Distance: 0.1 km (7.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Easy-moderate terrain
Altitude: 301m to 2316m. Gain: 2636m. Loss: 621m . Gradient: -1 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)

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

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

Easy-moderate (difficulty: 2/5)
Tussock / river-gravel / open bush / cut track

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 DOC easement runs up a farm track climbing Round Hill Spur leading to the Mt Alta Conservation Area. From here the summit of Mt Alta is a (technically) easy scramble away, offering routes down into Minaret Burn.

The Round Hill Spur track is not signposted off the road (2019). Where the Mt Aspiring road up the Matukituki valley hits the river bank, 11km past the Treble Cone turnoff is a gate leading to a gravel reserve - the start of the track.

Cross the Matukituki - knee to waist deep in normal flows, impassable after rain, and cut NE across the river gravels beyond to reach the start of the stream draining north of Round Hill Spur. A DOC signpost on the fence marks the start of the route across farmland.

Follow the stream north to the yards marked on the map. The route is not marked/poled. After passing the yards, at the DOC signpost, cross the fence on your right onto the farm track lading to Round Hill Spur. The track climbs at a steep but comfortable gradient until is passes the last of the beech forest. Soon after the farms track swings SE and ceases to ascend. Crossing a small creek on your left at this point leads to a good spur with light vegetation which climbs all the way to the ridgeline.

At about 1500m a fault escarpment is reached. Dropping south along this leads to a series of tarns with reasonable camping. Small spots have been cleared between the two main tarns, and the lower tarn has beaches big enough for larger tents.

Continuing the ascent, head to pt 2004 (the ridgeline further south above the tarns is impassable). From here the route all the way to Mt Alta is visible. A mixture of broad walkable shingle ridgeline and sharp rocky outcrops which canbe sidled to the east. The final ascent to the saddle just west of Mt Alta is up a moderately steep gully of snow or stable rock-scree. From the saddle it's a short easy walk up to the peak.

Embedded in the ridgeline just west of Mt Alta is an area of contrasting brown rock - the remnants of an old volcanic cone.

Road - Tarns: 3-5 hrs
Tarns - Mt Alta summit: 2-4 hrs

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

No description