are very easy to use, even with gloves on. Occasionally one will come loose, but it?s just a matter of tightening the lock with a Philips screwdriver.
Each section has markings for adjustment, from 85cm to 125cm. The pole as a whole can expand to 125cm (good for stick clipping bolts on sport climbs) and retract down to 57cm (really easy to put inside a pack).
They come with a snow-basket with teeth on the bottom which is good for scraping the snow off the base of your ski boots!
At the end of each pole is a carbide tip which can be pulled out with pliers and replaced. I?ve never had to replace one. These are really sharp and good for poking at hard snow and ice.
The grips are made of two kinds of rubber and are comfortable enough that you never think about them. The straps easily adjusted through a plastic buckle.
The only gripe I have about the ?expedition? poles is their weight- they are rather heavy. I find this especially noticeable when skiing. But if you are after a no-frills, functional, extremely hard wearing set of poles, you can?t go wrong with these.

A long snow route with a few pitches of ice like, for instance, the east ridge of Cook, is the hardest type of climbing to choose an appropriate tool for. You can either have a good ice tool that?s hopeless for self arresting and shaft belays, is heavier than you want and hard to walk with, or a standard axe that doesn?t perform on the ice.

However, I?ve found the Black Diamond Venom takes away this dilemma ?it plunges into the snow well and is designed to self arrest, but also performs excellently climbing ice. The Venom, which comes in both a hammer and an axe, and in 50cm and 57cm lengths, has a slight bend at the top of the shaft which allows it to perform in steep terrain, while still allowing it to be plunged into the snow for a belay.

It also has an interchangeable pick: with the axe this is a traditional curved pick, with the hammer it is reverse curved. Both tools are well balanced, with a decent head-weight that makes them easy to swing, and come with a lock-down leash.

The Venom?s aluminium shaft is thin, and plunges into the snow well, especially due to the no-frills spike at the end. I also find it easy to wrap my unusually stumpy fingers around. The rubber grip never impeded the plunging action as far as I could tell, but it was sticky and easy to grab.

I have taken my set of Venom?s on the likes of the Zurbriggens Ridge at the end of April when its been really icy, and the Hooker face of Cook and they?ve been great. I?ve also had them on three Himalayan expeditions and am convinced these are the way to go if the mountain in question is steep and technical. They perform well on steep ground but are much lighter than other technical tools due to their ?paired down? features and to me this is vitally important. The Venom will remain my tool of choice for future expeditions

This compact two-person, four season tent weighs 1.5 kilograms and must be one of the lightest on the market?.. and is a real gem!

I?ve used it on three overseas mountaineering expeditions, each with different weather conditions, and its stood up to the test each time. In India last October it dealt with three feet of snow overnight without leaking or compressing under the weight. In Tibet the year before it dealt with 60km/hour winds and driving snow which flattened it to our faces, but didn?t seem to struggle.

The tent is built with EPIC (by Nextec) for the canopy and SilNylon on the floor. It packs down to approximately 15 x 30 cm and the poles and stakes are about 4 x 40cm It is small at 2.5 sq m so two large people may be less comfortable than me and my climbing partners. It has a bathtub floor and a single door. The door zips down with a screen flap that opens for ventilation. It also has a vent opposite the door. Outside, the tent has guy loops mid way up each of the four corners as well as stake loops on the corners. It also has small rain deflectors or hoods over the vent and the top of the door which allow the vent and door screen covers to remain slightly open during rain.

Pitching the Firstlight is very simple, the two poles setup inside the tent by fitting into a metal snap in each corner. There are also four hook and loop closures to keep the poles in place (one in each corner). My only fear when pitching the tent was the poles punching through the light Epic fabric. It is also really important to keep a hold on the tent when pitching as the lightest puff of wind will send it flying off down the mountain.
The design, based on the classic Bibler single shell tent has steep walls and a simple floor shape to optimize living space and increase headroom. I?ve really appreciated the tiny footprint when having to chop a tent platform in ice. In fact the weight of the tent and the space it takes up are comparable if not lighter and smaller than two bivi bags

With two people there is some condensation when temperatures get down below zero. I would also be reluctant to use the tent in persistent rain; in fact I got quite damp from a heavy dew in a West Coast river valley recently. It also takes some practice to live in comfortably for any length of time- you need to be organised. The fabric also seems fragile and although I haven?t torn mine yet, I?m waiting for the day.

If you are a weight conscious climber, as I am, and looking for a price-competive tent for multi-day mountain routes, particularly where its more likely to snow than rain, the First Light is a great way to go.