By Sorrel Hoskin

Ian McAlpine has always striven to be the best he could, knocking off several ascent records on the way.

 "Our whole family - all eight of us - but especially the boys - have always been physical - not necessarily trying to be the fastest or the best but for the personal challenge - doing the best you can."

He first established a record for the gruelling Four Peaks at age 17, completing the challenge in 16 hours and 32 minutes.

To complete the Four Peaks a challenger must ascend Mt Taranaki, the Kaitaki ranges and the Pouakai ranges before descending to Oakura and running along the highway to New Plymouth to  scale Paritutu Rock. 

The summer of 1975/76 saw Ian set record after record after spending three months climbing in the Mount Cook National Park.

As well as his Taranaki successes Ian completed a grand traverse of Mount Cook: from The Hermitage to the mountain and back again in 28 hours, a climb that usually takes three days. A week later he made a solo ascent of the south ridge. He rates the two climbs as his best ever. That summer he climbed Mount Cook five times in a month.

Over the years he has made several multiple ascents of Mount Taranaki. He holds records of 16 hours five minutes for four summits, of eight hours 50 minutes for the triple traverse, and of 10 hours 10 minutes for Taranaki's Four Peaks record, all set in 1976. The Summit Climb includes climbing the peak from the accommodation houses on each side of the mountain, Dawson Falls Tourist Lodge, Stratford Mountain House, North Egmont Camphouse and Kahui Hut. The Triple Traverse follows the same scenario, excluding Kahui Hut.

In the early days Ian could do a summit in under two hours. These days he prefers to take his time. "I'm changing, I don't push as much on the way down as I used to!"