Mount Aurora
- Mike Morelli
- Nov 6
- 2 min read
Date: November 7, 2025
Location: Franz Joseph Glacier, Main Divide Range, Westland National Park, New Zealand
Total Trip Distance: 2.52 mi / 4.05 km
Total Elevation Gain: 1,313 ft / 400 m
Trip Duration: 2 hr 6 min
Team: Kevin Reid, Emilie Agnew, Louis Halpin, Ella Hartley, Patrick Hartley
Field Notes: A fantastic ski from Centennial Hut. Straight up the North Face with a few steeper sections.
Grade: II, 2
After a full rest day at Centennial Hut, where we waited out a 24-hour storm, we woke up to improved weather.
The rain the previous day, combined with cold, clear overnight temperatures, had locked the snowpack up into a sheet of ice. It was going to be a while until we skied anything that resembled corn.
So we waited. And waited...and waited...
We got very antsy in the hut. People started acting like wild barnyard animals. Shit got weird for a minute Eventually, noon hit, we all became human again, the sun came out from behind the clouds, and we raced to put our gear on and head out the door.
Skinning towards the peak, Aurora is a small but beautiful mountain. The three-hundred-meter face is a perfect ski line. At the bottom of the face we transitioned to climbing gear and headed up.
The only difficulty of the climb was navigating the two schrunds on the face. They were solid enough to cross, but later in the season could pose issues. Towards the top of the face, we met the second one and decided to detour and climb the Northwest ridge to the summit.
The snow was quite warm already, so we transitioned quickly on the airy ridge and got ready to ski.
One by one we made our way down the face, skiing a combination of corn and firm stuff. The last section over the schrund was the steepest bit, and care was taken over this last section.
Once through this crux, we skied good snow down through the apron - stoked and smiling in the sun! Condition-wise, this was easily the best ski of the trip.
Happy days...
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