I'm wondering if there is a way to create contours from a DEM using ArcGIS without 3D or Spatial Analyst Extensions.
I know that there are a few questions out there pertaining to this (How to create DEM from contours without ArcGIS Spatial Analyst licence?), but I'd like to specifically ask if there is a workaround for this. Like I said this is more of a curiosity type question. My organization is looking to cut budget and I personally would like to cut down on some of the ArcGIS licensing cost. Major projects that we do here are elevation related and we need this functionality. Like I said, QGIS can complete it, but some clients request the work be done in ArcGIS.
Currently I'm trying a mix of DEM to points to contours, but with no luck so far. Crunching a DEM to points is a long resource trying task so it's not optimal, but I think it may work. But after that I really need to find a way to go from point to contour. Is there a free ArcGIS add-in with a functionality like this?