Massive Mount Silberhorn rockslide spotted by ski plane pilot

Massive Mount Silberhorn rockslide spotted by ski plane pilot. Video / Dan Martin, Mt Cook Ski Planes and Helicopters

A giant rockslide has been spotted on one of New Zealand's highest mountains.

Ski plane pilots captured dramatic images of the massive landslide on the soaring slopes of Mt Silberhorn – the country's fifth highest peak at 3303m near Aoraki/Mt Cook in the Southern Alps – this afternoon.

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Mt Cook Ski Planes and Helicopters were on a flight when they noticed the slip around 1pm today.

The rockslide flows off Mt Silberhorn into the Grand Plateau.

The rockslide off Mt Silberhorn in the Southern Alps was spotted today. Photo / Dan Martin, Mt Cook Ski Planes and Helicopters

A spokeswoman for Mt Cook Ski Planes and Helicopters said rockslides are common but they've not seen one this large for many years.

She said the "insane" rockslide occurred near the Plateau Hut and it was fortunate that nobody was in the area at the time, with people staying away due to a bad weather forecast.

"If it happened a few days ago, we could've been looking at fatalities," she said.

Mt Silberhorn, which means "silver horn" in German, was given its name by William Spotswood Green in 1882 after its resemblance to Silberhorn in the Swiss Alps.

Its Māori name is Rangirua, translating to "second sky", and nestles alongside New Zealand's second highest mountain, Mt Tasman (3497m).

The Mt Silberhorn rockslide comes just hours after a rockslide at 1800m on nearby Mt D'Archiac which swept up two climbers.

They were lucky to survive and were rescued in a complex overnight operation.