Mount Cook is our highest mountain and is the jewel in the crown of the Southern Alps. Mount Cook dwarfs it's neighbouring peaks with it's shear bulk (nearly 3000m from valley floor to summit) and provides the mountaineer with an incredibly rewarding experience. The ascent of Mount Cook requires a high level of fitness and a good head for heights. A typical day out on Cook takes between 15 and 19 hours and has a mix of glacier travel, moderate ground and steep pitching on mixed rock, snow and ice. Experience climbing in alpine terrain is essential.
A schedule for Mount Cook / Aoraki could be (weather dependent):
- Day 1 - Sort Equipment and fly into Plateau hut via ski plane or helicopter. Settle into the hut and explore local surrounds while practicing glacier travel techniques. Guide will assess your fitness and technical understanding.
- Day 2 - Prepare for our ascent with a warm up climb of a lesser peak to practice skills and techniques. These skills will be valuable for our ascent day.
- Day's 3 - 5 We have 3 days to choose the best weather for our ascent of Mount Cook/Aoraki. If the weather is with us a midnight rise will be needed. We then head up the Linda Glacier during the night to take advantage of the firm conditions. It will be a big day out and we will not be back to the hut till around 3-7pm. If we have additional days we can consider climbing more peaks in the area. This is also possible while we wait for a weather window for our ascent day.
- Day 6 - Egress day. We can choose to walk out of the mountains in a day or fly out to MCV (additional cost). We then head to the bar for a well earned beer!
Price: NZ$4750
Includes: Guide fees, access flight into Plateau Hut, Department of Conservation fees, Plateau Hut fees, all food, ground transport, some technical equipment and GST.
Mountain location: The Grand Plateau, Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park.
Guide Ratio: Strictly 1 guide to 1 climber.
Schedule: This trip can run at any time in the peak summer months (December-February). Contact us to register your interest.
Departures: We pick you up from your accommodation in Queenstown at 8am on the first day of the course, or will meet you in Mount Cook Village on the first day at 9am.
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