Guide returning to maunga
Ian McAlpine is back in training.
The experienced mountaineer, who has reached the summit of Taranaki Mounga more than 1800 times, is getting ready to resume his guiding business after a seven-year break.
‘‘I’m excited to be back, and I’m looking forward to taking my first group of clients on a trip to the Pouakai tarns in November,’’ the 70-year-old said.
The path back to guiding had sometimes felt as gruelling as climbing to the summit of the maunga, he added.
McAlpine has been attempting to return to guiding since December 2014 when he lost his Department of Conservation (DOC) concession due to non-payment of fees.
He was later convicted for guiding without consent in 2016 and 2017, resulting in being trespassed by the department from the maunga for another two years.
In December 2020, McAlpine’s company, Mt Taranaki Guided Tours, regained a guiding concession from DOC until 2023, and last month passed the Qualworx approved OutdoorsMark safety audit.
The audit is the ‘‘safety stamp of approval’’ for operators providing adventure activities to the public.
McAlpine is under strict conditions not to guide above the bushline during winter, and to only take clients to the summit during summer.
The concession does not allow him to guide on the Kokowai Track, or Wilkies Falls to Dawson Falls, or the Kokowai Valley.
DOC Hauraki-Waikato-Taranaki regional director Daniel Heinrich said the assessment of McAlpine’s application was thorough and the concession was for two years and 10 months. ‘‘There are some conditions. For example, he’s not authorised to operate in snow/winter conditions,’’ he said in an emailed statement.
‘‘To do so he would have to be registered with Worksafe NZ and be required to meet a higher safety threshold.
‘‘He is also subject to the Health and Safety at Work Act – as are all concessionaires offering guiding activities on public conservation land.’’
McAlpine, a former search and rescue volunteer, said his focus would be on guiding clients on day trips to the Pouakai tarns and the Taranaki Crossing. He wanted to spend time sharing his extensive knowledge of the biodiversity of the maunga, including plant and bird life, rock formations, and history.
‘‘The moment I got my concession I have been planning on what I can offer my clients,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m older now so I’ll only be doing what my body tells me, and though I am allowed to guide to the summit I probably will only take clients below the bushline.
‘‘It will be up to what the client wants to do, and where they want to go.’’
Since November, he has been walking to the tarns 2-3 times a week to get fit enough for the steep gradient.
He said he believed his relationship with the department had improved during the past seven years.
‘‘The concession is only until 2023 and I don’t know what will happen after that.’’