5-day ascent of Mount Aspiring for experienced climbers

Come join us in Mount Aspiring, New Zealand! Situated in the Southern Alps, this summit will allow you to reach high peaks of 3,033 meters and trek over glacial planes.

Mount Aspiring is alternatively known by the New Zealand Maori people as “Tititea,” meaning “glittering peak.” And with a guide ratio of 1:1, none of this extensive trek will pass without bustle, as we do many different activities over the course of 5 days.

To begin, there is an option to walk through the Aspiring Region in order to reach the Bonar Glacier, but this takes about 12-16 hours. Most of our mountaineers opt to take a helicopter over to our accommodation site in order to be physically rested for the glacial trek and the eventual ascent to the summit, therefore, the aviation flight is included in the trip price. Still, once the glacial trek is over, we retire to our accommodation at either Bevan Col or Colin Todd Hut, which is then to be used as a base for the remainder of the trip.

To reach the summit, there are many routes that we can traverse, and we make the selection based on the time of year and at the discretion of your level of technical skill, as the treks range in skill difficulty.

One of our mountaineering treks leads us by way of The Ramp, which ascends from the Bonar Glacier up the West Face of Mount Aspiring and intersects with the North West Ridge halfway to the summit. This route is typically taken until late December.

There is also the route option of the North West Ridge, which is seen as the least difficult in terms of climbing. This route follows the Northwest Face of Mount Aspiring all the way to the summit. We tend to take this rocky route from mid-to-late December onward.

And for the more technically-skilled mountaineers,we offer the route of The South West Ridge. This route takes us up the icy, steep arête of the Southwest Face of the Mountain. Mountaineers choosing this route will have needed previous mountaineering and ice climbing experience, and the decision whether or not to climb this route is generally made once we have arrived to the area.

Each of the routes above takes an average of 14-16 hours total, which is why the trip takes place over a period of 5 days and includes transportation, lodging and meals in the trip price. More still, Group gear such as ice tools are also provided on this trip for activities like snow climbing.

So, if you are a mountaineer who likes glaciers and “glitter,” this is the trip for you! And if you enjoy the snow, feel free to check out our other excursions ice climbing in Wye Creek, glacier trekking in Aspiring national park and skiing in the Southern Alps!