First ski descent of East Face of Mt Hamilton in New Zealand

Last November, a team of five — Clémence Cadario, George Millets, Jordan Raymond, Romain Sacchettini, and I — made the first descent of the East Face of Mt Hamilton. One of the 24 3000m peaks in New Zealand, this mountain is located in the Malte Brun Range within the Aoraki / Mt Cook National Park.

Phenomenal late-season conditions in 2024 had left the entire park plastered in snow, which stretched almost all the way down to the Murchison Glacier. After a couple of failed attempts turned around by poor weather, on November 6th we took advantage of a 36-hour weather window. Setting off from the Tasman Glacier, we climbed the West Face in the dark to reach the summit by 8 a.m., before descending the 1800m continuous line all the way down to the Dixon Glacier in the Murchison Valley.

The line cuts through a number of large seracs and rock bands at the top, but thanks to the exceptional snow cover that season, we were able to ski the entire line from summit to snow line without needing to rappel.

The descent starts with an initial steep and exposed section, requiring slow and cautious jump turns. But once through the final ice cliff, it opens up into a large, open face, which we were able to ski in freeride style with big, fast, open turns. We reached the base in about an hour after leaving the summit.

In true New Zealand style, we then had to bash for 5 hours through the unstable glacial moraine to catch a ride back to the village.

Joe Collinson, January 2025