Brunner Col

This is currently the only known route to climb the fantastic looking icefields between the lower Frind Glacier and the upper Donne Glacier. This route aims for the obvious gully. There is a small cave about two thirds of the way up, which is not easily visible from below but provides a sheltered bivvy spot. The wall to the right looks to offer good steep ice, especially during early spring. The first ascentionists descended the standard route form the col.

This col is not accessed often, and the eastern slopes have been described as ‘ugly and dangerous’ in late summer conditions. Despite this, in early summer it appears to provide good scope for a difficult transalpine crossing to Harper Rock or the Douglas névé.
This route begins from the Frind-Mueller confluence. From the true right edge of the lower Frind Glacier, head up a gully onto a rock rib north of the Ngaroimata Falls, gaining height and tending right to reach the frequently broken Donne Glacier. Ascend northwards across the glacier under Sharks Teeth to reach Brunner Col. The Donne Glacier has retreated considerably in recent years, and by midsummer most of this route is on glacier-worn rock.