Bowen Peak
- Mike Morelli
- Oct 5
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 18
Date: October 6, 2025
Location: Richardson Mountains, Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand
Total Trip Distance: 9.95 mi / 16 km
Total Elevation Gain: 5,313 ft / 1,619 m
Trip Duration: 5 hrs 31 min
Team: Solo
Field Notes: A fun ski if there's enough snow. Hike up to Ben Lomond saddle and choose any convenient route to the summit. I wound up doing two laps.
Grade: I, 1
Spring has been ruthless, there's no other way to put it.
Storm after storm after storm has made it extremely difficult to do anything in the alpine. In fact, looking back as I write this, a good one month later, this is probably one of the best ski descents I've had of the whole season!
I know it sounds crazy, but the best quality snow that I've skied the whole season, (besides arguably Headlong Peak) has been this.
I saw a brief gap in the storms, a sunny morning with light winds and thought to myself... wow, there's a chance that Bowen Peak could be corn... so I decided to follow my intuition and head up.
From near Ben Lomond Saddle, I attached skins and climbed up the obvious southwest-facing ridge of Bowen Peak. As I climbed up, the snow was in amazing condition. The sun was out, I was in a t-shirt, and I was smiling from ear to ear.
Today, I was genuinely going to be skiing corn.
I think I like skiing corn as much as I like skiing powder. There's something about the amazing sound that your skis make when in contact with the snow. The skiing is super stable and I find it to be immensely enjoyable.
At the summit, a beautiful view of the Richardson Mountains opened up in front of me. I snapped a few photos, clicked in, and made creamy turns down the south-facing bowl of Bowen Peak. At the bottom, I let out a loud yell, so stoked to finally be skiing something in good condition!
I decided to attach my skins and climb right back up for a second lap. Honestly, even just writing this makes me smile. It was such a simple day, but so much fun, and I caught a lot of second looks from tourists as I hiked back down the main trail.
People asking me, is there supposed to be skiing up there?!
Happy days...
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