[1][2][3] Frederick Hutton (Christchurch), Edward Sealy (Timaru), Malcolm Ross (Dunedin), and John Holland Baker (Wellington) were the inaugural vice-presidents.

It publishes guidebooks to New Zealand mountains and to selected rock climbing areas, and also makes this information accessible online.

The visibility of mountaineering in New Zealand was boosted by the 1953 ascent of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary[4] and Tenzing Norgay.

Other NZAC members have completed first ascents in many mountain areas, including in the Himalayas, Antarctica and the Andes.

[7][8] The mountaineering opportunities focus particularly on the Southern Alps which run the length of the South Island, but also include other ranges such as the Kaikōuras, Arrowsmiths and the North Island volcanoes Mount Taranaki and Mounts Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro.