NOLS Sponsors Women’s-Only Southern Alps Traverse

Inga Booiman and three friends at Liebig Hut in NZ's Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park

In November 2017, climber Inga Booiman and three friends set out on a 25-day adventure in New Zealand’s Southern Alps, dubbing their mission the “Girls Southern Traverse.” Funded in part by a NOLS grant, Booiman and her companions travelled from Arthurs Pass to Mt. Cook.

“There comes a time in everyone’s life when a dream must become a reality.

So it was for Luggate climber Inga Booiman, who’d been thinking about traversing the mountains in the Aoraki-Mt Cook National park since she was a teenager. When she shared her thoughts with her friend Dulkara Martig, of Nelson, the response was immediate.‘She said, why not pencil this in. Make a date. So we did.’

Booiman and Martig roped in their climbing friends Anna Loomes and Tara Mulvany and the ‘Girls Southern Traverse’ plan was born.The four women, aged between 27-29 years, successfully completed the mission in 25 days during November and December 2017.”

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Brooke Ortel

Brooke Ortel

Brooke is a runner and writer who enjoys finding adventure in the everyday. True to her island roots, she loves sunshine, that salty ocean smell, and the sound of waves against the shore.

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