Jubilee Route

This route was first climbed from the east on the 50th jubilee of Aoraki Mt Cook National Park.
Follow the western Hooker Lake shoreline route (see Hooker Glacier) to the Eugenie Stream delta, until the shoreline curves around to the north again. Get up onto the small scrubby terrace and follow the remnants of the old Hooker Hut track until you reach the big shingle gut of Hayter Stream. Climb up through light scrub on the terrace above the true right bank of Hayter Stream, then above the scrub traverse to cross the stream. There’s nice camping on the tussock shoulder further north, at around 1300m.
Continue up the spur on the true left of Hayter Stream towards the prominent rock buttresses between upper Hayter and Stewart Streams. The middle buttress is solid and gives easy but sometimes exposed scrambling up tussock and gravel ledges to the Stewart Glacier. If you need to do two or more consecutive ‘climbing’ moves, you’re probably off-route. There is a time-saving alternative to the left, climbing up the gully feeding the true left tributary of Hayter Stream, but only take this option if you’re travelling fast and you’re happy with the avalanche risk from above.
Above the buttress, cross the lower glacier/snowfields below the icecliffs as the crevasses allow and gain the prominent flat shoulder below Madonna (visible from the village). The icecliffs change annually and can be active, but the amount of time spent beneath them is short.
FitzGerald Pass is level with the shoulder. From the shoulder, traverse north on moderately steep snow slopes, losing 30m of elevation to pass below some rock ribs, until you can climb directly to the pass. These slopes are avalanche prone and soften very quickly on sunny mornings. Rockfall is also common from the Main Divide. The final rise to the pass is steep and loose. On the western side, descend a short rock step and follow a series of easy snow/rock basins (marked occasionally with cairns) into a stream that gradually steepens. Keep to the left of the stream/gully to reach the zigzags at the top of the Copland valley track.
For information on the Copland track, check with the Department of Conservation (DOC) visitor centre in Franz Joseph or the DOC website.

Times:
Plan for a very long day from White Horse Hill carpark to Douglas Rock Hut, or a fairly long day from a camp at 1300m to Welcome Flat Hut.
White Horse Hill to spur on true left of Hayter Stream (1300m): 3–4 hrs
1300m spur to FitzGerald Pass: 3–4 hrs
FitzGerald Pass to Douglas Rock Hut: 3–4 hrs