Broadbent Waterfall

Perhaps the most obvious ice route on Ruapehu, as it can be clearly seen from Turoa’s High Flyer chairlift. This 20–35m formation (depending on the depth of the snowpack) is consistently vertical and provides excellent steep water ice. It is a popular instruction venue as it is just a five minute walk from the top of the Mövenpick chairlift. Be careful at the top, where good ice frequently mutates into near-vertical mush. Often, water runs inside the pillar and there can be a dangerous hole at the top; if you fell in you would end up on the inside of the ice, which would be bad. Left and right of the main flow are two other good routes, shorter and not quite so steep.