My Aussie mate Graeme and I have 6 days on our hands in mid Nov and are now looking at the Toaroha/Zit Saddle/Kokatahi/Lathrop Saddle/Styx valley tramp.
Has anybody been there recently and can give a heads up on conditions?
Are we likely to strike snow on the saddles at that time of year?
Any suggestions/advice gratefully received.
At that time of year I'd say you will definitely strike snow lying on Lathrop Saddle & the shaded faces on the Kokatahi side of Lathrop Saddle. Maybe no snow or just patches on Zit Saddle. Probably some snow on the Kokatahi side of Zit Saddle in the creek/gut you descend to Top Kokatahi Hut. Depending on the wx you can still get snowfalls in all of that country in November. An ice axe would be handy.
What route do you propose taking between the Toaroha valley and Zit Saddle. Adventure Ridge?
This post has been edited by the author on 25 September 2014 at 20:04.
Hi Glenn,
Thanks for that.Yes,we intend to leave Cedar Flats and head up Adventure Ridge to Zit Saddle.
Also,I read somewhere that despite the topo map showing the track on the true right of the Kokatahi after leaving Top Kokatahi hut till the swingbridge its best to stick to the true left all the way down valley.Is that right?
I suppose there'll be a fair bit of snow melt in the streams as well?
Hello geofnett,
If you can ford the Kokatahi just below the hut you are best to go down the TR for a while. There are about 3 more crossings to make which leaves you on the TL before you get to the swingbridge. Do not recross to the TR at the swingbridge but stay on the TL. Mainly stay on the TL but ford chasing better going where you can. Lookout for some bypass tracks on the TL. There is a cableway not far above Crawford Junction that can be used to get back to the TR if the river has got too big to ford at this stage.
This section between the new Top Kokatahi Hut and Crawford Junction Hut is a little rough. If the river is up it will slow you down a fair bit or stop you as you wont be able to use fords or stay in bits of the river bed that in normal flows are ok to use. If you try and use the TL all the way from the hut to the cableway you are in for an epic.
Zit - Lathrop is a lovely trip if you strike good conditions!
This post has been edited by the author on 28 September 2014 at 06:59.
Glenn,thanks very much for the great advice.You're a fountain of knowledge.
Fingers crossed for decent weather,though we have a couple of plan B's up our sleeve.
