Distance: 10.7 km (6.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Hard terrain
Altitude: 754m to 1579m. Gain: 1510m. Loss: 701m . Gradient: 12 deg (Moderate)
Skills: Occasional scrambles (3/7) - Occasional rivers (3/6) Winter - Iceaxe/crampons, avalanche risk (5/7)

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

Primary, unmapped (2/5)
Route not on maps, but is principal access to hut or along range / catchment

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Occasional moderate climbs

Hard (difficulty: 5/5)
Thick scrub-bash / continuous river boulders, waterfalls, or gorges

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, avalanche risk (difficulty: 5/7)
Ice axe and crampons required, crosses avalanche paths

This guide describes to route in late winter with snow down to 1200m on the northern face, but the southern face clear up to 1300m. With no snow present other options in the valley head may be more appropriate.

From the hut head upriver on good river flats. Stay with the main valley (north branch) at the forks and continue until you hit scrub and gorges 300m below the beginning of beech bush. This section is easy going with several creek crossings - knee deep in normal flows, getting easier as you progress upstream.

As the valley gorges out below the beech, pick up grassy terraces on the southern valleyside, 20-40m above the river. These scrub up, but deer trails lead between interconnected grassy clearings as far as the beech.

A sharp rocky chasm must be crossed to reach the beech forest. Drop down it to below the last major waterfall (20m above the creek) where you can drop to the sidecreek and scramble up the far side. The beech beyond is open with moderate undergrowth, but is divided by 3 more such guts which must be crossed. Deer trails give good indications of where crossing points lie.

You exit the bush 40m above the river into very thck, 1-2m tall scrub. I bashed down to the creek to pass the 1st sidesteam, but was forced to climb again by impassable gorges - a steep, exposed scramble out of the creek. A further 100m of very thick scrub-bashing followed before the rocky riverbed emerged from the series of boulders and falls below and seemed viable again. Dropping to the creek it was passable from here to the valley head, but required several scrambles round / up waterfalls. Hard going.

As a sidecreek enters from the north, the scrub relents and tussock becomes dominant. Travel is now easier,with the creek climbing moderately for 400m to the next forks. Beyond the creek gorges out again and you are forced out. Deep chasms cut the northern valleyside, so for the saddle the southern valleyside is the direct option. Climb onto tussock faces and sidle above the gorge to the last major forks at the head of the valley. Dropping to the creek just below the forks, head briefly up the northern fork and find good scrambles onto the spur dividing the two forks. Once one this it provides good travel up to the saddle.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

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