Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, as of 2014, is listed as 3,724 metres. It sits in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite challenge for mountain climbers. Aoraki / Mount Cook consists of three summits: from south to north, the Low Peak, the Middle Peak and the High Peak. The summits lie slightly south and east of the main divide of the Southern Alps, with the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier to the southwest. Mount Cook is ranked 10th in the world by topographic isolation.
Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park is a national park located in the central-west of the South Island of New Zealand. It was established in October 1953 and takes its name from the highest mountain in New Zealand, Aoraki / Mount Cook. The area of the park is 707 km2 (273 sq mi), and it shares a border with Westland Tai Poutini National Park along the Main Divide of the Southern Alps. The national park consists of reserves that were established as early as 1885 to protect the area's significant landscape and vegetation. Glaciers cover 40% of the park, including the county's largest glacier, Haupapa / Tasman Glacier. In 1990, the park was included in the area designated as the Te Wāhipounamu World Heritage Site. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) alongside Ngāi Tahu, the iwi who are mana whenua in the region.
Mount Aspiring / Tititea is New Zealand's 23rd-highest mountain. The peak's altitude of 3,033 metres (9,951 ft) makes it the country's highest outside the Aoraki / Mount Cook region.
Mount Tasman is New Zealand's second-highest mountain, rising to a height of 3,497 metres (11,473 ft). It is located in the Southern Alps of the South Island, four kilometres to the north of its larger neighbour, Aoraki / Mount Cook. Unlike Aoraki / Mount Cook, Mount Tasman sits on the South Island's Main Divide, on the border between Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park and Westland Tai Poutini National Park. It is the highest point in Westland District.
Matthias Zurbriggen (15 May 1856 in Saas-Fee – 21 June 1917 in Geneva) was a Swiss mountaineer. He climbed throughout the Alps, the Andes, the Himalayas and New Zealand.
Silberhorn is the fifth highest peak in New Zealand, rising to 3,300 metres (10,800 ft). It is located in the Southern Alps on the south ridge of Mount Tasman. Its name, "silver horn" in German, was probably given by William Spotswood Green in 1882 after its resemblance to Silberhorn in the Swiss Alps. Its Māori name, Rangirua, literally translates to 'second sky'. The first ascent of Silberhorn was in 1895 by Edward FitzGerald and his guide Matthias Zurbriggen.
Mount Dampier is New Zealand's third highest mountain, rising to 3,440 metres (11,290 ft). It is located in the Southern Alps, between Mount Hicks and Aoraki / Mount Cook. It is often traversed by climbers en route to the North ridge of Mount Cook. Its Māori name literally means 'long sky'.
Lendenfeld Peak, in the past also Mount Lendenfeld, is the eighth highest named summit in New Zealand and in Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park.
The New Zealand Alpine Club (NZAC) was founded in 1891 and is one of the oldest alpine clubs in the world. The NZAC is the national climbing organisation in New Zealand and is a member of the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme. It has over 4000 members who are spread across twelve sections, eleven in New Zealand and one in Australia, plus members in other countries. It runs a national office based in Christchurch.
Malte Brun is the highest peak in the Malte Brun Range, which lies between the Tasman and Murchison Glaciers within New Zealand's Southern Alps. According to Land Information New Zealand, it rises to a height of 3,199 metres (10,495 ft), although other sources give heights ranging from 3155 to 3199 m. A list published by the New Zealand Alpine Club ranks Malte Brun as the third highest mountain in New Zealand.
Dixon Peak, previously known as Mount Dixon, is the 23rd highest peak in New Zealand, rising to a height of 3,004 metres (9,856 ft). It is located in the Southern Alps of the South Island in the Mackenzie District, within Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park, and only a short distance from its more illustrious neighbour Aoraki / Mount Cook. The mountain is a popular peak for climbers, and is used as a practice run for ascents of Cook.
Edward Arthur FitzGerald was an American-born mountaineer and soldier of British descent, best known for leading the expedition which made the first ascent of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the American Continent, in 1897.
Mount Sefton is a mountain in the Aroarokaehe Range of the Southern Alps of New Zealand, just 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of Aoraki / Mount Cook. To the south lies Mount Brunner, and to the north The Footstool, both more than 400 metres (1,300 ft) shorter.
The Copland Pass is an alpine pass in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Known as Noti Hinetamatea by the indigenous Ngāi Tahu, the pass follows the route of the Makaawhio ancestor Hinetamatea and her sons Tātāwhākā and Marupeka.
Ebenezer Teichelmann, known as 'the little Doctor' to his friends, was an Australian-born surgeon, mountaineer, explorer, conservationist and photographer in New Zealand. He was a survivor of the sinking of the SS Marquette in 1915. He achieved 26 first ascents of mountains and seven first ascents, or crossings, of passes, cols, or saddles, and is credited with reviving climbing in New Zealand when the sport was almost dead. A keen photographer, he used a full-plate glass camera, which was hauled up many mountains. His photographs were used in books and advertisements, and helped to achieve conservation status for West Coast reserves.
The Minarets are two peaks of the Southern Alps approximately 180 metres (590 ft) apart, located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. Its southeastern and northwestern peaks have heights of 3,040 metres (9,970 ft) and 3,031 metres (9,944 ft), respectively. After the 3,109 metres (10,200 ft) Mount Elie de Beaumont, they are the northernmost three-thousand-metre peaks in the country and are a few kilometres away from the highest mountains in New Zealand. Most of the other three-thousand-metre peaks in the country are located in the immediate vicinity.
Glacier Peak is a mountain located in the Southern Alps, in the South Island of New Zealand.
Torres Peak is a mountain in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, and is part of Westland Tai Poutini National Park. It is located two kilometres (1.2 mi) to the north of Aoraki / Mount Cook, close to Mount Tasman, of which it is a secondary peak. It is largely surrounded by the icefields of the Abel Janszoon Glacier.
Mount Brewster is a mountain in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, in eastern Mount Aspiring National Park.
