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DOC Land
Altitude: 735m to 999m. Gain: 294m. Loss: 555m . Gradient: 3 deg (Moderate)
Skills: Occasional scrambles (3/7) - Streams (2/6)
This is a wet-weather /high meltwater route that does not involve a crossing of the Murchinson. Normal route is to head downriver, cross the Murchinson and walk down the lateral moraine of the Tasman Glacier to the lake - far easier and far faster.
Follow the easy gravel flats to the corner where the river enters the Tasman valley. Bluffs drop almost straight to the river at this stage, but a difficult low scramble is possible, with care. About half way an old system of wire ropes will be encountered which lead to the far side of the bluffs.
From the far side, follow the valley floor as far as possible, but you will eventually find your way blocked by bluffs, and will need to climb to steep tussock slopes 200m-400m above, and sidle. Repeated guts cut through the valleyside, and are mostly impassable – making it necessary to drop right to the valley floor to cross them, and then ascend again. The lower slopes become increasingly scrubby, and dropping through the scrub is difficult, time consuming and tiring. This process is repeated for several km until finally the river flats become passable again 600m from the entrance to the glacier lake.
It is worth noting that marginal mobile phone coverage is possible in the higher slopes as you near the lake, and it may be possible to contact the glacier boats to confirm your pickup time from here. However, the signal was very weak, and I wouldn’t want to rely on it.
A final band of scrub forces another scramble from the valley floor for the last 100m to the lake. Finally the rocky debris of the moraine wall which retains the lake is reached. Hopefully you’ve arranged for the boat to pick you up here, otherwise it’s a long walk down Lake Pukaki to Twizel!