The Footstool
Guided Ascent
Difficulty
Duration
3 Days
Season
October to January
Gearlist
PRICE FROM $2,125 NZD
The glaciated peak of the Footstool towers impressively above Mount Cook Village. Alpine Guides offers a 3-day guided mountaineering package that can get you to the summit.
Sitting right on the Main Divide of the Southern Alps alongside Mount Sefton, the Footstool is an imposing sentinel, within easy walking distance of Mount Cook Village. The summit offers views of the West Coast beaches and across the Mackenzie basin.
This mountain is no push-over, requiring competence with crampons and ice axe, glacier travel, and route-finding skills. It is a perfect consolidation trip after a mountaineering course like the Alpine Skills Course. Alternatively, The Footstool is an ideal early-season peak for a one-off climb in the Aoraki Mount Cook area.
Footstool guiding package
Booking a Climb
This trip is on request. Firstly, please contact us with your proposed dates. All bookings are subject to guide availability.
Your guiding package includes:
Guiding fees for 3 days
Alpine Guides Technical Manual
All meals and snacks - lunch from day one to lunch on day 3
National Park fees
Local transport
Free use of a range of technical equipment
Local accommodation for any nights necessary during the trip
A weather contingency day
Check-in at Alpine Guides office in Mount Cook Village.
Please read our booking Terms and Conditions.
Prices, From May 2024
| Group size | Price |
|---|---|
| 1 person | $3,360 |
| 2 people | $2,125 per person |
Prices are in NZ$ and include GST.
Experience and Hazards
Experience Required
The Footstool is a challenging climb requiring competency with various crampon techniques and the use of two ice tools. The summit day is a long ascent requiring climbers to move quickly and efficiently through areas of objective hazard. A very high level of aerobic fitness is expected.
We expect guests to have mountaineering experience similar to the completion of our Alpine Skills Course:
A background in general mountaineering with solid crampon mileage
Glacier travel experience and basic crevasse rescue skills
Ability to manage snow anchors and belays stations
Hazards
Climbing the Footstool is not without hazards, both direct and objective. The rock in this area of the Main Divide is highly fractured and prone to rockfall during mild and thaw conditions. Care must be taken and the guides’ decision is final over whether a summit attempt is possible.
Climbing Season and route description
Climbing Season: October to mid-December
The guided route on Footstool is affected by crevassing and bergschrunds in the Eugenie Glacier. The route normally becomes cut off during December - but conditions every season will vary.
Experienced alpinists can also consider the trip with ski touring/split-boarding gear in late winter, or early spring
Feel free to contact us about route conditions prior to placing your booking.
Main Divide Route
We guide the Main Divide Route, NZ Alpine Grade 2+.
This traverses the Taewaewae and Eugenie Glaciers before ascending the Main Divide ridge to the summit.
The vertical gain is almost 1,700 metres. 3 days are allowed for the trip with your guide. This gives a full day of flexibility around snow conditions and changeable weather.
The return time from the base camp at Sefton Bivouac is around 8 hours, before descending to Mt Cook Village (another 3 to 4 hours). We include an additional standby day free of charge, to assist in working around the weather.
The East Ridge and Couloir routes on Footstool can be guided but are rarely in condition. These are graded at NZ Alpine 3+ and guided only at a strict 1:1 ratio, if conditions are suitable.
Itinerary
Every Footstool trip is unique, due to weather and mountain conditions. When dealing with a dynamic mountain environment, flexibility is required.
Day One
Meet your guide, discuss plans, check and prepare gear
Take lunch, drive to Hooker Valley track start
Ascend to Sefton Bivouac
On the first day, we head for an overnight stop at Sefton Bivouac. This small 4-person hut, at 1,660 metres is the oldest structure in the National Park. It commands a great view of the Tasman Valley and up the Hooker Valley.
From the Hooker Valley floor, a vague route leads across stream beds to a zigzagging approach up and over rocky outcrops and snowgrass, before reaching the rocky plateau around the bivvy site. This is a steep climb through tussock and clusters of Mt Cook Lilies, taking around 4 hours with a pack.
Day Two
Depart the bivouac in the early hours to climb
Back to biv for lunch. Re-pack and descend to base in Mt Cook Village
Or, practice skills while waiting for a weather window for a day 3 attempt
An alpine start sees us off again at about 2 am, roped up for glacier travel. You climb on moderately steep, glaciated terrain, before crossing the face of the Tewaewae Glacier and onto the Eugenie Glacier at around 2,100 metres. Route finding on the upper Eugenie can be tricky through the large crevasses, especially in December.
The Main Divide is reached after dawn at about 2,400 metres, with an incredible view of the West Coast, the forests of the Copland Valley, and the Tasman Sea.
From this point the ascent to the summit is often exposed, requiring good crampon work. Your guide may pitch climb if conditions warrant. The summit is gained at about 9 am. Time is taken for rest, and to enjoy the view.
The descent is by the same route, with a short break at Sefton Biv. You will arrive back at the village mid-afternoon - the end of an 11 to 14-hour day.
Day Three
The alternative day for the summit attempt.
A weather contingency day is included at no cost to you. This allows us to roll back the start date of the trip by a full day to give more weather flexibility.
Sefton Bivouac
Sefton Biv rests at 1,660 metres. The hut was built in 1917 and is the oldest standing structure in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park. The hike, just to the bivy, offers stunning scenery throughout the entire ascent.
The total height gain is almost 1,000 metres and takes around 5 hours of walking to reach the hut. Some exposed scrambling sections will involve using your hands for balance.
HUT FACILITIES
Sefton Biv is a simple shelter with a drinking water tank, mountain hut radio, mattresses and outside toilet. There are no bunks. We will also carry sleeping mats and sleeping bags. Your guide will provide a cooker, stove, and utensils, as required.
The hut is available on a first-come-first-served basis. There is no booking system. With only four sleeping spaces the hut may fill if another party arrives. All Alpine Guides teams will carry bivouac bags in case the hut is not available.
Fortunately, the original Sefton Bivouac - a huge rock - is still on site. This can provide shelter for another 6 climbers.
A 25% deposit is required to secure your booking
