Distance: 3.0 km (9.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Easy-moderate terrain
Altitude: 1078m to 1792m. Gain: 568m. Loss: 729m . Gradient: 27 deg (Moderate)
Skills: Snow / ice (5/7) - Streams (2/6) Winter - Iceaxe/crampons (4/7)

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

Secondary, unmapped (4/5)
Route not on maps, an alternative recognised access to hut or along range / catchment

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Occasional moderate climbs

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

Snow / ice (difficulty: 5/7)
Scramble with snow/ice sections, ice axe & crampons required

Streams (difficulty: 2/6)
Small streams, danger only in extreme weather

Iceaxe/crampons (difficulty: 4/7)
Ice axe and crampons required in winter

Snow on the south side of the gut in June, and most of the way down the rib to the creek.

I walked this north bound. For a 'saddle' there are a couple points to bear in mind. One on the south side there are a couple of routes, the way i went: from the knee in the creek (1340m) attain the rock rib immediately to the true left of the creek. The saddle remains out of sight until nearly the top, so just follow this rib, reasonably steeply until you reach a large cairn near the letter l in David saddle on the map (1700m). Sidle across and into the gut, and ascend said gut to the saddle. There is apparently another route, that attains the rib off the slopes on the south side of the rib. Walking this section in reverse: descent the gut off the south side of the saddle, until you reach the 1720m contour, and look for a cairn on the ridgeline to your left. This is the only place you can escape the gut and attain the ridge, and failing that you will end up in a confined narrow waterfally gut, which i would not recommend. From the saddle, northbound, ascend easy tossolk slopes until you reach the 1400m contour, then sidle slightly to the true right heading toward the obvious bush remnant. There are a couple of large orange triangles that mark the start of the semi-marked route through that bush. Shortly after that the markers disappear, just follow the wee creek bed as it tumbles, until it reachs the creek shown on the map. Rock hop and wade until you reach on obvious marker and foot trail that climbs out of the creek at the 1100m contour, on the true left. There you will pick up the track.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

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