Mount Aspiring : W Face

Hut & Hut Access

Mt. Aspiring is often accessed by helicopter to the Bonar Glacier and Colin Todd Hut. For those who do not have the budget for a very expensive helicopter flight and/or wish to do it the real way, it can be accessed via the long 17km route up the W Matukituki Valley and the French Ridge Hut.

Approach

From the French Ridge Hut

Two ways exist to access the bottom of the face:

• Up the French Ridge and over the Quarterdeck Pass. The Glacier here is very crevassed and the slopes under the pass are very steep !
• Traverse under Mt. French and on to the Breakaway. The Glacier at the Breakaway can be passed but is fairly crevassed, especially early in the season. If avalanche conditions are not favorable, this route can be very dangerous and very exposed because of the slopes of Mt. French.

Past the Breakaway or the Quarterdeck, traverse the Bonar Glacier to the bottom of the face. The flat part of the Glacier is safe and under the face, a few crevasses exist but are easily avoidable.

From Colin Todd Hut

Skin up the Bonar Glacier to the bottom of the face. This route is (probably) a much easier access than from French Ridge Hut.

Face

The route up/down the face is straightforward, there is virtually only one obvious way up, fairly central, between the seracs and rocks.
To access the final ridge to the summit from the face, two options are possible but require complete ice climbing material as it is often completely icy. This section is not skiable!

• Traverse to the left when looking up and zig-zag between the rocks to access the NW ridge.
• Traverse to the right to access a very steep and icy couloir up to the summit.

Disclaimer!
The information given here above is related to the observations and experiences made from ONE outing only from the Matukituki Valley up the French Ridge, via the Breakaway and up to the top of the skiable part of the W Face.
Informations linked to the Quarterdeck Pass, access from Colin Todd and the top part of the face/access to the summit can be inaccurate as they are only based on distant observations and/or possible hypotheses.
Any additional information from others having skied/climbed the W Face is GREATLY appreciated as the more varied the sources of informations are the better!

Beware!
The aspect of the face varies greatly, pictures taken from the air at other moments of the year can represent very inaccurately the aspect of the face at the moment: Less Ice, More/Less Snow, etc.

• Ice pick (One is enough if the summit is not attempted)
• crampons
• 2 ice screws