Mt Hooker Wilderness Area

Photos and text by Jonathan Carr

A 9-day tramping/climbing trip in NZ wilderness. No huts, no tracks, no yellow snow.

For an ordered account, follow the arrow at the bottom of the page.

Day 1 - The Paringa river (39k) Tunnel Creek Falls - Paringa river (40k or 70k)
The rock bivy at the head of the Paringa (51k)
  • Heading to the pass at the head of the Paringa (21k)
    • "Gale force Southerlies about the tops" - Traversing beneath Mt McCullough (18k) Crossing from the Paringa into the Clarke catchment - checking out the cornice before descending! (42k)
  • Struggling through the wind and spin drift (10k)
  • Saddle Creek (17k)
    • Mt Hooker from the Solution Range, just above Mark's Flat (43k)
    Paringa rock biv

    Under the Paringa rock biv (77k)

    Near the West peak of Mt Hooker looking North to Mt Cook (42k)
  • The view from Mt Hooker (26k)
  • At the rock bivy after the climb (18k)
    • Drying out in the upper Otoko - a rare moment of sunshine (38k)
  • Bouldering - upper Otoko (24k)
  • The upper Otoko (14k)
  • Looking for a campsite - upper Otoko (25k)
    • Crossing Avalanche debris (33k)
    Mad kea - Lower Otoko (52k) Deer Flat, Lower Otoko River (45k)
  • Geoff and Adrian traversing dodgy snowslope (63k)
  • The Franz Joseph glacier on the way home (65k)
    • On the ridge to the West peak (21k)

    Jonathan's gallery
    Copyright (c) 1996 Jonathan Carr