Page Type Page Type: Mountain/Rock
Location Lat/Lon: 42.94307°S / 171.53600°E
Additional Information Elevation: 6013 ft / 1833 m
Sign the Climber's Log

Overview


In the beautiful region of the Arthur’s Pass National Park there is a mountain with a very dramatic name: Avalanche Peak. Despite its rather dangerous name, this mountain offers its visitors a terrific one-day hike in the wonderful environment of the Southern Alps.
There are basically two routes to choose from Arthur’s Pass. Both routes are following some relatively easy tracks which are marked with big yellow stakes all the way to the summit.


Getting There


Although reachable by bus or car the most recommended and scenic means of transport to get to Arthur’s Pass is by the Tranzalpine train. This train, similar to the Glacier Express in Switzerland, offers comfortable panoramic wagons and takes you through spectacular gorges and river valleys, across the Southern Alps of New Zealand.
The train starts in Christchurch at the Pacific Ocean and goes north through the Alps all the way to Greymouth, situated by the Tasman Sea on the other side of the country.


Routes


Both of the normal routes are located on the east flank and have the small settlement at Arthur’s Pass at 730 m as the starting point. Before you head for the track, do pop in for a short visit at the DOC Visitors Centre (Department of Conservation) where you can get an update of the weather forecast, get a map and even leave a note behind about your intended hike in case you choose to go solo.

A / The Avalanche Peak Track is the more steeper one. You pick up the track just behind the DOC centre, crossing a small bridge over the Avalanche Creek. The track takes you through the vegetation on a steep hillside passing some nice waterfalls. The bushline is left at 1,200 m. Up here you follow the ridge straight to the peak.
On top of the summit you have a great view of the neighbouring Mount Rolleston (2, 275 m) with the Crow Glacier which raises majestically, the Mount Bealey on the opposite side and the Bealey valley.
Expect around 1,5 hours time to the bush line and 1,5-2 hours from the bush line to the summit.

B / The Scott’s Track is less steep and is sign posted on the main road opposite the Devils Punchbowl waterfall. The track goes in zigzags through the bush line and here, as well as on the Avalanche Peak track, the route is marked with big sticks towards the summit, which are
clearly seen when leaving the bushes.
An ideal roundtrip is of course to climb via the Avalanche Peak track and return via the Scott’s Track. The crossroad is around 15 min below the summit at around 1,680 m.)



Camping


The small settlement at Arthur’s Pass is situated around four kilometres east of the pass.
The Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson Youth Hostel is a perfect place to stay. There also exists a youth hostel and of course the Visitors centre as mentioned above.

Obviously the Avalanche Peak is nice one-day hike. The Tranzalpine morning departure from Christchurch at 08.15 am arrives at Arthur’s Pass at 10.42 am (timetable April 2004.)


Useful tips


At the DOC Visitors Centre (Department of Conservation) they sell small handy maps over the neighbouring mountains where lots of facts and suggestions are gathered.

Maps: Park map Arthur's Pass (1:100,000); Topomap K33 - Otira (1:50,000).

Check out more about New Zealand´s National parks.

Additions and CorrectionsPost an Addition or Correction

Viewing: 1-6 of 6
mpbro

mpbro - May 9, 2006 3:07 am - Voted 7/10

lat/lon

Don't have an exact lat/lon, but this is roughly centered on the summit: Google map. Guess lat=-42.94 lon=171.54 would work.

mpbro

mpbro - May 9, 2006 3:34 am - Voted 7/10

camping

As a general statement, NZ campervans are free to camp anywhere except where posted. There are numerous spots around town. Visitor Center would work. There's a great spot at the trailhead for the Mount Beelah track, just a bit south of the visitor center and a short distance up the road toward the police station.

rgg

rgg - Apr 8, 2011 1:03 pm - Hasn't voted

Additional routes and exact coordinates

Hi Andre, In addition to the Avalanche Peak Track and Scott's Track, I know of two more routes:

  • Along the south ridge from Mt Bealey and Lyell Peak. This route is in fact mentioned on the Lyell Peak and Mount Bealey pages.
  • The descent to Crow Hut. Looking at my map as well as using Google, I've determined the coordinates as -42.94307, 171.53598. And as a final remark, you might consider making this page a child of the Southern Alps page. Although that page needs some work, attaching Avalanche Peak would at least make it easier to find. Of course, it would be much better if someone would write a good area page about Arthur's Pass National Park ...

  • chugach mtn boy

    chugach mtn boy - May 12, 2012 12:13 pm - Hasn't voted

    Oops

    Andre, someone has mistakenly made this page PARENT of the Southern Alps instead of a child. As a result, the Southern Alps are a child of Avalanche and show up as a sub-range of Avalanche Peak! You can easily fix that. So could the Southern Alps page owner, but he's long gone from SP.

    andre hangaard

    andre hangaard - May 13, 2012 6:26 pm - Hasn't voted

    Done!

    Now it should be fixed! Many thanks for making me aware :-D

    gimpilator

    gimpilator - Nov 27, 2015 2:04 pm - Hasn't voted

    Coordinates

    Please include the following coordinates so that this page appears on the map. Thanks! (-42.943071, 171.536003)

    Viewing: 1-6 of 6


    Children

    Children

    Children refers to the set of objects that logically fall under a given object. For example, the Aconcagua mountain page is a child of the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits.' The Aconcagua mountain itself has many routes, photos, and trip reports as children.

    Parents 

    Parents

    Parents refers to a larger category under which an object falls. For example, theAconcagua mountain page has the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits' asparents and is a parent itself to many routes, photos, and Trip Reports.

    Southern AlpsMountains & Rocks