The Footstool

The Footstool is situated on the crest or Main Divide of the Southern Alps, and set on the common boundary shared by the Canterbury and West Coast Regions of South Island. It is located six kilometres north of Mount Cook Village and set on the boundary shared by Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park and Westland Tai Poutini National Park. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north into the Copland River and south to the Hooker River. Topographic relief is significant as the south face rises nearly above Hooker Lake in three kilometres. The nearest higher peak is Mount Sefton, two kilometres to the west-southwest. ==History==

The mountain's toponym may have been a humorous invention of surveyor Edward Sealy, originating from a remark sometime before 1871 that one might sit on Mount Sefton with one's feet on the footstool. ==Climbing==

Climbing routes on The Footstool: • Main Divide – Tom Fyfe, George Graham – (1894) • East Ridge – Jack Clarke, Peter Graham, Henrik Sillem – (1906) • North Neve – M.R. Barwell, A.F. Reid – (1953) • Couloir Route (East Face) – Graeme Dingle, Jill Tremain – (1967) • Direct (East Face) – Ray Button, Graeme Dingle – (1979) • Wombats on Heat (East Face) – Michael Batchelor, Gordon Poultney – (1988) • Requiem for a Dream – Greg Abrahams, Euan Boyd, Steve Farrad, Florian L'Hostis – (2007) ==Climate==

Based on the Köppen climate classification, The Footstool is located in a marine west coast (Cfb) climate zone, with a tundra climate at the summit. Prevailing westerly winds blow moist air from the Tasman Sea onto the mountains, where the air is forced upward by the mountains (orographic lift), causing moisture to drop in the form of rain or snow. This climate supports the Eugenie, Tewaewae, Huddleston, and Fiddian glaciers on this mountain's slopes. The months of December through February offer the most favourable weather for viewing or climbing this peak. ==Gallery==

File:The Footstool NZ.jpg File:The Footstool, New Zealand.jpg|Southeast aspect File:Mt. Sefton and The Footstool.jpg|Mount Sefton to left, The Footstool to right File:Sunrise The Footstool. (8114764085).jpg|South aspect at sunrise File:The Footstool.jpg File:NZ Hooker Valley track.jpg|The Footstool straight ahead ==See also==