Aoraki/Mount Cook West Face - aerial view

The west face of Aoraki/Mount Cook (from helicopter). The first ascent route ascends the obvious couloir to the big notch on the left and from there roughly up the skyline (north) ridge. This is considered to be one of the more dangerous (rock fall in the couloir) and difficult routes on the peak. It was chosen for the first climb because it is primarily on rock - the group climbed the rock next to the couloir rather than in ice and snow because they had no crampons (it was 1894) and were more experienced on rock than snow and ice. Photo 19 Mar 2014 by Fred Spicker