Glacier Ski and SplitboardTour

The glacier ski tour can be based out of Tasman Saddle or Kelman huts on either the eastern or western glaciers of Aoraki / Mount Cook or Pioneer or Centennial huts in Westland National Park. Alternatively, we can fly in with an expedition-style tent camp to more remote areas such as the Murchison Glacier. Objectives can be tailored to the experience and aspirations of the group.

All venues provide a range of terrain and ski touring and mountaineering objectives to explore and practice the skills and decision-making to keep you safe on your own future glacier adventures.

Options on the Tasman Glacier include Hochstetter Dome, Lendenfeld Saddle, Darwin Bowls, Canyonlands, or crossing over into the Murchison. For trips based on the Fox or Franz Josef glaciers, options include Pioneer Pass, Mount Von Burlow, Grey Peak, and Graham Saddle.

As part of the trip, the NZMGA-certified guide will provide instruction in important safety skills. These include avalanche awareness and rescue, glacier travel and crevasse rescue, and basic snowcraft, including crampon and ice axe use.

The guide will pick guests up from their accommodation in Wānaka at 8:30 on the first day. After checking gear, it is a 2.5 hour drive to Mount Cook Village or 4 hours to Fox Glacier townships from where it is possible to fly into the mountains. Trips are based from high alpine huts from where it is possible to explore the glacial névés with day packs.

On the last day, the tour will ski the Haupapa / Tasman Glacier for a helicopter transfer back to the village. It may be possible to undertake a side trip to explore the Bonney and Darwin glaciers. From the huts on the west side of the divide, we ski down to the historic Chancellor Hut for the helicopter ride back down.

The itinerary is flexible and subject to weather. There are many options to explore the névés, cols, and summits with day packs. If the weather dictates that the tour is unable to spend the entire time in the high mountains, day or overnight trips will be carried out from Mount Cook Village or nearby ski fields.