Saturday, 9th – Sunday, 10th September 2018 – Joel O’Rourke and Hans Anderson A fine weather window finally occurred that aligned with both Hans Anderson and my days off and so last minute plans were assembled to ski the Footstool near Mount Cook Village. We drove up the night before and stayed in NZAC Unwin…
Mt Rolleston – the Otira Slide via Rome Ridge
Rome Ridge – Arthur’s Pass mega classic leading to Mt. Rolleston – no touring equipment is even required. The climb is described in the Arthur’s Pass climbing guidebook by Graeme Kates (https://climbnz.org.nz/nz/si/main-divide-of-the-southern-alps/mt-rolleston/low-pk). This write-up aims to serve as an add-on for people who want to ski tour it. An early start should take you to…
Jacks Stream and Stony Stream, Ben Ohau Range
Jacks Stream, and Stony Stream offer good interesting ski touring on a range of terrain and aspects. There are a lot of south facing slopes that can hold powder in good conditions well after a storm has departed. The basins at the heads of the streams are relatively low angle, with steep headwalls. There are…
Mt Cook – East Face
Aoraki/Mount Cook East Face Manu Nadler It was the 25th of October 2017. I was driving from Christchurch to Mount Cook Village on the Rakaia Highway through heavy rain and strong wind gusts. ‘The conditions would soon be perfect on Mount Cook for any steep skiing/snowboarding objectives’ was all I could think about while I…
Malte Brun, the Zig Zag route..
By Ben Briggs One project completed (Caroline Face, Mt Cook) and its time to find the next. Cam, the warden of the Wyn Irwin hut where we were staying is a fountain of knowledge on the mountains in New Zealand and gave us so much beta we were spoiled for choice for our next objective….
Mount Cook – Caroline Face
The Caroline face first came to my attention in 2013, after skiing together in the Spring, Andeas Fransson invited me on a trip to New Zealand that Autumn. I didn’t know anything about the mountains there but was excited for a trip with Andreas, who by that time had already made quite the name for…
Kings Mistake Couloir, Tekapo
King’s Mistake Couloir on Mistake Peak – Manu Nadler On July 30th, after a couple of really cold days with a lot of snowfall, Jamie Paterson and I wanted to ski one of the long east facing couloirs on Mistake Peak at Lake Tekapo. From the opposite side of the lake at Roundhill Ski Area…
Mt Madeline, Fiordland.
Most photos by Adrian Camm Mt Madeline sits deep in the SW of the south island, only a stone throw from Milford Sound, in Fiordland’s indomitable Darren Mountains. Spectacularly situated next to the imposing Mt Tutoko, this ski tour makes for a photographers’ dream. Helicopter access is pretty much the only viable option when loaded…
Mt Olympus to Cheeseman ski field
Mt Olympus to Cheeseman ski field is a suitably popular backcountry ski route, and is close to Christchurch. There are many good touring options in easy to moderate terrain. We did this tour starting at Mt Olympus, (after a good night of partying at the Olympus lodge) and heading to Cheeseman, but it can also…
Mt Ollivier via Mueller Hut
By Joel O’Rourke. After a few days of bad weather and a trip up to Mt Olympus to show Kevin Canning the wonders of NZ Club Fields and nutcracker ropetows, a quick weather window allowed for a quick trip up to Mueller Hut to at least give Kevin a quick glimpse of Mt Cook…