Nature and history

Vegetation

The vegetation on the Ball Pass Crossing is typical of that found in the alpine and valley-floor areas of Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. The East Hooker Valley offers some of the most spectacular displays of giant buttercup, Ranunculus lyalii, seen in the park. This plant (commonly known as the Mount Cook lily) flowers from late October through to mid-November. Other plants to look out for include the snow totara – identifiable by its red edible fruit – and after the buttercups have stopped flowering, the large white daisies, Celmisia semicordata, start to appear.

On the way up to the pass climbers travel through beautiful alpine grasslands such as the 'Playing Fields', which features Poa species interspersed with various alpine herbs. In late summer the white gentians flower high up on the slopes. Keep an eye out for the true alpine butterfly, the black mountain ringlet, on the scree fields.

In January high-alpine plant species, populating the austere rocks near and above the snowline, are in bloom. Look out for the yellow and black map lichen, Rhizocarpon geographicum, one of about 14 lichen species growing on the summit rocks of Aoraki/Mt Cook.

Ball Pass

Ball Pass has a long history of use. Guided trips were established over this pass well before they were undertaken over the Copland.

The first track for crossing Ball Pass was built by the early Hermitage guides, and remnants of this historic track are still visible in the East Hooker Valley.

In 1882, Ball Glacier was named by the Reverend W. Green after John Ball, the first president of the London Alpine Club. Green also named the Linda Glacier after his wife and the Caroline, Sheila and Noeline Glaciers after his three daughters.

Green and his party were the first recorded group on Ball Pass when they completed a reconnaissance trip to find a route up Aoraki/Mt Cook. The first crossing was completed by Guy Mannering and A. P. Harper in January 1890.

Ball Hut

The most recent shelter was removed in 2009 as the moraine wall had eroded to within 10 metres of the hut. Today Ball Flat camping area is located on the edge of the Tasman Glacier moraine, where Ball Glacier meets the Tasman Glacier. 

The original Ball Hut was built in 1891 in the same area and was the first purely recreational hut to be built in the Southern Alps. This was the site of the Reverend Green’s famous ‘fifth camp’ from Hooker Corner. Today only the floor-slab remains against the hill, a little above the campsite. Many Hermitage guides spent nights there and, until demolished by an avalanche during the winter of 1925, it also provided a base for many first ascents.

The second Ball Hut stood for 50 years until destroyed by fire in 1977. A bridge was built across the Hooker River in 1915 and the road was slowly constructed to Ball Hut. The last sections were completed by special work gangs during the Depression, finally reaching Ball Hut in 1930.

The road was built on unstable moraine, subject to frequent slips, washouts, rockfalls and avalanches, and was left unrepaired after a storm in May 1978 caused major damage. It is now a walking track. Chunks of road have fallen onto the glacier, and slumping has dropped some sections metres below their original level.

The rapid slumping of the glaciers has meant popular trips from Ball Hut out onto the ice of the Tasman Glacier are no longer possible. Access to and from the glacier is hazardous, as the moraine walls are steep and very unstable.