First Light Guiding - First Light Guiding 3 Turnbull Crescent

I've been working towards a guiding qualification this year with the help and support of Gavin from First Light Guiding. First class!

My adventure and self mastery time with First Light Guiding was a great way to 'stop' check in on things.. By being at the Plateau hut on Mt Cook where most climbers prepare and make there final ascent to submit Mt Cook was awe inspiring and quite humbling experience when you consider what nature as to offer and its immense forces that can change so quickly. The alpine guiding was undertaken very professionally and you can rest assured in the company of Gavin Lang that you are in very good and very experienced hands. Add in time to 'stop' with guided inner reflection and some profound realisations will come forth. Put these two aspects together and you have a fantastic course to grow and develop.

As a landscape photographer based in Sydney Australia, I started to explore New Zealand's high mountains 5 years ago. Over the years, I have been to several mountain regions of the South Island, including Tasman Glacier, Fox Glacier, and Darran Mountains. In this April 2018, I had explored Mount Aspiring - one of the most elegant mountains in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, with the guide Gavin Lang from First Light Guiding. It was a great experience with Gavin to have this mountain trip. In our 6 days expedition, Gavin made wise decisions to make me stay in safe and very enjoyable as well. During this trip, based on the weather broadcasting, we could have a window on Wed to summit My Aspiring, but due to the delay of a storm, we had to wait in Colin Todd Hut on that day. Then we got the weather update saying that Thursday morning would be clear, so we decided to climb to Sheep Owner Ridge - a 200 m vertical high above Colin Todd Hut, to take sunrise photographs. We started our climb at 5am towards Sheep Owner Ridge. But on the half way of our climb, Gavin observed that there were some snow flakes in the dark sky. Gavin sensed that a storm was coming towards us, and made a decision to turn back to the Hut as soon as possible. So we started to go down. By the time the storm reached us, we already got into the hut safely. I learned many concepts of techniques of mountaineering from Gavin, and look forward to have another mountain trip with him in December 2018 again.

I had the pleasure of doing a 5 day expedition with Gavin in April 2018. His communication and organisation were excellent right from the very start. During the trip, the fresh food was amazing and Gavins level of expertise in all areas was clear to see. I would have no hesitation in going on another expedition with Gavin in the future and highly recommend him to others, regardless of your level of mountaineering experience! Thanks again Gav!

A truly extraordinary experience in a truly unique environment. An adventure on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels! Gavin was a wonderful guide - remaining consistent, calm, encouraging, supportive and knowledgable which made surmounting my personal challenges on Mount Aspiring absolutely possible. So fantastic to be fuelled with real food for the journey too - so important to me, and makes such a difference when out in the mountains to have such nutrient dense fuel. Thank you Gavin! I can happily recommend your services for anyone wanting an incredible mountain experience!

My primary goal was to summit Mt Aspiring but I came away with so much more. Not only is Gavin Lang an exceptional mountain guide but he's a skilled life coach. I'm now on a new pathway and its feels great. Gavin is great company, and cooks amazing meals. The best indicator for the strength of this recommendation is that I am already booked in for my next course with Gavin.

Just returned from a 7-day, 1:1 climbing trip with Gavin of First Light Guiding in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, NZ in Jan 2018. I've hired climbing guides in Europe, Africa, USA, and now NZ, and First Light Guiding was clearly the best client/guide experience I've ever had in the mountains. We flew in to Plateau Hut on 06 Jan, and hiked out down the valley on 11 Jan in persistent rain showers. We managed to summit Mt Cook via the Linda Glacier route on 07 Jan 2018 under a beautiful blue sky. On the other days the weather wasn't the best, so Gavin made good use of the time in the hut to go over crevasse rescue, avalanche safety, weather interpretation, and other useful mountaineering topics. If you're looking for great climbing experience in the mountains, First Light Guiding is the place for you. Gavin is a professional, personable guide who goes the extra mile to ensure you eat well, climb well, and have an all-around fun time in the mountains. If you appreciate climbing at the right pace for you, rather than the pace of the other people on your rope, then you cannot go wrong with a 1:1 trip with First Light Guiding. Other than the time on the mountain, which was terrific, one of the highlights was clearly the food. Gavin asked my preferences long in advance so he could be sure of satisfying any special dietary requirements I might have had. And when it came time to eat, he delivered! Every meal was delicious and nutritious. Already looking forward to returning to NZ so I can go climbing with First Light Guiding again next year.

I have done two trips with Gavin Lang of First Light Guiding. Both were customised itineraries with a 1:1 guide:client ratio. The first was in December 2016 – 9 days in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, NZ. The goals were less about peak bagging and more about location tagging (three glaciers, one pass and one summit named after A P Harper, Guy Mannering or Malcolm Ross) to celebrate the NZAC 125th anniversary. The second trip in July 2017 was 18 days in the Cordillera Blanca in Peru, with the objective of climbing 3 peaks. In fact we summited four Urus Este, Ishinca, Tocllaraju and Alpamayo – all between 5300-6000 m. Both trips with Gavin delivered everything I anticipated and more. We achieved all our geographic objectives and I pushed my physical, technical alpine climbing and mental resilience boundaries in a supportive and encouraging environment. Gavin’s commitment to a holistic experience really makes a difference. What I appreciate the most is that each trip is a journey and the journey is not just about the objectives but about the whole experience. Gavin makes an incredible commitment to engage on a personal level – the guiding does not start and stop when the rope is tied on and untied. The space to explore all the aspects of the journey - geographic, physical, technical, emotional and spiritual - without having to feel guarded about some of the more personal and private things that come up is a real gift. Gavin was excellent company, an excellent guide, always clear about plans, objectives, conditions and the reasoning behind decisions. I felt safe, supported and challenged which are a great combination when they occur together. The balance between commitment to the objectives of the journey, technical skills development, timely reminders when extra care was required and the sheer enjoyment of being out there was just right. Gavin’s technical and guiding skills were first rate, and his calm approach to problem solving all inspired confidence. His confidence in my ability to handle the circumstances were also affirming for me. Gavin respected my past experience as an accomplished climber 30 years ago while at the same time helping me regain confidence 30 years on and needing to upskill and fill in some of the blanks from the past. The 1:1 guide:client ratio created space for individual initiative and responsibility while maintaining overall control of climbing safety and letting me dictate the pace. Gavin provides superb food. Peru could potentially be a challenging environment for food and clean water. Gavin dealt with this by doing all the cooking himself rather than hire a local cook. This way he had complete control of food and water hygiene and safety. It worked! Gut health during the two weeks in the field was fine. The food on both trips was excellent with most of it sourced locally and a big emphasis on fresh fruit and veges – really appreciated in a mountain environment. The logistics and plans on the Peru expedition were seamlessly and meticulously planned – accommodation in Huaraz, acclimatisation days, food, donkeys for the walks in to base camp and a porter for the Aplamayo high camp. This maximised enjoyment on the trip – no hassling with details, just focussing on the objectives and the experience. Gavin Lang and the services of First Light Guiding are highly recommended!