Tag Archives: federated mountain clubs

A New Era for Outdoor Safety Training

Posted on 5 April, 2015 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

In February I wrote about the structural changes in the Mountain Safety Council, with an expression of concern. A reference which I’d included if I’d known of it was the the MSC’s own explanation of the changes, which is buried … Continue reading →

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What’s up with the Mountain Safety Council?

Posted on 12 February, 2015 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

From this morning’s news, it sounds as if the Mountain Safety Council is going more professional, doing away with amateur instructors and, for the most part, even training people at all. I’ve never been a direct member of the Mountain … Continue reading →

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Signs of the Times

Posted on 25 July, 2014 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

Mid King Biv in the Tararua Range. On Tuesday a request went out asking for people to point out “loopy rules and regulations”. I ignored it at first, with the politics involved, but soon after Federated Mountain Clubs asked via … Continue reading →

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Limited access to the East Taupo Lands Block in the Kaimanawas

Posted on 11 April, 2014 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

It’s great to see in the March 2014 (#195) Federated Mountain Clubs Bulletin that FMC has managed to negotiate some limited access, at least for FMC affiliates, to the East Taupo Lands Block that’s located in the middle of the … Continue reading →

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It’s All in the Context

Posted on 12 November, 2012 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

Federated Mountain Clubs, in its October newsletter [PDF], notes the appearance of fake Department of Conservation signs around huts at the Otago/Southland end of the country. Some have political undertones and some just prompting cheap laughs. I’m not aware of … Continue reading →

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Safety In The Mountains (review)

Posted on 18 August, 2012 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

I’ve never read a copy of Safety in the Mountains until now. It’s a booklet, first published in 1937 by Federated Mountain Clubs (FMC), to collect important points of safety for exploring the back-country, and designed as a carry-with-you reference … Continue reading →

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Rivers and Ropes and Mutual Support

Posted on 22 December, 2011 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

I’ve written a little about river crossing techniques in the past, and I’m about to do so again. Before continuing, I’d like to stress that this post is not meant to be instructional in any way, so much as commenting … Continue reading →

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How the Cave Creek Accident shaped DoC

Posted on 26 April, 2011 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you might have noticed me comment occasionally about ways in which the NZ Department of Conservation’s safety policies influence an experience in the back-country. I refer to things such as asset numbers … Continue reading →

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FMC Bulletins now available online

Posted on 17 March, 2011 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

Something I meant to write about a few months back (but became distracted) is the recent achievement of Federated Mountain Clubs in managing to get all of its FMC bulletins online, and available for download, all the way back to … Continue reading →

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Huts: Untold stories from back-country New Zealand, by Mark Pickering (review)

Posted on 21 December, 2010 by Mike McGavinPrint This Post Print This Post

This is the second book I’ve read by Mark Pickering, the first having been A Tramper’s Journey, which I liked (the review is here). He’s written many books, and this is a topic that Mark Pickering is especially suited to, … Continue reading →

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