The Adventurer: Tasman Glacier Heli Hike

Heli-hiking on the Tasman Glacier makes it easy to access the mountaineering world. Discover New Zealand's longest glacier at Aoraki Mount Cook. Accompanied by a skilled mountain guide on a Tasman Glacier Heli Hike, you will fly high up on to the Tasman glacier's 'white ice'.

All guests are met at Mt Cook Airport and provided with a full safety briefing along with an equipment check. Hereafter, we depart for our exciting helicopter trip into the mountains. In terms of distance, this heli flight takes you twice as far as you would ride at Fox or Franz Josef Glacier. This makes for some amazing scenic opportunities to go with the superb ice walk.

In the Mountains

You will land at 1,200 metres above sea level where you will enjoy up to 2 hours in this mountain area. This guided, interpretative “white ice” trek leaves nothing to be desired. The terrain is gorgeous with runnels, fluted ice, moulins and small winding streams.

As your crampons grip into the ice, you will travel along some gentle terrain with some of the highest peaks of the Southern Alps (Mount Tasman and Aoraki) to keep you company. These snow-capped mountains dwarf the massive ice-falls that crash down their sides.

You will be safely returned to Mt Cook airport by helicopter and, on the way, you will fly close to the huge 1,000 metre (3,200 feet) high Hochstetter Icefall to finish off this fantastic experience.

The total time needed in order to complete this trip is approximately 3 hours. You will be out on the ice for as long as 2 hours. The additional time is needed for fitting your gear, safety briefings, aircraft loading and flying time (30 minutes).

Fitness

Helihiking can be enjoyed by anyone of at least average fitness. Helihiking is not suitable for those who experience difficulty walking on uneven surfaces or stepping down and up. The glacier is slightly undulating and relatively easy to walk on. However, there are no actual trails on this natural ice surface.

Price Difference

Heli-hiking at Mt Cook does cost somewhat more than the costs at Fox or Franz Josef Glaciers. This is due to the fact that the helicopter trip at Mt Cook flies more than double the distance in order to reach the ice. Our Tasman Glacier landing site is approximately 25km from Mount Cook which means that you will be able to enjoy and amazing scenic flight along with your memorable ice walk.

Gear Required, How to Dress, Temperatures

Be sure to wear comfortable clothing just as you would for any other hiking trip. Warm clothing is important since it gets cooler higher up.

In the summer, the temperatures be 20C or more but less than 10C at the start and end of each season.

You also need to consider how windchill affects temperatures and lowers them even further. Bring along a windproof jacket as well as sunscreen to protect against the UV radiation. Even if it is cold, you can still suffer from nasty burns if you don't protect your skin.

During winter guests will need to dress appropriately and we may use snowshoes occasionally if we've received a big dump of snow on the lower glacier. We do supply warm jackets, hats and gloves for those that forget theirs.

Minimum age 10 years, and minimum height 135 cm. Need to be confident on uneven terrain.

Total Time Required: up to 3 hours

Time on the Ice: up to 2 hours

Seasonal Weather, Snow, and Ice Variations:

The glacier's conditions are constantly fluctuating throughout the year, with ice formations undergoing changes that can occur even within a matter of days. Therefore, no two excursions to the glacier are ever exactly the same.

The period between May and September experiences lower temperatures, so visitors should come equipped with winter gear such as warm hats, gloves, and jackets. During this time, snowshoes or crampons may also be necessary.

Conversely, from October to April, "summer" conditions prevail, with high UV levels and generally warmer weather. However, visitors will still need to use crampons for hiking during this period.