Routes
Huts / campsites
Roadends
Summits
Passes / crossings
Scenic features
Junctions
DOC Land
Altitude: 859m to 1913m. Gain: 1067m. Loss: 765m . Gradient: 9 deg (Moderate)
Skills: Occasional scrambles (3/7) - Streams (2/6)
Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey
Provided as a more recent trip report Note: this route crosses Godley Peaks Station land on the Rankin Stream side. Secure permission in advance to pass through or camp. From the forks of the Cass, walk upstream along the NE branch of the river, which rises through tussock terraces. Around the 1400m contour, the vegetation ends and the valley becomes increasingly full of moraine debris, which occasionally lies in tall formations that block views of the valley. The head of this valley can be a little disorienting, especially in low visibility or poor weather, and Rankin Pass is not obvious from below, so a GPS is useful for navigation. At approximately the 1500m contour line there is an upper forks where the river splits into three branches. The middle one leads up to two spectacular, milky blue terminal lakes, the left one travels up past some moraine debris, and the right hand one heads up toward the pass, on the right hand side of a long, 100m tall moraine wall that conceals the pass from view. You can either climb this moraine wall and walk along the ridge — a long, somewhat exposed scramble on loose moraine, but a route that offers spectacular views of the awesome glaciers and bluffs below Mt. Hutton and the two terminal lakes — or stick to the right hand branch of the river and walk upstream towards the pass on moraine and scree (this is the line marked on the map). Rankin Pass was not visible from the bottom of the head of the valley, although there was a lot of low-lying cloud and mist moving around that day, so I can't say if the pass was hidden by the geography of the valley or by the cloud. Initially my tramping partner and I mistook a really sketchy-looking notch on the ridge below Pt. 2373 for the pass, and mistakenly headed towards that. When the much more straightforward real pass finally slid into view we were very relieved. We chose to walk up the moraine wall ridge, which we followed to around the 1800m contour line, where the wall meets tall bluffs that rise just to the left of Rankin Pass. In February, there was a long, fairly steep snow remnant at the base of these bluffs, between the base of the moraine wall and the pass, which we had to cross (we kicked steps) before climbing the last vertical 150 meters or so on scree to the pass. The ridge walk + snow remnant route was beautiful but it is an extra climb and some exposure, compared to following the branch of the river up towards the pass. Rankin Pass is a straightforward Southern Alps scree pass. We could not see the lake from the top of the pass — perhaps the lake level has dropped too much, or was just at a seasonal low. From the pass, descend into the Rankin Stream valley. We tried initially to sidle on the TR of Rankin Stream, having been warned about bluffs, but soon found travel was actually easier in the upper part of the stream itself. The small bluffs on the descent were easily avoided. From where the forks of Rankin Stream meet to form a single stream, at about the 1380m contour, continue the straightforward valley descent using the stream, or vegetated terraces on the TR. At about the 1050-1100m contour line, just before the stream makes a final drop into the valley's wide gravel mouth, there are good flat terraces above the stream on the TR with good camping. To camp here or near the site of the destroyed Rankin Hut, you must have station permission.