Mt Cook Glacier Guiding

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Mt Cook Glacier Guiding

Explore, Heli-Hike, Snow Shoe or Ice Climb on the largest glacier in New Zealand, the Haupapa/Tasman
(10)

Haupapa/Tasman Glacier Guided Experiences
(Heli-Hiking, Snow Shoeing and Ice Climbing)

23/08/2024

The weather hasn’t been in our favour for the last couple days and not looking any better for the foreseeable future (fingers crossed this changes)! That being said, us guides can’t wait to get back on the ice with you all and show you our office 🏔️🧊⛏️

15/08/2024

Winter can bring quick changes to the glacier. From fresh snow, to water-filled pools to frozen ponds; all within less than a day!

27/07/2024

From a snow-covered glacier to shiny blue ice with gorgeous blue pools (in one day). A trip to the glacier is always different.

21/07/2024

A phenomenon unique to glaciers; in winter pools of water can freeze over, as shown in the top photo. But on a glacier, the water can drain away (in secret) through cracks and holes in the ice, leaving a layer of ice with nothing supporting it from underneath.

This layer of unsupported ice may then collapse under it's own weight, shown in the second photo.

To learn more about glaciers, while taking amazing photos, join us on a guided hike!

19/07/2024

The first group of the day, happy to be arriving on the glacier just as the sunshine does!

09/07/2024

Stunning winter landscapes in Mt Cook National Park. These are some recent photos from our Heli Hike, "The Adventurer".

21/06/2024

Happy Winter Solstice everyone ❄️💙

From today our days start to get longer and that means more daylight hours to explore our glacier with you all 🧊⛏️

📸: A 💙 shaped iceberg floating in the Haupapa (Tasman) lake. Captured by one of our guides () on the beautiful flight up to the glacier 🚁

08/06/2024

Blue gold of the Tasman Glacier 💙

Why is the ice blue you ask?

The light we see with our eyes contains a spectrum of colours from reds to blues, which we can see in a rainbow. Each colour has a different wavelength: red is the longest wavelength; blue is a short wavelength. When all wavelengths are combined, we see it as white light.

In glacier ice, you can see layers of white and various shades of blue. If you look closely at the white layers, you’ll see that there are air bubbles trapped inside. The white layers are formed from what was previously dry, powdery snow, while the blue layers were formed from wet snow, which doesn’t contain as much air.

When light hits air bubbles in the ice, it reflects in many directions and we see white light. Solid ice with no air inside absorbs the longer wavelengths like red and yellow, but allows shorter wavelengths like blue to transmit through the ice and to be reflected. The further the light passes into the ice, the deeper blue the colour becomes, in some places in very deep caves the ice can even appear purple.

Glacier ice is about 85-90% the density of water (one cubic metre of ice weighs about 850 to 900 kg).

13/05/2024

Shades of blue. The glacier ice looks different as the light changes throughout the day.

01/05/2024

Early season snowfall and the first icicles!

30/04/2024

As the winter season approaches, the shadows lengthen and the light changes, a fun time of year for photographers!

26/04/2024

Some photos from our recent Heli Hikes on the Tasman Glacier.

13/04/2024

There are several factors which influence glacial melt. Heavy rain can cause surface flooding on the Tasman Glacier, which can melt canyons in the ice, as seen behind the group in this photo (to the right). A covering of rock over the ice can reduce the melt rate by as much as 90%, resulting in rock-covered areas being higher in altitude, as seen directly behind the group.
The best time to visit our glaciers is now!

31/03/2024

Happy hikers, exploring the Tasman Glacier.

27/03/2024

We're just hanging out by a pool, next to a blue ice tunnel, on top of over 500 vertical metres of ice.
How was your day?

24/02/2024

A group of New Zealand's famous alpine parrot, the Kea, graced us with their presence on our Heli Hike! A group of Kea is called "a conspiracy", which was well earned as they began to open our bags and fly away with our sunscreen!

14/01/2024

Escape the summer heat, in New Zealand's coolest natural wonder; an ice cave in the Tasman Glacier!

26/12/2023

On the way to the Tasman Glacier, you'll fly over Tasman Lake, but why is it blue?
Glaciers grind rocks against each other to produce "glacier flour"; a fine-grained powder which floats in suspension in the water.
Very short wavelengths (such as purple) are reflected by the flour, longer wavelengths (red/orange) are absorbed by the water, leaving the blue/green wavelengths to be scattered back to our eyes!

23/12/2023

When does clear ice become glacial blue ice?
Come with us to find out!

05/12/2023

Would you like a group adventure? Book a Heli Hike (The Adventurer) with your friends and family for an experience that you'll all remember!

02/12/2023

As summer arrives, we see faster changes on our glaciers. But how did this very heavy rock end up balanced perfectly on this small pillar of ice?

15/11/2023

When the glacier ice melts, small rivers run across the glacier surface, until they find a crack in the ice, then they plunge vertically into the glacier forming a moulin (or glacier mill). Moulins can can descend as much as 40 or 50 meters into the ice!

28/10/2023

A last reminder of winter, a touch of snow with a heavy dose of sunshine!

26/10/2023

Blue ice tunnels are formed naturally by wind and water.
They also make for great photo frames!

16/10/2023

A group happy to be experiencing the Heli Hike on the Tasman Glacier! 😀

13/10/2023

A room with a view.
Stopping for a picnic during the "Wigley" hike on the Tasman Glacier.

12/10/2023

Exploring ice caves(Bīng dòng/冰洞) on the mighty Tasman Glacier (Bīngchuān/冰川).

08/10/2023

A few photos from a recent Heli Hike on the Tasman Glacier. The naturally filtered blue light, deep in the glacier, is caused by the absorption of red light by the glacial ice.

04/10/2023

The Wigley guided glacier hike takes place in the neve of the glacier; the upper part, where there is snow all year round and where the glacier ice is made!
Here we can see the layers in the ice, representing the last few years of ice formation, and the newest glacier ice!

30/09/2023

Between the spring storms, the sun will shine, and the glacier is looking amazing!

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Lake Tekapo
7999

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https://www.mtcookguides.co.nz/

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Videos

Low winter sunlight, creating interesting affects with light and shadow!

Late afternoon sunlight and the Beetham Falls, seen from the Tasman Glacier Heli Hike.

The Beetham Waterfall, from the Tasman Glacier. #mackenzienz #nzmustdo #mtcookguidesnz #Inflite #naturenz #southislandnz

Something a little different. One of our guides spent the night on the glacier with friends. This is what you can do at night with an ice cave and some imagination!

Quick clips from December 2023 so far!

Through the glacier, through the ice!

From inside the glacier, to back on the surface. Having fun exploring natural ice tunnels in the Tasman Glacier.

More adventures through the glacier! We found a secret entrance into a gorgeous blue ice tunnel.

With a small private guided hike, your guide can take you to hard to reach places, and explore areas not normally seen!

Where does the tunnel end? More exploring under the surface of the Tasman Glacier. #underthesurface #mtcookskiplanesandhelicopters #nzmustdo #mtcookglacierguidingnz #tasmanglacier #mtcookglacierguiding

Discovering a new tunnel, deep into the glacier. An option for the more adventurous!

A quick montage of some sights on our Wigley tour (named after Harry Wigley who invented the ski plane concpt that we still use today).

WIth the largest glacier in New Zealand, there's always more to find. This was another new tunnel found by our group today! 😁 #mtcookglacierguidingnz #mtcookglacierguiding #tasmanglacier #icecave #glacierwalking #mtcookskiplanesandhelicopters #underthesurface

Discovering a newly formed blue ice cave on the Heli Hike! #mtcookskiplanesandhelicopters #mtcookguidesnz #mtcookglacierguidingnz #tasmanglacier

A fun family ice climbing day finished up by exploring the inside of a deep moulin (water drainage tunnel) inside the glacier. This is a a series of quick clips from them! #icecave #mtcookskiplanes #mtcookglacierguidingnz #tasmanglacier #mtcookglacierguiding #iceclimber #dosomethingnewnz

Discovering new wonders in the ice is common as the glacier continues to change. Today was no exception! #mtcookguidesnz #mtcookskiplanesandhelicopters #naturenz #mackenzienz #dosomethingnewnz #nzmustdo #inflite #glacierwalking #mtcookglacierguidingnz

Want to know more? Our glacier walks are both visually stunning, as well as informative! #naturenz #southislandnz #mtcookskiplanesandhelicopters #mtcookguidesnz #underthesurface #learningoutsidetheclassroom