Mount Cook, 3700 m, just visible through a thin cloud cover, view from the Hooker Valley.
This picture was taken at the wild garden maintained by Gottlieb, our alpine mountain guide. It sits next to a stream with waterfalls. The splashing water combined with big rocks makes it a favourable area for flowers to grow.
Mount Cook is just visible through a thin cloud cover and the weather is very good today. Usually, Mount Cook is in the clouds.
We came down a pass a bit further on, descending from 2100 m (top right of picture) to 1000 m along glaciers during a two day tour. Last night we stayed across the pass at Gottlieb's mountain hut which he build himself 15 or 20 years ago.
Going down, we did not rope up on the steep, snow covered glacier and had to rely on an pickle for safety. As soon as you start sliding, you jam the pickle hook in the snow and this would stop you instantly. Going down roped-up is dangerous, when one person starts sliding, the entire party could go down. You only rope up on relatively flat areas where there are crevasses as this is the only way not to disappear into one of many cracks in a glacier.