Mount Cook Guided Day Hikes & Overnight Hut Stays

Alpine Guides Mount Cook National Park Day Hikes

Escape the crowds and discover the many hidden treasures of Aoraki Mount Cook National Park on one of our guided day hikes or overnight huts.

Our professional mountain guides will take you safely on an “off the beaten track” tramp while sharing their extensive knowledge of the local area. We also provide all the gear you will need for the day and a picnic lunch.

Alpine Guides Day Walks Include:

Private certified mountain guide
Packed Lunch
Safety equipment & hiking gear

Experience and Fitness

Previous trekking /hiking experience is essential. Our hikes involve leaving marked and formed trails, uphill and downhill travel, stepped and natural surfaces.

You must have good aerobic fitness, and able to walk for at least 5 hours over the day on uneven terrain carrying a small backpack (4 to 5 kg).

Please bring the following on all day hikes:

Sunglasses, Sunscreen and lip lock (we recommend 50 SPF)
Water bottles or water bladders – at least 1.5 L
Hiking clothing: whenever possible choose lightweight quick drying fabrics designed for outdoor activities. Avoid cotton clothing
Warm layers , mountain weather can be unpredictable, even in summer!
Warm Hat and gloves
Small Backpack 4 to 5 Kg’s
Sun protection: baseball cap or legionnaire hat, scarf/neck gaiter, light coloured quick-drying top
Don’t forget your camera!

We can provide rain jackets, pants, gaiters, backpacks, and hiking poles. We also have boots available to hire.

Mount Cook National Park One Day Walk Options:

Alpine Guides – Mueller Hut One Day Hike

Price: From $225 per person (Based on 4 pax) – $350 pp (Based on 2 pax)
Duration: Upto 10 Hours
Difficulty: Four out of five (Challenging climb)
Departs: 8:30 am

Looking for a day hike that gets you into some big mountains and rewards you with the kind of huge alpine views usually reserved for serious mountaineers? Then you can’t do better than the hike up to Mueller Hut! No other formed track in New Zealand gets you into the heart of the Southern Alps amongst some of New Zealand’s highest mountains like this one does.

A trek to Mueller Hut is an unforgettable experience, surrounded by majestic, glacier clad peaks. The trip is available all year, for fit hikers. There is over 1,000 vertical metres of ascent, over a 8-10 hour day. You need to be fit.

Follow in the footsteps of a young Sir Edmund Hillary to Mueller Hut and if you are keen you can walk onto the rocky peak of Mount Ollivier at 1900 metres. Mueller is one of the more accessible alpine huts in NZ. Above it stands Mount Ollivier (1,933 metres) – known as the first peak Sir Edmund Hillary climbed. This is an unforgettable location, flanked by the glacier-draped peaks of the Main Divide.

Winter conditions (May – October) can bring avalanche risk. You guide may elect a different itinerary if conditions are not safe.

Mueller Hut is a long day (up to 10 hours return). A high level of fitness is required.

Highlights:

Stunning mountain views
Visit an iconic kiwi alpine hut
Great introduction to alpine tramping/mountaineering
Private trip, 100% tailored to your needs & fitness
Experienced guide with extensive knowledge of the local area

Inclusions:

Cost of private certified guide
Picnic lunch and snacks
Free use of any technical gear required

Alpine Guides – Mueller Hut Overnight

Price: From $525 per person (Based on 4 pax) – $725 pp (Based on 2 pax)
Duration: Two Days
Difficulty: Four out of five (Challenging climb)
Departs: 8:30 am

Mueller Hut is one of the more accessible alpine huts in New Zealand, above it stands Mount Ollivier at 1,933 metres – known as the first peak Sir Edmund Hillary climbed, an unforgettable hiking location, flanked by the glacier-draped peaks of the main divide.

Alpine Guides offers both a guided single day hikes for fit people, or an overnight trek for those who like to savour their time in the mountains. The rocky peak of Mount Olivier looks down over Mueller Hut and Mount Cook village. with Mt Olivier’s summit is reached by an achievable hike/scramble (or crampon assisted mission) about 40 minutes hike from Mueller Hut.

The Overnight option allows time for a comfortable, unhurried ascent to the hut and the opportunity to appreciate the spectacular sunrise and sunset light show that only Aoraki Mount cook can arrange.

The 1,000-metre ascent to the hut takes around 6 hours, with time for breaks and photographs. The peak of Mount Ollivier is a 40 minute climb from the hut – a great opportunity for aspiring climbers.

Follow in the footsteps of a young Sir Edmund Hillary to Mueller Hut and if you are keen you can walk onto the rocky peak of Mount Ollivier at 1900 metres. This is a 1,100 vertical metre hike following a marked trail to the hut, before scrambling to the summit.

Highlights:

Stunning mountain views from an iconic Kiwi alpine hut
professional guide with extensive knowledge of the local area
Private trip, 100% tailored to your needs

Inclusions:

Cost of private certified guide for 2 days
Hut and National Park fees
Lunch from day 1 to lunch on day 2 plus snacks
Free use of any technical gear required.

Alpine Guides – Plateau Hut Overnight

Price: From $1075 per person (Based on 3 pax) – $1475 pp (Based on 2 pax)
Duration: Two Days one night
Difficulty: Three out of five (Moderate)
Departs: 8:30 am

Looking for an extraordinary experience? Alpine Guides’ Plateau Hut Overnight trip is the perfect ‘easy’ mountain adventure and a trip to one of New Zealand’s most iconic alpine locations.

Stay at a modern NZ alpine hut, and enjoy the thrill of glaciated ‘big-mountain’ terrain, accompanied by your professional guide.

Then, roped for glacier travel, safely trek to the summit of Glacier Dome (2,452 metres) – a beautiful snow-clad but non-technical peak on the flanks of Aoraki Mount Cook itself!

Inclusions:

- A professional mountain guide – on a private basis
- Stay at one of NZ’s most spectacular alpine huts (Includes hut & national park fees)
- Trek across a glacier
- Use Crampons/snowshoes and ice axe to ascend a peak
- Two spectacular 12 minute scenic flight to and from the Plateau hut
- Delicious Evening meal & breakfast prepared by your guide

Day One Itinerary:

8:30 am meet your guide and discuss plans
Sort gear and travel to Mt. Cook airport
Fly to Plateau Hut – 2,210 metres (7,250 feet) above sea level
Set up at Plateau Hut and take lunch
Glacier walk and training
Dinner

Day Two Itinerary:

- - - - Breakfast
      - Glacier dome trek & traverse – 2 to 3 hours
      - Lunch at Plateau hut
      - Fly back to Mt. Cook airport
      - Return gear and depart
- Alpine Guides – Mount Wakefield One Day walk
  
  Currently not operating
  
  Price: From $190 per person (Based on 4 pax) – $310 pp (Based on 2 pax)
  Duration: 8 Hours
  Difficulty: Three out of five
  Departs: 8:30 am
  
  Mount Wakefield is a full-day guided hike at Mount Cook for fit walkers taking about 7-8 hours, return.
  
  Mt Wakefield dominates the eastern skyline of Mount Cook Village and sees very few hikers, although it is probably the best day hike at Mount Cook.
  
  Our guided hike offers a 700-metre ascent to a scenic point above Wakefield’s mighty scree fans. The climb begins steeply, under remnant beech forest, then through grassy meadows of Mt Cook Lilies and Celmissia.
  
  Our stopping point, home to NZ Falcons, gives uninterrupted views of Lake Pukaki, Tasman Glacier, and the ice-draped peaks of the Main Divide.
  
  Fit parties who move well on rough terrain may continue to one of several small ‘peaks’ between 1,800 and 2,000 metres elevation. The descent is by the same route.
  
  Alpine Guides – Mount Sebastopol One Day Hike
  
  Currently not operating
  
  Price: From $190 per person (Based on 4 pax) – $310 pp (Based on 2 pax)
  Duration: 8 Hours
  Difficulty: Three out of five
  Departs: 8:30 am
  
  Mount Sebastopol at 1,468 metres is the closest peak to Mt Cook village. This a fun ascent, mixing hiking with scrambling and utterly spectacular views. Total height gain is 750 metres and the rip will take 4 to 6 hours return depending on your level of fitness.
  
  You meet your guide at 8:30 am at the Alpine Guides base. The climb follows a maintained track to red tarns for approx 300 vertical metres and then by an unmarked route to the breathtaking summit
  
  Higher on the ascent you must be confident on uneven ground. The scrambling section requires the use of hands and some ‘exposure’ near the summit. The guide may use a rope for some sections.
  
  The summit gives uninterrupted views down the length of the Tasman Valley to Lake Pukaki, and across to the glaciated peaks at the head of the Tasman Glacier. Kea are common visitors up here.
  
  In cooler months there can be snow on the upper route and your guide will provide crampons.
  
  The descent is by the same route, with a possible scree-run for those keen for some adventure. The trip takes on average 5-6 hours.