1.8 km away
Mt. Elie de Beaumont West Face
A beautiful and wild roundtrip over to the west side and back again
Severe Ski Touring
- Distance
- 10 km
- Ascent
- 1.5 km
- Descent
- 1.5 km
One for connoisseurs of steep ice faces
Ski Touring Extreme
Mt. Darwin is a ski mountaineer’s dream with high quality steep lines on both the north and south aspects. Perhaps its most impressive ski line is the South Face Direct, which provides close to 800 meters vertical of exposed skiing down the large glacial face to lookers’ left of the summit. It could be considered one of the most beautiful and sustained ski lines on an ice face in the range. This is a steeper and more complex line than the other south face line to looker’s right of the summit and should only be attempted by very strong and experienced teams.
The initial approach follows the same route as described under Mt. Darwin South Face. Due to serac exposure climbing the exact ski line is not recommended. It is more logical to make a loop by heading up to the start of the other south face line and then traversing climber’s left and continuing up the steep upper face, eventually topping out on a col to climbers’ left side of the summit.
The top of the face is very steep (50-55 degrees) and may not always hold snow. The upper 300 meters is the steepest section of the line. The line trends skiers’ right, traversing under some seracs before continuing down the fall line following beautiful spines and onto a small hanging face above some rocks. In good conditions it is possible to ski through the small rock step without needing to rappel. From here it is a straightforward exit back onto the Darwin Glacier. This descent was first skied by Ross Hewitt and Tom Grant in October 2015 and is likely awaiting a repeat descent.
Extreme
Extreme skiing terrain above 45 degrees. These routes are reserved for experienced experts.
1.8 km away
A beautiful and wild roundtrip over to the west side and back again
Severe Ski Touring
1.8 km away
The northernmost of the Southern Alps' 3000m peaks
Severe Ski Touring
1.8 km away
A great introductory ski tour on the Tasmin Glacier's friendliest peak.
Moderate Ski Touring
2.1 km away
A fantastic half day and accessible ski mountaineering loop
Severe Ski Touring
3.3 km away
An awesome ski face above the secluded Darwin Glacier
Severe Ski Touring
4.8 km away
A very technical and spectacular line on a major peak
Extreme Ski Touring
5.5 km away
Superb spring skiing on a beautiful and open face.
Difficult Ski Touring
3 routes · Ski Touring