Distance: 11.4 km (7.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Moderate terrain
Altitude: 694m to 1553m. Gain: 1300m. Loss: 1098m . Gradient: 12 deg (Moderate-hard)
Skills: Occasional scrambles (3/7) - Occasional rivers (3/6) Winter - Iceaxe/crampons (4/7)

Unmarked route, clear (7/9)
Unmarked route, follows obvious geography (river, spur, trail, etc)

Secondary, unmapped (4/5)
Route not on maps, an alternative recognised access to hut or along range / catchment

Moderate-hard (difficulty: 4/5)
Continuous moderate climbs

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Low scrub in open or bush / river rocks

Occasional scrambles (difficulty: 3/7)
Tramp with some scrambles and exposure to falls

Occasional rivers (difficulty: 3/6)
Occasional rivers - impassible after heavy rain

Iceaxe/crampons (difficulty: 4/7)
Ice axe and crampons required in winter

No description

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

An straight-forward but steep route between the Avoca and Waimakariri. The other common route being Jordan Saddle.

Head up Easy Stream from the Avoca - broad, steadily climbing flats of rocky shingle. After 1km the valley narrows and becomes scoured out - large rocks and flood debris - all loose. The origin of this debris is the 1st stream draining pt2104, and above this the valley becomes tranquil, beech and moss. The bushedge is reached at the next forks, and tall tussock takes over, but with decent game trails. Take the fork heading directly to the saddle. Once on the scree at 1300m the gradient increases and becomes soon very steep. Scree is very loose and it is very hard, tiring going. Snow, where present, is the best travel. 1hr30-3hrs to saddle.

The side-creek dropping north into the Anti-crow has 2 branches. I tool the eastern fork. Good screen drops into the head basin, and then fine screen can be found on the eastern valleyside dropping to the bushedge. A steep gut drops to the forks below, but is ok with care on tussock and rock. The valley down to the crow is a steady gradient on large river rocks with many easy scrambles. Good beech finally appears on the true right giving an easy walk the last 200m to the Anticrow.

Good campspots exist on the TR just below the confluence, 50m from the main river.

The anticrow is narrow but fast flowing and carried a lot of water for its size. Crossings can be tricky and are beast planned well ahead. Travel was mainly on the TR on an alternating mix of small boulders and shingle flats all the way to the Waimakariri.

The tramping track down the Waimakariri is reached 500m before the valley flats - just upstream (in the anticrow) of a range of low hillocks across the valley mouth. The track is marked with triangles on either bank. Anticrow Hut is 1km east along this track.