Distance: 7.0 km (7.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Moderate terrain
Altitude: 889m to 1774m. Gain: 948m. Loss: 1115m . Gradient: 17 deg (Moderate)
Skills: Occasional scrambles (3/7)

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

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

No description

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

The trip up to Temple Col, which initially follows the steep but extremely well-made, benched Temple Basin Track, is a short but sweet climb that offers spectacular views of Mt. Rolleston, which is directly across the valley. The descent on the other side towards Goat Pass follows a high sidle that has some exposed sections. This sidle is to avoid the dense scrub on the valley floor — locals reported that this scrub took hours of bush-bashing to traverse. Once the sidle reaches the slope on the eastern flank of Pt. 1628, the going gets much easier, and it's a straightforward, fun descent to Goat Pass Hut, which is visible below.

From Temple Basin carpark, follow the marked track up to the skifield buildings (in late summer you may encounter a school camp). Cross a small stream, and follow a path up and onto steep scree and subalpine vegetation, climbing the small bluffs that end at around the 1600m contour line. From here, sidle/climb towards the pass, eventually climbing on fairly loose scree until you reach the top of Temple Col.

From the top, study the northeastern head of the valley and try to pick a line to follow on your sidle.

I descended slightly to about the 1750m contour and sidled to the northeast. Initially I walked around, below, and sometimes scrambled over some small bluffs and snow remnants, then I walked through a nice scree basin below Pt. 1913. I descended further, to 1700m and then to 1600, to avoid some bluffs below the ridge between Pts. 1913 and 1792.

The sketchiest and most exposed sidles went over some long vertical bluff-y ribs that descended from Pt. 1792, on the eastern side of the point. These ribs were interspersed with some very steep scree sections, and the whole area lies on top of steep bluffs. Once I traversed to the area below Pt. 1628, the going got much easier, and I zig-zagged my way up good vegetated terraces interspersed with small bluffs. The rocky areas offered easy scrambles.

Gain the ridge that runs almost due south from Pt. 1628 and traverse to the eastern flank of the point. The terrain on this side becomes much gentler and vegetated, with a few bluff-y sections in the upper reaches, and a nice tarn some 150 vertical meters below.

Aim for the tarn, then descend the last 300 vertical meters through tussock and scrub to Goat Pass. It's not exactly clear from the topo lines, but there are some steep gullies interspersed with spurs on this side. I walked partly in a gully and partly on a spur. Give a wide berth to the bluffed area on the left above the hut (marked on map).

The very bottom of the pass is boggy with several small tarns — take care when walking through this fragile area, especially if it has been raining, and join the boardwalked tramping path as soon as you can.

Goat Pass Hut is a warm and weather-worthy hut in a lovely setting. It is very popular with TA walkers in the summer months.