European extreme skiers snatch another first descent in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park

Reporter·NZ Herald·

31 Oct, 2017 04:35 AM2 mins to read

Mt Malte Brun. The red line marks the approximate line of the peak's first ski descent, via the route known to climbers as Zig Zag. Photo / Cam Mulvey

The extreme skiers who knocked off Aoraki/Mt Cook's prized Caroline Face have claimed another first descent.

The trio - two Britons and an Italian - yesterday skied a steep, technical route on the south face of 3199m-tall Mt Malte Brun.

This followed their stunning feat on Friday, snatching the first descent of the Caroline, a 2000m line threatened by ice cliffs, avalanches and rock fall.

Extreme skiers have been watching the Caroline for more than a decade, waiting for the right combination of weather, snow and navigable ice cliffs. Enrico Mosetti, Ben Briggs and Tom Grant struck it right with powder snow on much of their route - but still they had to use a rope to rappel down three extremely steep sections.

After Friday's feat they shifted their attention across the other side of the Tasman Glacier to Malte Brun, New Zealand's eighth highest mountain, where many of the climbs are rock routes.

Cam Mulvey, warden at the Canterbury Mountaineering Club hut in Mt Cook village, said they had reported their Malte Brun success to him.

Mulvey said their Malte route, known to climbers as "Zig Zag", was quite different from the Caroline. "It's a big technical challenge, quite a narrow route and pretty steep."

"Those guys are into that sort of thing over there [they ski at Chamonix in France] - anything is possible.

"A lot of people I was speaking to ... were saying it's a crazy idea and not really do-able on skis. I imagine they did a few raps [rappels] here and there. It would be very steep, technical turns.

"They were looking at other things ... but it's gone really warm. They skied back down the northeast couloir of Aiguilles Rouges, which I think is a second descent."