Distance: 11.6 km (8.0 DOC hours) - Benched track - Easy-moderate terrain
Altitude: 115m to 1604m. Gain: 2240m. Loss: 1087m . Gradient: 17 deg (Moderate-hard)
Skills: Occasional scrambles (3/7)

Benched track (3/9)
Benched, maintained, marked tramping track or pack-track

Primary, mapped (1/5)
Formal route, on maps, 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

None (difficulty: 1/6)
No unbridged river crossings

Unknown (difficulty: 0/7)
Not specified

A well-marked and sustained climb from the valley floor up to pt 900 through significantly wasp-infested beech forest. The chain ladder sections leading to pt 1496 provide reassurance on straightforward but relatively exposed sections. Chains and bolts were in good condition and looked to have been quite recently replaced, in 2018. Just below the peak of pt 1496, a rain-filling water barrel with a spigot has been thoughtfully left: the 1300 m climb out of the Pelorus will very likely have drained your supplies. The ridge walk south over Mt Fell has great views through to Mt Richmond. Note that Mt Fell Hut has been moved a couple of hundred metres south from the location still shown on topo maps.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

No description