New Zealand - Mount Alfred - Glenorchy
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 2.71 mi
- Elevation gain
- 3,461 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 305 ft
- Max elevation
- 4,515 ft
- TrailRank
- 52
- Min elevation
- 1,133 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Time
- 2 hours 19 minutes
- Coordinates
- 966
- Uploaded
- December 7, 2015
- Recorded
- November 2015
near Paradise, Otago (New Zealand)
Viewed 1691 times, downloaded 74 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
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Link to the blog post - Link to the blog page
Track Description / Characteristics of the Route:
Distance / Distance: 4.37 km (one-way)
Elevation Gain / Ascent: 1200m
Max / Min Altitude: 1376m / 345m
Difficulty / Difficulty: Medium / Medium
Alpine Grade: SD (Without difficulty)
Activity: Advanced Hiking / Advanced Hiking
Recommended Cartography / Recommended Cartography:
The town of Glenorchy, about 40km from Queenstone, houses one of the most accessible and impressive valleys of the South Island. On the northern shore of Lake Wakapitu, Glenorchy is right on the border between the West Coast and Otago provinces. Two glacial valleys descend from Mount Edward, leaving in the middle a small hill, Mount Alfred or Ari (in Maori), which is the objective of this activity.
The road from Queenstone to Glenorchy by the shore of Lake Wakapitu is the road to paradise ...
Gelnorchy is well known for the start of the Roteburn track, which, along with the Milford Sound track, is one of the most beautiful multi-day treks to do in the south island. On a three-week vacation to see New Zealand, the days are scarce to embark on these adventures, so the climb to Mount Alfred is a good alternative to enjoy the wonders around Glenorchy.
Permission is required to ascend this hill, especially at the time of cattle breeding, so better check the dates and details on the DOC page for Mount Alfred.
Although the east slope of the mountain is bare of trees, the normal ascending is done by the western slope, to avoid bothering the cattle. The track starts in a small parking lot on the road from Glenorchy to Routeburn. There is room for 4 or 5 cars, so it is recommended to arrive early, especially in high season.
The track climbs zigzagging through the dense Neo Zeland beech forest. The terrain can be quite muddy after rainy days.
The road, in the forest, is well marked with orange arrows in the bark of the trees.
Once we leave the forest, in the final meters, the road is not marked, and it becomes even steeper. On foggy days, a GPS can be quite useful to keep us on the road, on clear days, the path can be intuited by in the middle of the grass.
As we gain altitude, the views of the west valley are impressive.
The road is quite steep, the rocks and grass quite slippery when wet. There are two or three dangerous points in which you must take special care not to fall.
Once we get to the top ridge, we have to walk north and ascend a gap of about 100m to reach the true top of Mount Alfred.
At the top, we enjoyed the effort of the 1000m of altitude that we have climbed.
All the surrounding landscape is pure wonder.
Mount Earslaw (I'm not sure it's him) with an impressive glacier.
The return to the parking is done by the same way of rise. Again, the terrain is quite steep and slippery when wet, so avoid slipping to be back with our ankles intact.
Summary:
- Demanding activity but with an impressive reward in the form of views. In many areas of New Zealand, the valleys are very low, so any climb to a modest mountain of 1300 can be converted into major slopes.
- The terrain is steep and slippery, be careful with wet soil or after rainy days, especially in the descent.
- Consult the dates of the ascent, during the breeding season the track may be closed. Permission is required to ascend, consult the DOC link for Mount Alfred.
- The 360 degree views you have from the top are spectacular, now I understand why this area is called Glenorchy - El Paraíso.
Track Description / Characteristics of the Route:
Distance / Distance: 4.37 km (one-way)
Elevation Gain / Ascent: 1200m
Max / Min Altitude: 1376m / 345m
Difficulty / Difficulty: Medium / Medium
Alpine Grade: SD (Without difficulty)
Activity: Advanced Hiking / Advanced Hiking
Recommended Cartography / Recommended Cartography:
The town of Glenorchy, about 40km from Queenstone, houses one of the most accessible and impressive valleys of the South Island. On the northern shore of Lake Wakapitu, Glenorchy is right on the border between the West Coast and Otago provinces. Two glacial valleys descend from Mount Edward, leaving in the middle a small hill, Mount Alfred or Ari (in Maori), which is the objective of this activity.
The road from Queenstone to Glenorchy by the shore of Lake Wakapitu is the road to paradise ...
Gelnorchy is well known for the start of the Roteburn track, which, along with the Milford Sound track, is one of the most beautiful multi-day treks to do in the south island. On a three-week vacation to see New Zealand, the days are scarce to embark on these adventures, so the climb to Mount Alfred is a good alternative to enjoy the wonders around Glenorchy.
Permission is required to ascend this hill, especially at the time of cattle breeding, so better check the dates and details on the DOC page for Mount Alfred.
Although the east slope of the mountain is bare of trees, the normal ascending is done by the western slope, to avoid bothering the cattle. The track starts in a small parking lot on the road from Glenorchy to Routeburn. There is room for 4 or 5 cars, so it is recommended to arrive early, especially in high season.
The track climbs zigzagging through the dense Neo Zeland beech forest. The terrain can be quite muddy after rainy days.
The road, in the forest, is well marked with orange arrows in the bark of the trees.
Once we leave the forest, in the final meters, the road is not marked, and it becomes even steeper. On foggy days, a GPS can be quite useful to keep us on the road, on clear days, the path can be intuited by in the middle of the grass.
As we gain altitude, the views of the west valley are impressive.
The road is quite steep, the rocks and grass quite slippery when wet. There are two or three dangerous points in which you must take special care not to fall.
Once we get to the top ridge, we have to walk north and ascend a gap of about 100m to reach the true top of Mount Alfred.
At the top, we enjoyed the effort of the 1000m of altitude that we have climbed.
All the surrounding landscape is pure wonder.
Mount Earslaw (I'm not sure it's him) with an impressive glacier.
The return to the parking is done by the same way of rise. Again, the terrain is quite steep and slippery when wet, so avoid slipping to be back with our ankles intact.
Summary:
- Demanding activity but with an impressive reward in the form of views. In many areas of New Zealand, the valleys are very low, so any climb to a modest mountain of 1300 can be converted into major slopes.
- The terrain is steep and slippery, be careful with wet soil or after rainy days, especially in the descent.
- Consult the dates of the ascent, during the breeding season the track may be closed. Permission is required to ascend, consult the DOC link for Mount Alfred.
- The 360 degree views you have from the top are spectacular, now I understand why this area is called Glenorchy - El Paraíso.
Waypoints
Tree
0 ft
Summit
Car park
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