Not only do you have to scale some impressive heights to join this exclusive climbing club, you also have to beat the oldest member.
Christchurch mountaineer Ron Webster (79) became the oldest man to climb Mt Aspiring when he scaled the 3033m peak with his Darfield mate, Murray Robb (73), on Wednesday.
Mr Webster's effort surpassed Taranaki mountaineer Doug Ball's record for the oldest Mt Aspiring climber - set last March - by three months.
Mr Webster turns 80 on May 20. He retired from his job as a pharmacist in 1991.
Making it to the summit of Aspiring was a fantastic experience, he said.
"It's not the highest climb I've ever done, but it's definitely the hardest," he said.
Mr Webster and Mr Robb flew by helicopter to Bevan Col on Tuesday, accompanied by Aspiring Guides pair Marty Beare and Adrian Cam.
The group spent the night in Colin Todd hut and left for the summit at 5am on Wednesday.
Conditions meant they could not take the usual route across a section of Mt Aspiring known as the Ramp.
Instead, they had to climb the entire Northwest ridge route - adding an extra two hours to the slog.
The group was roped together for the entire climb and reached the summit after eight hours.
"We were climbing through the mist and there was new snow on the mountain. It wasn't cold, but there was plenty of ice around," Mr Webster said.
The group emerged from the cloud and mist on to the summit about 1.15pm on Wednesday.
"It was a fantastic feeling. It still hasn't quite sunk in yet."
During a half-hour summit break they took photos on their 35mm film camera, before the six-hour descent to Colin Todd hut.
The Otago Daily Times managed to catch up with the two climbers for a half-hour meeting, before they left to drive back to Christchurch.
Mr Webster and Mr Robb are members of Christchurch's Pioneer Tramping Club.
They acknowledged the help they received from Mr Beare and Mr Cam.
"We couldn't have done it with out them".
Mr Ball, formerly the oldest man to climb Mt Aspiring, was contacted by the Otago Daily Times, yesterday.
He was in Wanaka, after recently returning from climbing expeditions around Fiordland.
"Jolly good on him," he said when told about Mr Webster's climb. "I reckon the more of us old fellas who get out in the hills the better."
