A Christchurch climber has recalled the moment an avalanche almost hit him on Aoraki/Mt Cook.
Simon Rolland was on the mountain last week when the incident took place.
"I looked and I went 'oh, this is it'," he said.
He was relaxing in his tent waiting for his friends when the situation unfolded. He then raced to higher ground, filming as he went.
"I just heard this massive roar come down the hill," he told Newshub. "I poked my head out the tent and went 'oh wow, it's a huge avalanche coming my way'."
He said the sound of it was deafening and sounded like a train was coming towards him.
"It sort of sounds a mix between a thunderstorm because you hear this initial crack, and then mixed with a train or a truck just coming toward you at quite a pace."
Rolland said some of the boulders which raced down the mountain were the size of a "small house".
He told Newshub he feels more confident and ready to climb following the incident.
"I'm a lot more aware of what can happen," he said. "I'm actually feeling more confident now, so it's had the opposite effect.
"I can't wait to get back up into the mountains."
