Hiking Avalanche Peak New Zealand - Arthur's Pass

Hiking Avalanche Peak New Zealand - Arthur's Pass

Avalanche Peak New Zealand is a steep but worthwhile day hike to an alpine summit with a view of the incredible Arthur’s Pass and the surrounding mountains. A complete hiking guide to deal with the Arthur’s Peak route independently.

My favorite hike around Arthur’s Pass was the Avalanch Peak Route. The great thing about this hike is that it can be completed in a loop, which means that they have great views of the entire environment.

I met the Avalanche Peak Trail when I arrived at Arthur’s Pass for the first time. It was a great way to take a look over the area, and I could even see the Devil’s punchbowl waterfall from the adjacent mountain range. Unfortunately I could not experience the promised grandiose view of this 1833 -meter -high summit, as there was a lot of stubborn deep cloud cover on that day.

Complete Guide: 9 Epic things in Arthur’s Pass

Where is the Avalanch Peak Track?

There are two tracks that lead to the summit of the Peak Avalanche. Both start on the SH73 near Arthur’s Pass Village. It is possible to hike both as a loop or climb on the same path.

I would recommend starting with the Avalanche Peak Track and descending on the Scott's route. You will find the signpost directly opposite the street from the new visitor center (in front of Glasgow Creek). I marked the location on the map below.

Trailhead GPS position: 42 ° 56’27.9 ″ S 171 ° 33’42.5 ″ E

Connection: 6 Epic things that can be done in the Catlins on a New Zealand RoadTrip

Location of the parking lot

directly opposite the Doc Visitor Center there is a free parking space. We left our car here for most of the day, while we explored all things that were done in Arthur’s Pass.

About Avalanche Peak New Zealand

Length/duration of the hike, 4-6 hours back and forth
Höhe, 1833 m Amsl at the summit
Difficulty (steep) in summer, difficult in winter

The peak hike Avalanche is one of the most demanding but most rewarding hikes near Arthur’s Pass Village. It is also the only mountain summit in the area with a marked route to the summit.

Unfortunately, Avalanche Peak New Zealand is known to be a dangerous route. In fact, several people have lost their lives on the way to the summit of the Peak Avalanche. Remember to always be prepared, to monitor the weather conditions and to speak to the employees of the visitor center to maintain current route information and to register their intention.

avalanche warning. The Doc recommends avalanche experience and equipment before this hike during the avalanche season. Remember to consult the Doc before departure.

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Avalanche Peak Loop GPX-DATEI

Here is the GPX route that shows the track and path that I have taken with my GPS watch. You can download the file by clicking on the link below. Remember that these routes can change, especially in the avalanche season. Do not rely on this GPX card as a primary source of navigation.

gpx file: download

Mein Strava: Visit

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Avalanche Peak Track and Route

For the purpose of this blog post, I will sketch the way I took; Ascent on the Avalanche Peak Track and descent to Scott's track. After the tree markings, the path quickly shoots into the tree line and begins to climb steeply almost immediately. Within the first 5-10 minutes you will get a good idea of ​​what to expect on this hike.

Although it is steep, the section on the tree line is not technically difficult. There are some sections in which we were able to break out briefly and had a great view of the Arthur’s Pass Village.
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Avalanche-Creek-Wasserfall

After a few minutes climbing, you pass the Avalanche Creek Waterfall. You can take some great pictures of it from the trail.
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break the tree line

After about 1-1.5 hours of walking, they finally break out of the tree line and into an exposed alpine area. This is officially the end of the Peak Track Avalanche and the beginning of the Peak Route Avalanche. The difference is that a route is only a marked “route” that shows the best way to the summit, while a track is a well -marked and well -kept “path” on which you can stay on.

This means that this section is much more difficult and requires a little concentration to ensure that you stay in the right direction. The DOC advises that it is best to reverse the tree line in poor visibility or bad conditions, since this section of the Alps is exposed and can quickly become dangerous.

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Avalanche Peak Route to the summit

I was traveling here in early autumn, so the snow had not yet used and the view was good. We followed the yellow rod markings all the way up for another hour until we reached a rocky lead. From here there is a clear route to the summit that leads to the left.

In this section you can see yellow and orange polarcanization that merged into one another. Remember that Arthur’s Peak's yellow markings display route while the orange markings are available for Scott's route.
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Siege you return to the Arthur’s Pass

After we enjoyed the view (in my case the fog), we started the descent back to Arthurs Pass Village. We followed the same route back to the marking melting point and began with the descent, this time along the orange markings for the Scotts Route.

The view of the descent was much impressive for us, with uninterrupted landscapes over the nearby mountains and the waterfall Devil’s Punchbowl on the other side of the valley.

We spent much longer with the descent while we took photos and watched the Kea birds when they flew over us.
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Scotts Track

After the descent from the Scott's route, there is a clear, almost door -like entrance back into the tree line. This is the beginning of the Scotts Track, which leads down to the State Highway 73, just a few hundred meters further up when we started the Peak Track Avalanche.
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Accommodation options in Arthur’s Pass

Motel: Arthur’s Pass Alpine Motelein of the best rated and inexpensive motels in the area is the famous alpine motel. These rooms offer kitchen facilities and a wonderful view of the valley and the surrounding mountains. It is a great place to sit and relax after you have ticked off all the epic activities in Arthur’s Pass!

Check the price and availability for your travel data
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Herberge: Arthur’s Pass Yhadie Yha on Arthur’s Pass is the only youth hostel or backpacking tourist location in the area. If you want to get out of the car and spend a night inside, this is a great bet on a budget.

Check the price and availability for your travel data
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Whole apartment: The nook, I haven't stayed here if you are in a larger group or prefer an entire apartment, then you can't go wrong with The Nook. This place offers its own bathroom, a bedroom, a living room and mountain view.

Check the price and availability for your travel data
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More photos from the Avalanche Peak New Zealand

I firmly believe that if you always wait for the "perfect conditions", I inevitably miss opportunities. An example of this is that if I had decided to move the Avalanch Peak hike because of the strong fog, I would probably have completely missed the hike!

Sometimes you just have to get out. Perhaps the conditions in 3 out of 10 cases may not be ideal, but if you are waiting for the hiking conditions of the gold lumps, there is a great chance that you will miss the other 7 bangs!

Regardless of this, here are some more photos of my not so ideal hiking conditions at the Peak New Zealand Avalanche. If you use these instructions and take better pictures than I do, let me know. Alt = “avalanche tip”>
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Alt = “Arthurs Pass from the Avalanche Peak Track”>
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Further activities near Arthur’s Pass

I hope you have found this guide for hiking on the Avalanche Peak New Zealand in Arthur’s Pass! If you have any questions or current route information, please let other trampers tell you by leaving a comment below.

enjoy!

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