Crossing the Tasman river is quite an undertaking. The water is fast and full of silt. You cannot see the bottom to cross, and the rocks are sharp and glacial. We once holed a raft crossing here. It is possible to cross the valley on the Tasman Lake, and Glacier Explorers might ferry one across….
Category: Mt Cook
Symphony on Skis, West to East, Mt Cook N.P.
Symphony on Skis: A West to East crossing in 5 days The team and photo credits are: Ian McIvor, Karl Greasley, Liv Barron & Anna Brooke. This is one of the trips that should be on every ski-mountaineer’s list. It offers changing mountain and snow conditions, glacier travel, steepness, playful lines, and a smorgasbord of…
Kaimakamaka Peaks, Ben Ohau Range
I understand that Kaimakamaka means ‘knucklebones’ in Maori. If this is so, then the peak is aptly named, as it sits like a solid fist on the ridge; rocky knuckles festooned with steep parallel couloirs. When the springtime snow line is high, a quick flight up to the Kaiamakamaka peaks is worthwhile. This area gets…
The Prelude and Ski Rhapsody, a multi-day ski traverse; Mt Cook NP & Two Thumb Range
THE PRELUDE: Starting from Bush Stream Bridge at Mesopotamia in the Rangitata Valley, to the eastern summit of the Brabazon Ridge. West along the Brabazon Ridge, sidling north of Mt Brabazon and south of Points 1785 and 1797, then following the ridge via Point 1852 along to Brabazon Saddle. A little care initially, descending to…
Barron Saddle Hut; Mt Bannie and High Traverse to Sawyer and Hoophorn, Sealy Range, Mt Cook
Joel O’Rourke & Hans Anderson. On the weekend of the 22 and 23 September 2018, Hans Anderson and myself flew into Barron Saddle Hut in search of an adventure. Barron Saddle Hut and surrounds We flew in with Helicopter Line from Glentanner Station (flight cost $770). Hans excited for heli-rides (and his reflective sunglasses) The…
The Footstool & Sefton Bivouac, Aroarokaehe Range, Mt Cook National Park
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…
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…