Distance: 15.3 km (12.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Moderate terrain
Altitude: 697m to 2035m. Gain: 1409m. Loss: 1090m . Gradient: 9 deg (Moderate-hard)
Skills: Occasional scrambles (3/7) - Occasional rivers (3/6)

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

Unknown (difficulty: 0/7)
Not specified

A 1300m steady climb up the Growler to Balaclava Saddle, and a second 600m climb up scree to Plata Col (or tough sidle 1.5km across scree if snow loading above permits). Steep, rocky descent of Tomms Stream. Tomms Stream is a tight valley with travel frequently in the steeply dropping stream. Normally the stream is ankle deep, but in this confined space, if this stream is in flood then the route is not viable.

Follow the good valley floor route up the Growler from the hut. Before the first falls, a sidle route is clearly visible heading diagonally up a scree on the true left. A cairn on the grassy flats marks the start of this route for those descending. A second bouldery section is sidled easily by a rough track on the true right, clearly visible crossing the scree just above the scrubline. The sidle track starts on the terraces at the fork to Balaclava Basin. Once the tussock is reached, the ascent to the saddle is good going over grass and tussock.

From Balaclava Saddle you need to cut west 1.5km to Plata Col, further along the same ridgeline. Two choices exist: a tough sidle across the scree face below the bluffs, or 500m drop to the valley floor and re-ascent of 600m to Plata Col. Whichever option you take, you’ll need to drop down the scree chutes at Balaclava Saddle to the scree face below, as the ridgeline to the west provides no further options to descend.

From Plata Col the descent of Tomms Stream is reasonable over scree and riverbed rocks until the waterfall above the lowest forks is reached. On reaching the waterfall, climb animal tracks to the ridgeline on the true left 100m upstream, and descend to the basin below.

Macaulay Lodge sits just downstream of the confluence of Tomms Stream with the Macaulay, on the opposite side of the river. The river is only 2-3m wide at this stage, and crossing will not be an issue if you got down Tomms Stream ok!

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

No description