A well defined track through the beech to the lake and along the eastern flank - boggy in dry weather, very wet after rain.

From the northern tip of the lake, the track climbs steadily paralleling the creek until attaining the saddle above the Rockburn / Dart confluence. A short descent leads to the hut ruin (now a campsite).

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Cross the Rock Burn below the hut and continue along he edge of the Dart River as far as possible (very dependant on flow level).

Scramble up onto the forested bank and pick up a footpad and head upstream, staying close to the river. Drop back to the river when possible and look for a marked entry to a track that cuts through the bush to the Beans Burn confluence with the Dart River. Cross the Beans Burn where shallowest.

Travel time is highly dependant on flow level in the Dart River.

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Just back from the gravel is a marker to the start of the track up the Beans Burn. Under beech, the track rises to a fixed bridge spanning the burn, crossing to the TR. A steep climb to a saddle and a short descent reaches a grassy flat with good campsites. The track resumes at the northern end and climbs away from the burn to 800m and roughly follows this contour back to the stream. There are several major slips and side streams to cross.

Eventually, the track breaks out from the trees and the rock biv can be seen more that a km at the other side of the clearing.

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200m upstream of the rock biv, cross to the TL and head towards the obvious saddle, picking up a useful footpad. From the saddle, follow a rocky gut almost to the river and pick up a dry (in normal flow) anabranch and follow to just short of the climb point. Pull out of the shallow rocky bed and cross to the TR and the climb point.

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Initially in a small gut, the climb to Fohn Pass is fairly simple - go up. As altitude is gained, the pass comes into view - just head for it.

From the pass, climb to the right. Follow a square gut down until the lake come into view then traverse, losing altitude, to the lake. Distributed camping in sheltered tussock is readily available.

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Cross the lake outlet and circle the knoll to follow the outlet stream down a spur turning right with the stream and descend easily to the Olivine Ledge (1 hr).
On the broad shelf, head towards the knoll at 1200m (with tarn - camp possible) taking great care as many deep channels and holes could easily break a leg of the unwary. From here the terrain becomes more rocky and Fiery Col comes into view.

Cross the TL arm of Fiery Ck and pick up the footpad that climbs to the Col. Descend into the bowl below the col and stay on the TL of the obvious gut. The route down is cairned and stays close to the gut edge.

At the valley floor, cross a stream and stay close to the slope until through Cow Saddle (as the saddle is quite boggy). Once in Hidden Falls valley, travel is (mostly) fastest on the boulders/rocks in the dry river bed (the water is underground) until around the 780m contour.

Pull out of the creek bed on the TR, to avoid forest on the TL, and descend to the treeline at 720m and cross to a track on the TL. Follow the well defined track through a clearing (good campsite) and continue on the TL until a major side stream is crossed. Now look for where the track turns away from Hidden Falls Creek and immediately begins the very steep climb to Park Pass.

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A light ground trail from near the tarn on Park Pass is the route down into the Rock Burn, dropping steeply beside the stream draining the pass. Large boulders at the base of the steep terrain are dropped through, the large one near the bottom of the slope beside the stream has the rock bivvy under it's southern side.

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A light ground trail from near the tarn on Park Pass is the route down into the Rock Burn, dropping steeply beside the stream draining the pass. Large boulders at the base of the steep terrain are dropped through, the large one near the bottom of the slope beside the stream has the rock bivvy under it's southern side.

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From the small tarn at the head of the western stream flowing into Lake Unknown, climb to the head of the basin and then to the northeast onto the ridge line. Gentle slopes lead up to the 1540m contour over mixed grass and rock slabs, and there's clusters of tarns on the top of the climb with camp sites. Head northwest and descend down slopes to reach the large grassy area at the head of the large tarn west of Pt1544. This is the start of a staircase of tarns which form the northwest stream shown on the topomap dropping into Lake Unknown. There are great looking camp sites here but you are well away from the main attraction of the area; Lake Unknown!

Head around the western shore of the large tarn, and scramble through some large boulders above the tarn's outlet to reach the stream as it drops down towards the long skinny tarn north of Pt1544. Head around the northern shore of this second tarn to reach a point where you can overlook the third and fourth tarns of the staircase. There is more great camping beside the third tarn with nearby vantage points of Lake Unknown.

Northeast of the third tarn, ascend rocky slopes that lead up the southern flank of Mt Chaos. Following the natural curve of the slopes leads you up to the northwest and into the snow slopes shown on the topomap. In December 2020 the slopes were mostly separated by big slabs of rock. Going up the slopes, an ice axe was useful but not overly required. Come down them an axe would be required. Looking at satellite photos of the area, by late Summer the snow is pretty much all gone.

A large slabby ridge runs southwest from Pt1918 and upon reaching the crest of it, the first view of the large basin between Minos and Amphion Peaks (informally known as "Iceland") can be seen. If you drop your pack off here, it's a short 15 minute climb up the ridge to reach Pt1918 for spectacular views of almost the entire length of the Beans Burn.

The descent into "Iceland" begins on the northwestern side of the ridge, on the snow fields shown on the topomap (not present on the aerial photos from later in summer). In December 2020 an ice axe was useful here. Drop off the ridge and begin descending down into an obvious gully at the foot of the snow slopes shown on the topomap, keeping on the southern side. After a short descent, a large slabby ledge should be visible descending to the south. It is a straight forward descent down the ledge to reach more open terrain on the ridge that separates the Lake Unknown basin from the "Iceland" basin. Once off the slabs, pick a descent route down steep slopes into the stream draining the upper gully you just came down. The upper reaches of this gully look like a major avalanche chute, in December 2020 there was a huge slab of snow at the top of the gully waiting to come crashing down it, so early in the season don't hang around here! The stream offers a steep and sometimes unstable rocky descent down into "Iceland", more open slopes to the north provide easier travel, lower down.

The basin of "Iceland", about 4 hours from the third tarn of the lake staircase, is an amazing place, especially early Summer. Snowfields and waterfalls tumble off sheer cliffs that ring the walls of the basins head. Streams crisscross the valley floor, with low hills, presumably old glacier moraines but now filled in and covered with grass, dotted around. In December 2020 the head of the basin was mostly stony with the grassy areas boggy, but there were drier spots for camping further south.

The route out off "Iceland" climbs the slopes south of a stream flowing into the basin from the west. Grassy slopes lead up to the west initially but then curve south up a terrace under a line of large bluffs. The main ridge climbs from near Pt1545 up to the lower slopes of Amphion Peak via a series of ridges running southeast to northwest, separated by bluffs. Keep climbing to the southwest, always looking for a route up to the next ridge on its southeastern side. Once on the main ridge, its a straight forward climb up to the northwest, bypassing any obstacles on the "Iceland" side of the main ridge.

A large scree filled saddle exists at the top of the ridge, beneath the soaring bluffs of Amphion Peak. Begin heading west and then southwest to skirt around a boulder field, and begin descending scree slopes above an obvious gully dropping southwest underneath Amphion. Its a steep but straightforward descent of about 150m, looking to cross the gully where the large bluffy slabs end on the true right side. Smaller slabs provide an easy crossing point of the gully. Once across, climb steeply to the north. A slope of scree leads up to where a very steep snow slope in December 2020 hid more slabs. Unstable scree on the western side of the snow/slabs provide an alternative route up to the top of the ridge dropping southwest off Amphion.

From here, you should be to see the Park Glacier and melt lake if its not in the cloud. Sidle north across scree slopes. The area west of Amphion, above the lake outlet is extremely bluffy, but thankfully there's a good route leading almost straight down to the outlet underneath the bluffs, keeping above the bluffy terrain dropping into the lower outlet stream. The outlet exits the lake via a small glacial polished gully. Early in the season its a simple task to jump across the stream, keeping your boots dry, but later in the season when its full of ice melt you might need to wade across the outlet stream!

Bluffs ring the northwestern approach to the outlet, but there's a viable route up gullies and ledges on the northeastern side of the ridge. Climb up to the northwest and cross rolling terrain. A huge freestanding boulder on the southern side of one of the hills marks the ridge you need to descend to the west-southwest towards Park Pass. This is a tricky descent in cloud so a GPS is highly recommended. In general, you want to keep to the northern side of the ridge, but not too far north as you don't want to descend into that stream north of the ridge shown on the topomap. You also don't want to be on the southern side of the ridge, which lower down, was highly scoured out from the February 2020 storm. Steep, wet and slippery slopes in the middle of the ridge make descent tricky if you wander into them. At about the 1300m contour follow the natural curve of the ridge around to the south. Keep an eye out for a gully off the eastern side of the ridge. You actually need to get off the ridge into that gully as the ridge bluffs out lower down. There is a break in the bluffs at roughly 1240m, marked with a small cairn, that provides an easy descent into the gully. Once in the gully follow it down onto the rolling terrain of Park Pass. The large tarn on the pass provides an obvious land mark. A light trail heads down the hill from near the tarn to the Rock Burn bivvy rock, about 15 minutes from the tarn.

Head of western inlet to staircase third tarn: 1-2 hours.
Staircase third tarn to "Iceland": 3-4 hours.
"Iceland" to Park Glacier outlet: 2-3 hours.
Park Glacier to Park Pass: 1 hour.

From the small tarn at the head of the western stream flowing into Lake Unknown, climb to the head of the basin and then to the northeast onto the ridge line. Gentle slopes lead up to the 1540m contour over mixed grass and rock slabs, and there's clusters of tarns on the top of the climb with camp sites. Head northwest and descend down slopes to reach the large grassy area at the head of the large tarn west of Pt1544. This is the start of a staircase of tarns which form the northwest stream shown on the topomap dropping into Lake Unknown. There are great looking camp sites here but you are well away from the main attraction of the area; Lake Unknown!

Head around the western shore of the large tarn, and scramble through some large boulders above the tarn's outlet to reach the stream as it drops down towards the long skinny tarn north of Pt1544. Head around the northern shore of this second tarn to reach a point where you can overlook the third and fourth tarns of the staircase. There is more great camping beside the third tarn with nearby vantage points of Lake Unknown.

Northeast of the third tarn, ascend rocky slopes that lead up the southern flank of Mt Chaos. Following the natural curve of the slopes leads you up to the northwest and into the snow slopes shown on the topomap. In December 2020 the slopes were mostly separated by big slabs of rock. Going up the slopes, an ice axe was useful but not overly required. Come down them an axe would be required. Looking at satellite photos of the area, by late Summer the snow is pretty much all gone.

A large slabby ridge runs southwest from Pt1918 and upon reaching the crest of it, the first view of the large basin between Minos and Amphion Peaks (informally known as "Iceland") can be seen. If you drop your pack off here, it's a short 15 minute climb up the ridge to reach Pt1918 for spectacular views of almost the entire length of the Beans Burn.

The descent into "Iceland" begins on the northwestern side of the ridge, on the snow fields shown on the topomap (not present on the aerial photos from later in summer). In December 2020 an ice axe was useful here. Drop off the ridge and begin descending down into an obvious gully at the foot of the snow slopes shown on the topomap, keeping on the southern side. After a short descent, a large slabby ledge should be visible descending to the south. It is a straight forward descent down the ledge to reach more open terrain on the ridge that separates the Lake Unknown basin from the "Iceland" basin. Once off the slabs, pick a descent route down steep slopes into the stream draining the upper gully you just came down. The upper reaches of this gully look like a major avalanche chute, in December 2020 there was a huge slab of snow at the top of the gully waiting to come crashing down it, so early in the season don't hang around here! The stream offers a steep and sometimes unstable rocky descent down into "Iceland", more open slopes to the north provide easier travel, lower down.

The basin of "Iceland", about 4 hours from the third tarn of the lake staircase, is an amazing place, especially early Summer. Snowfields and waterfalls tumble off sheer cliffs that ring the walls of the basins head. Streams crisscross the valley floor, with low hills, presumably old glacier moraines but now filled in and covered with grass, dotted around. In December 2020 the head of the basin was mostly stony with the grassy areas boggy, but there were drier spots for camping further south.

The route out off "Iceland" climbs the slopes south of a stream flowing into the basin from the west. Grassy slopes lead up to the west initially but then curve south up a terrace under a line of large bluffs. The main ridge climbs from near Pt1545 up to the lower slopes of Amphion Peak via a series of ridges running southeast to northwest, separated by bluffs. Keep climbing to the southwest, always looking for a route up to the next ridge on its southeastern side. Once on the main ridge, its a straight forward climb up to the northwest, bypassing any obstacles on the "Iceland" side of the main ridge.

A large scree filled saddle exists at the top of the ridge, beneath the soaring bluffs of Amphion Peak. Begin heading west and then southwest to skirt around a boulder field, and begin descending scree slopes above an obvious gully dropping southwest underneath Amphion. Its a steep but straightforward descent of about 150m, looking to cross the gully where the large bluffy slabs end on the true right side. Smaller slabs provide an easy crossing point of the gully. Once across, climb steeply to the north. A slope of scree leads up to where a very steep snow slope in December 2020 hid more slabs. Unstable scree on the western side of the snow/slabs provide an alternative route up to the top of the ridge dropping southwest off Amphion.

From here, you should be to see the Park Glacier and melt lake if its not in the cloud. Sidle north across scree slopes. The area west of Amphion, above the lake outlet is extremely bluffy, but thankfully there's a good route leading almost straight down to the outlet underneath the bluffs, keeping above the bluffy terrain dropping into the lower outlet stream. The outlet exits the lake via a small glacial polished gully. Early in the season its a simple task to jump across the stream, keeping your boots dry, but later in the season when its full of ice melt you might need to wade across the outlet stream!

Bluffs ring the northwestern approach to the outlet, but there's a viable route up gullies and ledges on the northeastern side of the ridge. Climb up to the northwest and cross rolling terrain. A huge freestanding boulder on the southern side of one of the hills marks the ridge you need to descend to the west-southwest towards Park Pass. This is a tricky descent in cloud so a GPS is highly recommended. In general, you want to keep to the northern side of the ridge, but not too far north as you don't want to descend into that stream north of the ridge shown on the topomap. You also don't want to be on the southern side of the ridge, which lower down, was highly scoured out from the February 2020 storm. Steep, wet and slippery slopes in the middle of the ridge make descent tricky if you wander into them. At about the 1300m contour follow the natural curve of the ridge around to the south. Keep an eye out for a gully off the eastern side of the ridge. You actually need to get off the ridge into that gully as the ridge bluffs out lower down. There is a break in the bluffs at roughly 1240m, marked with a small cairn, that provides an easy descent into the gully. Once in the gully follow it down onto the rolling terrain of Park Pass. The large tarn on the pass provides an obvious land mark. A light trail heads down the hill from near the tarn to the Rock Burn bivvy rock, about 15 minutes from the tarn.

Head of western inlet to staircase third tarn: 1-2 hours.
Staircase third tarn to "Iceland": 3-4 hours.
"Iceland" to Park Glacier outlet: 2-3 hours.
Park Glacier to Park Pass: 1 hour.

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Pick up the footpad west of the tarn and climb the spur to the large cairn, 1.2km from the pass. Leave the spur, descend and negotiate a small shallow depression (outlined on the map by the 1220m & 1240m contours). The route is infrequently marked with cairns but it is a steeply rising sidle across tussock and scree - dangerous in adverse conditions. Aim to approach the marked stream above the 1400m contour and continue to climb (on the TL) to 1500m. You can travel above the tarn or around to it's outlet - both routes rejoin in the lower saddle (1600m). Continue through the saddle and down to the small tarn (close to the left rock wall is easiest) and proceed to the Lake.

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Climb the slope north of the smaller lake beside Lake Nerine to gain the ridge west of Point 1594. Drop down rocks to the next lake and go around it the gully to the northwest. Cross the head of the gully and sidle north, all the way to Park Pass. There is a cairned route along the eastern flank of the ridge as you traverse very steep tussock slopes and the odd scree slide, but the cairns are sporadic and there's no obvious grand trail. A trail picks up at the flat ground between 1220m and 1240m going through a boulder field, and crosses to the western side of the ridge. Drop down to tarns on Park Pass where there is exposed camping. (copied from duplicate entry by @Yarmoss)

From the north shore of Lake Nerine, walk to the west side and climb to the low saddle. From here, there are two routes to North Col.

The low route descends to the 1440m ledge and contours around to the gully below North Col - then up. There are useful cairns along the route.

If visibility is questionable, use the low route. The high route takes slightly longer (and would be very challenging in poor weather).

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From North Col ascend steep slopes to the south west through bluffs to gain the main ridge line heading south from Peak 1796. The ridge is followed as best as possible, negotiating bluffs and ledges as far as Point 1555 where it is best to traverse the western side of the ridge on tussock and rock ledges high above the lake at the head of Swamp Creek. It's then up and onto broad, flat topped Peak 1550 where the next small lake can be viewed. Moirs Guide North talks about descending a scree chute straight down to the lake, but this chute is very steep and full of loose crumbly rock. It is safer to head south west and drop down into the saddle west of the lake before passing through the saddle to reach it, 4-5 hours from North Col. There is exposed camping on the eastern side of the lake (the saddle acts as a wind tunnel from the west).

From the lake climb briefly to the south then negotiate numerous boulder fields east of Peaks 1697 - 1605, keeping within the 1400-1500m contours. You can sidle straight to the saddle at Point 1410 where there is a large tarn and more camp spots (~6.5 hours from North Col). From 1410, the main ridge line is followed all the way to Peak 1807, again negotiating considerable boulder fields around Peak 1604, bluffs, tussock ramps and ledges. Peak 1807 had large snow slopes on its eastern flanks in January 2017 which required ice axes to cross safely... we didn't summit as we were in the cloud. Traversing the snow just below the summit drops you down to the saddle between Peaks 1807 and 1795 from where steep rock and then snow slopes drop down into the head of the Lake Wilson basin. Climb/glacade down to boulder fields and then down onto flat ground. A large melt water lake exists in the flat ground between the 1520 and 1540m contours with camping, other wise there is numerous flat but exposed camp spots dotted around on the terraces at about 1500m, about 11 hours from North Col.

Cross a large gully beneath Mt Erebus and climb through small bluffs to reach the boulder field at Point 1578 and skirt around it's west edge. Follow the broad rolling terrace which drops down to the tussocky flat ground at the Lake Wilson outlet. There is a dry rock bivvy that holds 3 people just southeast of Point 1578 and north of the of the "k" of "Lake Wilson" on the map, on the southeast side of the ridge facing Mt Xenicus.

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Note: the top of the gut used to climb to Lake Wilson holds snow into January and an ice axe should be carried.

From just past the bluffs at Harris Saddle head northwestwards off the track as if making for the southeast corner of Conical Hill and look for a grass slope descending steeply to the shore of Lake Harris. At the bottom of the slope you should find a trapping line with a ground trail that runs around the western shore of the lake. Follow this until you reach the entrants to the valley at the head of the lake, unofficially known as The Valley of the Trolls. Theres camping here on grass beside the stream. Climb through boulders on the true right of the stream to make your way into the valley. Once through the boulders cross swampy terrain to the valley head and cross the stream beneath the waterfall. Theres a rock bivvy located about half way up the length of the valley and about 40m off the valley floor. On the true left of the waterfall a grassy gut climbs all the way up to the top of the hill. Climb all the way up to a rocky shelf. The lake outlet and camping spot is at the northern end of the shelf.

At Harris Saddle,there are two emergency shelters on your right. If weather and time permit, a good side trip Conical Hill gives panoramic views.

From Harris Saddle, the track continues south along the Hollyford face, crossing several minor creeks until sharply rounding a spur above lake Mackenzie. A zig zag descent then enters the forest and the lake outlet to arrive at Lake Mackenzie Hut.

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From Mackenzie hut follow the Great Walk up the zigzags out of the Lake Mackenzie basin and then along the Hollyford face to Harris Saddle. There's an emergency shelter here and a worthwhile side trip up Conical Hill with great views.

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Note: an ice axe should be carried for the south side of Emily Pass which usually holds snow well into summer.

The south side of the pass is usually snow bound until February but mild winters can mean it's snow free by mid Jan. Descend steep snow or rock/scree to the flat area above 1400m and then drop down the western side on more steep slopes to the large flat area at 1200m. This is usually snow free by December and has great camping here as well as 2 rock bivvys. The steep slope dropping down from here can be negotiated on snow grass on its south side but better travel is to be had by passing through the boulders to the southwest and dropping down scree.

The stream shown on the map is a dry water course. Enter it and follow it all the way down the valley to avoid scrub. It abruptly becomes a wet stream where the map shows the start of the Lake Mackenzie depression. There's flat ground for camping here but its a frigid location first thing in the morning due to cold air pooling, even in late summer, and you might be shooed away by a DOC ranger if you are spotted from the zigzags exiting the Lake Mackenzie basin. Much better off camping an hour up the hill at 1200m. Follow the stream on down to the lake edge. A green plastic sign vaguely marks the start of an, initially, rough trail down the eastern side of the lake. The location of the trail varies over the course of the summer as the lake level drops and more people visit the head of the lake. Push down the trail to the Split Rock boulder where a good quality track carries on past the Lake Mackenzie DOC campsite and on to Mackenzie Hut.

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Note: an ice axe should be carried for the south side of Emily Pass which usually holds snow well into summer, and for the north side which consists of steep, slippery snow grass above bluffs..

From the true right side of Emily Creek bridge push through ferns on the upstream side and follow the path of least resistance roughly parallel to the stream for about 20m until you get deposited on the edge of Emily Creek. Climb the creek bed, which is initially quite bouldery, all the way up to 1200m. The going gets better about 100m up from the bridge with travel in the main creek bed generally being best on the true left side.

At about 1200m a slip enters the creek on the true right. Climb here up scree to reach the northwest corner of Emily basin at about CB09 205 352. The obvious low point on the ridge above is Fraser Col (marked as Point 1544 on the map), Emily Pass is out of sight to the right of Emily Peak from here. Sidle across the western side of the basin making for an obvious rocky gut with a stream exiting it. Go up the gut, cross the stream and go past a waterfall coming down the rocky side. At the head of the gut climb up a nearly vertical rock and grass face beside a 2nd smaller waterfall, then sidle to the right (north) to reach easier grass slopes. Climb these to the southwest to gain Emily Pass.

From the Flats Hut turnoff, carry on down the flats and through bush to reach the car park at Routeburn Shelter.

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From the Routeburn Shelter and carpark, follow the great walk up the flats flats and through bush to reach the short turnoff to the Routeburn Flats Hut.

200m upstream of the rock biv, cross to the TL and head towards the obvious saddle, picking up a useful footpad. From the saddle, follow a rocky gut almost to the river and pick up a dry (in normal flow) anabranch and follow to just short of the climb point. Pull out of the shallow rocky bed and cross to the TR and the climb point.

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