Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand and lies in the Southern Alps . It  is a popular tourist destination and is also a favorite challenge for mountain climbers. Mt Cook consists of three summits lying slightly south and east of the main divide, the Low Peak, Middle Peak and High Peak, with the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier to the west.

Mount Cook’s average annual rainfall in the surrounding lowlands is around 7.6 m. High rainfall leads to temperate rain forests in the coastal lowlands and a reliable source of snow in the mountains keeps the glaciers flowing. These include the Tasman and Murchison Glaciers to the east and the smaller  Hooker and Mueller Glaciers to the south.