plateau hut overnight
Difficulty
Duration
Overnight
Season
January to May 2025
Gearlist
PRICE FROM $1,800 NZD
Looking for an extraordinary experience? Alpine Guides' Plateau Hut Overnight trip is the perfect 'easy' mountain adventure and a trip to one of New Zealand's most iconic alpine locations. You will stay at a modern NZ alpine hut, and enjoy the thrill of glaciated 'big-mountain' terrain, accompanied by your professional guide.
Roped for glacier travel, you will safely trek to the summit of Glacier Dome (2,452 metres) - a beautiful snow-clad, but non-technical peak, on the flanks of Aoraki Mount Cook itself!
Stay at one of NZ's most spectacular alpine huts
Trek across a glacier
Use crampons/snowshoes and an ice axe to ascend a peak
Spectacular scenic flights to and from your hut
Delicious evening meal and breakfast prepared by your guide
Trip Itinerary
Day One
Meet your guide and discuss itinerary
Sort gear and travel to Mt Cook Airport
Fly to Plateau Hut – 2,210 metres (7,250 feet) above sea level
Set up at hut and take lunch
Glacier walk and training
Dinner
Day Two
Breakfast
Glacier Dome trek and traverse - 2 to 3 hours
Lunch at hut
Fly back to Mt Cook airport
Return gear and depart
Trip F.A.Q’s
Trip Dates: January to May 2025. Later dates to be advised.
Start and end times: your trip starts at 8:30 AM on day 1 and ends around 5:00 PM on day 2 at Alpine Guides’ office in Mount Cook Village.
Experience required: No climbing or mountaineering experience is required but you do need to have an average level of fitness, or better, and a sense of adventure!
Guide to guest ratio: up to 4 people per guide
Age restriction: Minimum 12 years old. Must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
pricing and inclusions
All trips start at 08:30 AM on day one and finish at 5:00 PM on the final day.
Check-in at Alpine Guides office in Mount Cook Village.
Please read our booking Terms and Conditions.
Plan some flexibility for success
Mountain weather changes quickly. Being adaptable allows us to adjust plans by a day or so, to take advantage of the best weather window.
Your guide will contact you close to the time of your trip (within 4 days) once they have a good understanding of the probable weather forecast.
We strongly recommend our guests create flexible travel plans, to allow at least one day of rescheduling around your start date. This significantly increases your chances for a successful adventure.
| Group Size | Price per person in NZD |
|---|---|
| 1 Person | $5,050 |
| 2 People | $2,865 per person |
| 3 People | $2,100 per person |
| 4 People | $1,800 per person |
Prices to 31 May 2025
Inclusions
Professional mountain guide - on a private basis
Two 12-minute scenic helicopter flights
Hut and National Park fees
Meals and snacks - (2 lunches, 1 dinner, 1 breakfast)
All technical gear (see gear list)
The Plateau Hut Overnight trip is designed to be booked on a private basis, for a small group. We do not add single booking inquiries to existing trips to reduce the cost.
Seasonal Timing/ Astrophotography
Timing Your Trip
Our guided packages to Plateau Hut avoid the peak climbing season and the coldest times of the year.
This season (2025) our trips are limited from January to May.
Astrophotography
The Plateau Hut overnight trip is a great venue for avid photographers with a love for the stars and a taste for adventure.
The galactic core of the Milky Way is visible in the southern hemisphere from February to October.
Please contact us to check your dates before booking
All reservations are on a request-only basis. We will do our best to allocate a guide for you. Please book well in advance.
Booking and Conditions
Booking Terms and Conditions - Plateau Hut Exceptions
Due to its short duration Plateau Hut Overnight has a greater chance of being negatively affected by weather. We advise you to build some flexibility into your travel plans to increase your chances of a successful trip.
Variations to our standard mountaineering booking terms and conditions apply for this trip. Please see below.
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The balance of payment is due 21 days before the start of your trip.
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Alpine Guides reserves the right to make the final safe call on operating within 96 hours of the trip start date/time, once reliable weather forecasts are available.
If Alpine Guides decides to cancel the trip for the arranged date due to adverse weather we will contact you to either:
Try to arrange an alternative future date.
Cancel and refund your trip in full.
If the weather forecast is not certain, your guide may advise you to start a day or more later, or earlier, than your booking.
In some cases, the guide may not have the flexibility to reschedule and the trip will be canceled, or rebooked to a later agreed date.
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If we agree that the trip will go ahead, but the weather unexpectedly makes it impossible to reach Plateau Hut, and you are not able to reschedule (or not interested in an alternative trip) the trip will be canceled for a refund.
If we agree on an alternative trip option that does not include aircraft access, you will receive a full refund of NZ$2,400, which represents the unused aircraft cost.
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This applies to guests who decide to cancel for their own reasons, other than a weather cancellation. We recommend travel insurance for unexpected cancellations and loss of deposits.
For guest cancellations made 7 days or less before commencement, no refund will be made.
For guest cancellations made within 21 days or fewer before commencement, we reserve the right to retain 50% of the full fee.
A 25% deposit is required to secure your booking
