Source: Department of Conservation
The Routeburn Track is one of the highlights of New Zealand tramping. It offers dramatic mountain views, alpine lakes and sparkling waterfalls.
Most people hike the track during the Great Walks season, which runs from the start of November to the end of April.
Outside the Great Walks season, conditions on the track change dramatically. Winter blankets the track with snow and ice. There are avalanches and the streams and rivers flood often.
The track remains open, but anyone attempting the track through this period needs winter alpine skills, equipment and experience.
If you’ve only seen photos of the Routeburn Track during the Great Walks season, it’s hard to imagine how the landscape changes in winter. The local DOC team have put together these photos to help bring it to life.
(Right) Lake Harris on 27 April 2024. Photo: Niall Bullock
Conditions on the Routeburn Track change often during the off-season, so always contact the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre or the Queenstown Visitor Centre before departure to discuss the current situation.
The track is often buried in deep, unstable snow over winter
Snow tends to start accumulating in the alpine section of the Routeburn Track from mid to late May. By winter, Harris Saddle is usually covered in snow.
Snow can make sections of the track treacherous. It can also make it hard to navigate and even cover the marker poles.
Low visibility makes navigation even more challenging.
Hiking in snow is much slower and more difficult than hiking in normal conditions. You will need to carry alpine equipment and walking times will be longer than signposted.
The snow causes avalanches that can cross the track.
The Routeburn Track has a lot of Challenging and Complex avalanche terrain. There are over 32 avalanche paths, some of which can bring debris to the valley floor and across the Routeburn Track.
PDF maps of avalanche paths: Lake Howden to Lake Mackenzie | Lake Mackenzie to Falls Hut
DOC does not manage avalanche risk on the Routeburn Track outside the Great Walks season. If you are going then, make sure you:
• have the skills for the Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES) class you are going into
• have checked the NZ Avalanche Advisory
• have talked to the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre or the Queenstown Visitor Centre about the current conditions
• take and know how to use an avalanche transceiver, avalanche probe and a snow shovel.
September and October is avalanche season. Avalanches start high above the track, so even if there is little or no snow on the track, people walking it could still be hit by an avalanche.
It is common to get ice covering the track
Water on the track freezes and becomes very slippery ice. The Hollyford Face and Harris Saddle can be extremely dangerous when covered in ice and snow.
Sometimes the alpine lakes freeze over. They are beautiful but are dangerous to walk on. Thin ice can be covered by snow, which could break when walked on.
It is very cold and there can be storm damage on the track
Very cold temperatures are common in winter. Daylight hours are short and the high mountains let little sunlight into the valleys. Anyone attempting the track needs to carry lots of warm, waterproof clothing, as hypothermia is a real risk.
Storms are common in winter. There can be fallen trees over the track, making it impassable.
Side streams can flood and two bridges are removed
DOC flies out two avalanche-prone bridges in early June. They are re-instated when the avalanche risk dissipates in late October to early November.
Unbridged side streams can flood, becoming swift, icy and dangerous to cross.
Hut facilities and transport services are reduced
Facilities are reduced in the Routeburn Track huts in winter. For example, there is no gas provided and running water is turned off inside the huts. If the outside tanks freeze, hikers need to get water by melting snow or collecting it from streams. It is very cold in the huts.
Track transport shuttles don’t operate to the Glenorchy area out of season.
There are safer winter tramping alternatives than the full Routeburn Track
If you want to experience this track in winter, the local Visitor Centre team recommends an overnight return tramp to Routeburn Flats Hut or Routeburn Falls Hut.
This is a safer trip than the full Routeburn Track, though you still need to be well prepared and equipped for winter conditions, and ready for reduced facilities at the huts.
Talk to the Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre or the Queenstown Visitor Centre about the current track conditions and what trips would suit you and your group.
Where to learn more
• Routeburn Track website page
• Download a winter tramping information sheet
| Te Rua-o-te-moko/Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre | |
| Phone | +64 3 249 7924 |
| fiordlandvc@doc.govt.nz | |
| Address | Lakefront Drive Te Anau 9600 |
| Whakatipu-wai-Māori/Queenstown Visitor Centre | |
| Phone | +64 3 442 7935 |
| queenstownvc@doc.govt.nz | |
| Address | 50 Stanley Street Queenstown 9300 |
