Despite winter mountain climbing being the "least popular facet of the sport", 115 climbers have descended on Queenstown and its surrounds in a bid to climb mixed ice and rock.
Co-organiser Daniel Joll, a Queenstown-based climber, said initially he and co-organisers Craig Jefferies and Ben Dare were unsure what the demand would be.

But with the number of registrations being the highest for a climbing meet in New Zealand, they were "really happy with what we have got".

A limit of 115 climbers was in place and some people had missed out.

 
Climber Steve Fortune, from Christchurch, pushes himself while conquering the first ascent of "Force It", grade M4, on the Telecom Tower at the Remarkables on Tuesday. The Remarkables Ice and Mixed Festival officially began yesterday and will continue until this Sunday. However, climbers had factored the weather into their plans and had already been climbing for the past week, Mr Joll said.
The meet is a fundraiser for the New Zealand Alpine Club and Mr Joll said the many registrations could indicate climbing was becoming more popular in New Zealand, among both men and women.

"We just wanted to do something for the club and to promote the sport."

A "Chicks 'n Picks"session for female climbers, with instruction from advanced local female climbers, had proved popular.

"It's just another way to get women involved. It's still more popular with men, particularly mountain climbing.

"Probably 20 or 30 women have registered."

The main feature of ice and mixed climbing was that the nature of the ice changed every day. It required more skill and care for safe climbing and could "go from being quite safe to being quite dangerous".

The festival was promoting a more modern type of climbing using better technology to climb both ice and rock on the same climb.

Guest speakers would be climbing in the competition by day and speaking on Friday and Saturday night at a local bar, detailing previously unclimbed routes and first ascents.

Mr Joll said visiting climbers, who were a mix of New Zealand and international climbers, had been taken on tours of unclimbed areas in the Wakatipu over the past week.

"Most people enjoy climbing unclimbed areas because it's the joy and challenge ... they're potentially in a dangerous position and you don't know what's coming and you have to use a lot of judgment to decide whether to go on.

"A lot of people are just doing it for the enjoyment and the pleasure of being outdoors."

Registrations had been received from all levels of climbers, and Mr Joll said it was great for beginners to meet their older-generation heroes and receive instruction.

He said the festival was not "like an adventure race" with a set course. It was a festival where there could be real consequences if a wrong decision was made.

"It's a dangerous sport. There's just no way of budging that. If you don't make the right choices ... you expect them to make their own judgment.

"To push it in this sport, you do have to take risks."