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Aoraki Mount Cook and Mount Tasman across Lake Matheson

Mountain·New ZealandNew Zealand

Mount Tasman

3,497m

Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana

Summit weather

Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation
3,497m
Prominence
519m
Isolation
3.2km
Relief
2,456mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
64°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
All yearSee month by month ↓
First ascent
1895
Summit
43.5658°S, 170.1569°E

Mountain in New Zealand

Mount Tasman is a mountain in the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana (New Zealand). Its summit stands 3,497 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 519 m, and the nearest higher ground is 3.2 km away. It was first climbed in 1895.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,041 m), it rises 2,456 m. The steepest side is the north face: 42° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 64° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

Mount Tasman for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

6.5/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Glaciers around the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

  • 0.5/2.51 waymarked routes and 0 path sections nearby
  • 1.5/1.58 huts and shelters
  • 2.0/22,456 m of ascent from the valley
  • 1.2/1.5519 m of prominence
  • 1.0/1.54 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 0.3/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

—

No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

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Snow

When there is snow on Mount Tasman

At the summit, snow all year round. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Summit3,497 msnow all year round
Snow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all month
Halfway up2,269 msnow from May to October (some years all year)
Snow some of the timeSnow some of the timeSnow some of the timeSnow some of the timeSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow some of the timeSnow some of the time
Foot of the mountain1,041 moccasional snow in July
No snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowSnow some of the timeNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snow
  • Snow on the ground all month
  • Snow some of the time
  • No snow
  • This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Mount Tasman, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average February afternoon the summit reaches about -3 °C; on July nights it falls to about -16 °C. Even in the warmest month the summit stays below freezing all day: ice and snow all year round. Even at its highest, in February, the 0 °C line reaches only about 3,020 m: 477 m below the summit. Across the region, February is the driest month (133 mm) and December the wettest (197 mm).

1,000 m2,000 m3,000 mSUMMIT · 3,497 mJanuary: 2,990 mFebruary: 3,020 mMarch: 2,830 mApril: 2,460 mMay: 2,090 mJune: 1,790 mJuly: 1,650 mAugust: 1,770 mSeptember: 1,990 mOctober: 2,170 mNovember: 2,460 mDecember: 2,790 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January-3-92,990177157.8
February-3-83,020133137.8
March-4-102,830151156.8
April-7-122,460150155.5
May-9-132,090178183.8
June-11-161,790176173.2
July-12-161,650150163.4
August-11-161,770155184.1
September-10-151,990177184.6
October-9-142,170181195.4
November-7-122,460173166.5
December-5-102,790197187.2

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 770 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. True scale: no vertical exaggeration.

West – east
3,497 m1,124 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
3,497 m1,418 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 42°NNE: 34°NEE: 38°ESE: 41°SES: 30°SSW: 30°SWW: 41°WNW: 35°NW

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Mount Tasman

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Mount Tasman seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

  • 8mountain huts and shelters

    Empress Hut, Plateau Hut, Chancellor Hut, Centennial Hut (2,400 m) and 4 more

  • —cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
  • —ski areas
  • 1waymarked hiking routes

    Ball Pass Crossing

  • —via ferratas
  • —climbing crags and routes
  • 49named glaciers

    Walpole Glacier, Dorothy Glacier, Banks Glacier, Law Glacier and 45 more

  • —viewpoints
  • —campsites
  • —hotels, B&Bs and chalets
  • —restaurants and cafés

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

Fox Valley entrance with Mount Tasman and Aoraki Mount Cook behind and paddocks in front
Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia · Public domain
Lake Matheson, view to Mount Cook, New Zealand (2)
Michal Klajban · CC BY-SA 4.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1991–2020 average-3-3-4-7-9-11-12-11-10-9-7-5
2020+0.2+0.7−0.1−1.0+0.5+0.8+0.4+1.1−0.3+0.7+1.3−0.3
2021−1.1+0.4±0.0−0.1+0.3+1.3+0.6+0.1−0.5+1.1+1.8+0.5
2022+2.2+1.2+2.5+1.6+1.6+0.1−0.1+1.0+0.7+0.6+1.3+1.4
2023+2.8+1.4−0.2+1.0+1.4+1.1+0.7−0.5+1.0+0.7+1.1+0.6
2024+0.3−1.2−1.6−0.3−0.6+0.8+0.8+0.3−0.6+0.2+0.4+1.4
2025+1.6+1.2+0.8+1.1+0.8−0.3+1.3+0.2−1.0−0.6+0.9−0.6

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q1551962) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profilesCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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