Distance: 3.2 km (2.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Moderate terrain
Altitude: 1423m to 1977m. Gain: 566m. Loss: 38m . Gradient: 11 deg (Moderate-hard)
Skills: Occasional scrambles (3/7)

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-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

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

Unknown (difficulty: 0/7)
Not specified

pt1762 on the ridgeline between Buchanan Peaks and Mt Alta is impassable as a tramper. As such it is necessary to bypass it on the western side, either at the level of the tarns of 100m below the peak at the base of bluffs.

From the tarns make a sidling ascent to reach the ridgeline at the saddle between pt1762 and pt1846 (or further south). There are good animal tracks on spurs in this area, but it is steeper in places than the map suggests.

For those coming from Mt Alta it is not necessary to drop all the way to the tarns - pt1762 can be bypassed to the west 100m below the ridgeline.

The final ascent to Buchanan Peaks is on the north-eastern face, and is sporadically cairned through rock and boulder scree.

2hrs

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

Follow cairns north off pt2005 (Buchanan Peaks) drom rock & boulder scree and sidle out west onto the ridgeline once good going is reached.

1-2 hrs