Time:
Climbing mountains requires a good level of fitness and skill level. These are not attributes that are gained by sitting on a sofa watching netflix or sat in an office studying for a PhD….
The logistics of mountaineering trips also takes a fair amount of time! Here’s a rough breakdown of the time spent preparing for the New Zealand trip averaged out over 1 week.
Training:
- Indoor climbing (5-6 hours)
- Coogee stairs (1.5 hours)
- Running/swimming (1-2 hours)
- Core (up to 1 hour)
- Outdoor trips (1-2 days)
Reading e.g. online articles, training handbooks and guidebooks: 1-1.5 hours
Researching and buying gear: 1-1.5 hours
Discussion with other trip participants: 1-1.5 hours
This gives a total of 35-63 hours. Realistically, I’d be doing most of the above regardless of whether we were going to New Zealand or not. 3-4 hours is a better estimate of the additional time spent per week exclusively preparing for New Zealand.
Money:
Course = $2000, Flights = $750, Transport = $300, Gear = $2000-5000. It quickly adds up! There’s no denying that getting into mountaineering is not cheap. But on the plus side once you’ve done the course and bought all the gear it lasts for a while and the primary expense becomes travel. So, if all this stuff about climbing mountains is sounding good get saving now! I’d also recommend slowly accumulating gear and looking out for good second-hand deals.
Life:
Bit of a morbid topic but worth a mention. Mountaineering can be serious and if things go badly wrong, it could cost your life ☹ The risks can be minimised through careful planning, good decision making and knowing your limits.
As with most things, there’s a risk/reward ratio. For mountaineers the risk of being out in the mountains is worthwhile for the challenge, sense of achievement, enjoyment, adrenaline, empowerment, summit views, freedom, friendships and memories.
To help with the financial aspect of our goal to bring mountaineering back to UNSWOC, we applied for the beanie grant. Next up, read about the application process and tips if you’re looking to apply for the grant in the future!
Additional articles about the monetary cost (Brendon), training (Jeffery), weekend trips (Ash) and logistics meetings to follow as well!