Distance: 3.1 km (1.5 DOC hours) - Marked route - Moderate terrain
Altitude: 401m to 827m. Gain: 63m. Loss: 441m . Gradient: 9 deg (Moderate)
Skills: - Occasional rivers (3/6)

Marked route (6/9)
Uncut route, with markers normally within sight

Primary, mapped (1/5)
Formal route, on maps, principal access to hut or along range / catchment

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Occasional moderate climbs

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Low scrub in open or bush / river rocks

None (difficulty: 1/7)
No alpine skills required

Occasional rivers (difficulty: 3/6)
Occasional rivers - impassible after heavy rain

None (difficulty: 1/7)
No alpine skills required

From the saddle, the College Creek track climbs west over pt834, before sidling it's southern face and dropping west to the forks of College Creek.

From the forks, it is a 1km walk down the riverbed to Baber Forks. There is no track and the riverbed is rocky and slippery. Ankle to knee deep, it is generally OK but could flood after heavy rain.

20m before the forks, a track starts on the true right bank, marked by a cairn and signpost. This is the junction with the Puketurua Track which crosses College Creek here and climbs the spur to the ESE.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

From Baber Forks, drop into College Creek and follow it east upriver for 1km. There is no track and the riverbed is rocky and slippery. Ankle to knee deep, it is generally OK but could flood after heavy rain. Forks are reached after 1km, and DOC triangle mark the start of a track between the two forks.

The track climbs steadily to the tops above, skirting the summit on the southern side before crossing pt835 and dropping to a saddle beyond.

50m beyond the saddle, the Main Range of the Tararuas joins from the south. A route follows this range and the junction is marked with flagging tape (2014) just before the scrub starts beyond the saddle.