Ball Hut – The Cosy Little Hut in the Heart of the Glaciers

11/07/18 ~ 13/07/18

Introduction

Tasman Glacier is one of the glaciers to come off the Mount Cook range in Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park.  It is the larger glaciers that many smaller glaciers (i.e. Ball and Caroline) feed into. You can view the glacier with ease at a distance from a lookout point not far off the road. A better option for the more fit, is to head out to Ball Hut on a relatively easy-intermediate 3 – 3.5 hour mostly flat walk. Ball Hut is located near the end of a glacier moraine shelf at the junction of Ball and Tasman Glacier. It is a tiny hut, and only sleeps 3, but it’s position is ideal.

For the more adventurous types, you can then add a day trip and hike up an unmarked trail to the ridge behind Ball Hut to see Mt Cook and Ball Glacier. I describe this side trip in my trip below. Technically, this hike took two nights, but I started so late on the first day, and ended so early on the last day that I’m considering it an overnight hike.

In summer, you could hike the entire way to Ball Pass and down to the Hooker Valley. However, in Winter this is highly dangerous an requires snow camping and mountaineering skills.

Overview

(note: this trail overview is ONLY to get to Ball Hut and back, this doesn’t include the side trip)

Terrain Type:

1. Flat
2. Mostly flat with some hills / moderate climbs
3. Hilly with moderate climbs
4. Hilly with steep climbs
5. consistent steep climbs

Trail Condition:

1. Path, marked
2. Graded trail, marked
3. Rough trail, marked
4. Poor condition trail, partially marked
5. Unmarked no trail (backcountry)

Experience Level Required:

1. No hiking experience needed
2. Some hiking skills recommended
3. Hiking experience required (some potentially dangerous terrain)
4. Hiking experience required / additional safety equipment advised
5. Only experienced professionals should attempt

Important Notes:

• Avalanche debris path crossings present all over trail – not a huge concern, but be mindful
• Some avalanche rock falls have destroyed sections of the road/trail and need to be traversed (closer to Ball Hut end)
• Be careful on moraine edge and do not go down to glacier without experience
• Best to book the hut in advance from the nearby visitor centre in Aoraki Village to at least see if a group is already going there
• No ticket box in hut – pay at the DOC office

The Hike

Day 1 – To Ball Hut

It was 1pm and having just finished returning from the enduring snow hike up to Mueller Hut, a next location decision was on the cards. I felt like I wasn’t done with Mt Cook National Park just yet. The weather was poor and drizzly, but I knew the forecast for tomorrow was nice. Within 10 minutes, I had chosen my next location.

Ball Hut is a tiny three bunk hut sitting on the edge of the Tasman Glacier. The focus of choosing this hut was it was only a three-hour hike away, (so I still had time to arrive before darkness), and it was an easier route to access Ball Pass – a window over the Hooker Glacier and Valley. It was also part of the same mountain range that Mt Cook was on, which is cool.

I packed much the same as the previous day, although I added my tent in case the hut was somehow full (only 3 capacity), and ditched the tripod.

The hike to Ball Hut is along the entire stretch of Tasman Lake and Glacier along the lateral moraine (the rocky debris pushed to the side as the glacier carved its way into the valley). It was easy at first, as it followed a kind of service trail and was flat. There are numerous avalanche zones you pass under, making it somewhat daunting at first, especially as there was so much fresh snow on the mountains right next to me.

There were a few places where modern avalanches had destroyed parts of the trail and you have to rock hop over the debris. Mostly toward the final quarter, when nearing Ball Hut. It’s also around this point the glacier is more visible (the moraine itself blocks your vision for over half the trail).

As I neared the final section, it began lightly snowing and made for pretty winter hiking landscapes. It was at this point I was hoping no-one else would be in the hut. The snow was getting heavier as I progressed. It’s actually awesome to see the snow falling as I was at quit a low altitude still (~1000m). The fresh powdery snow almost felt non-existent under my feet.

Finally, Ball Hut was visible in the distance. This last section up to this moraine shelf (after the nice trail above) was largely unmarked. You kind of just go… up… at a random point. Otherwise you will be on the level below and if you go too far, you wont be able to get up to the hut. I knew this from the topo map on my phone, but you’d probably work it out without a map still.

Ball Hut

The hut was empty in the end! The little spark of excitement grew inside as I set down my gear in my temporary home. I was excited as I had never been in a hut alone before… ever! To be fair, it’s a tiny simple hut, and it’s not common for people to stay here overnight in winter.

Now, bare with me readers… and listen up 😛 . Whilst normally a ‘taboo‘ topic to bring up in civilized conversation, talking about shitting is one of the most unifying topics in hiker conversation.

We all do it, and we all have that one hilarious story, creating some of the best conversation. Try it someday 🙂 I’ll start, here’s a post from hiking the Pacific Crest Trail when I needed to crap on the summit of a mountain 😀 (see day 27).

I digress… the drop toilet at Ball Hut was sensational – what a view!

I enjoyed the evening in the hut chilling to music and discovering a new hiking recipe for a delicious meal. Dehydrated mashed potato, pumpkin soup mix, tuna and some pepper – doesn’t that sound amazing I know! 😂 It was delicious for me!

Day 2 – Side Trip to Caroline Ridge

I had a warm and toasty sleep, as I was wearing all layers and found a random blanket in the hut to use. It was still over an hour to sunrise (7:50am), but I made breakfast and coffee anyway. Luckily, I had grabbed water from the tank the night before as the pipe was frozen this morning.

I set off further up the moraine towards the apex between the merging point of Ball and Tasman glaciers. There would normally be a rough cairn (rock pile) marked track to follow here. There was one route I was following for a bit, before the snow started to cover any cairn signs. Sometimes, it felt like there were actually numerous routes to take, so making my own way didn’t make a difference.

The contours on the map was really my only navigation guide at this point, as it was hard to see higher up on the ridge. After losing the cairns it was clear I had to just ‘fight’ my way through the low snow-covered shrubs. It was not easy and every step was uncertain. The relieving factor was a fall wouldn’t be bad with all the bushes and snow for support. There weren’t huge crevices etc.

On Top of the Ridge

The ridge wasn’t as flat or smooth as the contours indicated, which is to be expected really. I ended up climbing to a point on the far side of a rock formation, but at least was rewarded with awesome views, before skirting around it to the more eastern part of the ridge.

I learned that i wasn’t going to get as far as i initially had thought, and my pace was slow due to the deep snow conditions and uneven ground. However, moving on the ridge was faster than in the snow-covered shrubs.

I had some lunch and enjoyed the amazing snow and ice-covered mountains. This might just be one of the most epic landscapes I’d seen. Ball Glacier below me, Caroline Glacier on the side of Mount Cook, and… Mount Cook itself! At least, the lower and middle two peaks of the grand mountain. Middle Peak was only a tiny bit shorter than the main peak however. The main peak was behind it from my angle.

It took awhile to match the peaks to my contour map. Perspective and angle REALLY change what you think you’re looking at. I found Hillary Ridge, one of the steeper climbing ridges of Mount Cook, which helped me to identify lower peak.

The decision to not reach Caroline Hut was due to the time it would take. It’s a private hut also that you can’t access, otherwise I’d have stayed there. I left most of my gear in Ball Hut, so camping was not an option.

At the ~1350m contour I decided to have a break and enjoy the amazing views before turning around. The photo with my pack above was about the furthest point I got.

Back to Ball Hut

I headed back down a similar route at first but found some easy slopes to slide down on and made a new route. Again, it was easy on the rocky section, but once you hit the vegetation you never know what you’re stepping on. I did end up above some higher than expected cliffs near the bottom – about a body height in height. Using vegetation to lower myself wasn’t too hard though. A small climb back down to the flat below and I was off the ridge.

Back at the hut in the early afternoon, i was deciding whether I should walk out today or not. The problem was I’d have to drive out to a freedom camping site near Twizel again, and I thought I’d rather spend another night in the awesome hut. I enjoyed just relaxing and watching a movie.

However, the dream of a second night alone in the wilderness was halted…

It was around 4pm when I overheard talking from multiple people, and I realised I wasn’t going to be alone. It was clear there were more than two people, and there’s no way I wanted to be stuck in this tiny hut with a group, so I started packing. I guess I’d be tent camping tonight!

I briefly met the three guys and let them have the hut, and set off with less than an hour of good light.

Around nightfall, I found a nice flat spot on the moraine above Tasman Glacier. It was a great location – aside from a lack of water.

The only water around was the glacier itself (no way was I going off the moraine – I’d never get back up), or the 1cm thick dusting of snow between some rocks on top of some moss. I scooped up enough of this snow with my cup and had enough to cook with. There may have been some moss fragments, but nothing wrong with some vegetables! Luckily, I still had enough in my bottle for drinking.

Sunset was beautiful with the pink hues creeping over the top of the white snow-capped mountains.

It’s probably one of the coolest places I’ve camped – i loved it! I’m glad the guys came in the end. In a tent, right above a glacier with panoramic mountains – who needs a hut 😛 .

At around midnight, I ended up getting some semi-decent astro shots using my Jetboil stove as a tripod haha.

Day 3

There was no rush to leave this morning, but I did need more water soon, so I still left somewhat early around dawn. Sunrise of course, was lovely!

I was only two hours away from the car park and walked the final stretch of easy flat hiking. One thing I still needed to do was get a photo of the terminal face of the glacier. So i ended up climbing the steep moraine hill to get a look. The best spot, in my opinion, was the first heavily vegetated hill from the car park side.

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