Distance: 12.9 km (9.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Moderate terrain
Altitude: 1061m to 2038m. Gain: 979m. Loss: 740m . Gradient: 8 deg (Moderate-hard)
Skills: Alpine weather (2/7) - Streams (2/6)

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

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

Alpine weather (difficulty: 2/7)
Tramp on open tops, exposed to alpine weather

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

Unknown (difficulty: 0/7)
Not specified

No description

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

Note: this route passes through private station land and prior permission to cross on foot should be sought from Glenmore Station. The western side of the Gamack Range is public conservation land; the station land begins at the range crest. Public conservation land is reached again at the northern forks of the Cass River.

This route was an impromptu detour from my original objective, Jollie Saddle. I decided the saddle was holding too much snow and ice and so instead headed up this nameless side stream to a nameless col in the Gamack Range that looked navigable on topo. Thankfully, this proved to be a straightforward, non-technical route, although it is a long, hot plod on scree, especially in mid-summer.

Head up the valley on scree and talus. In mid-summer, the stream disappears underground just above the 1400m contour line. It reappears a few km later near the head of the valley. The valley on the southern flank of Mt. William Grant is wide and open and makes for straightforward travel and navigation. It is a long, consistent +650m climb to the col, past Mt. William Grant with its snow, ice, and interesting moraine debris, and around a ridge that leads north to Pt. 2468. The nameless col lies at about 2045m, just to the east of The Bad Decision Hut (a private station hut used mainly for backcountry skiing).

From the col, descend (now on station land) into the scree basin. A small side stream soon disappears into the scree to reappear again several km below. Walk down a hanging valley on scree through boulders and then vegetated terraces to where the stream turns hard to the left and begins its drop into the Cass Valley. Lady Emily Hut (another modern, private station hut) is visible on the spur above the stream.

Follow the stream through tussock and some scrub down towards the bottom of the Cass Valley, aiming for the confluence with Ailsa Stream. The last vertical 150-200m down is steep but straightforward and you may pick up a boot path. Memorial Hut (an older station hut) is located at the Ailsa-Cass confluence. Head up the Cass, walking on good river flats or in the wide gravel riverbed, crossing braids as needed. The Cass in its upper reaches is shin-deep at most in average mid-summer flows.

Good camping is available on the wide terraces at the Cass northern forks. Or, if heading towards Rankin Pass, you can continue up the right hand (east) branch of the river and camp a little further on to make tomorrow's climb over the pass easier. Decent camping, flat but not quite as scenic as the forks, is available on small terraces at roughly the 1360m contour line.