Milford track in the winter

Hey guys I'm looking at walking the Milford track during winter to shoot photos of the area but my question is, would it be a dangerous walk with out a lot of snow hiking experience and has anyone done the track during winter ?

Yes. Its extremely dangerous. I'm not aware of anyone attempting it mid winter. Doc will tell you don't. Read this thread. tramper.nz/?view=topic&id=8631

google is your friend: http://www.doc.govt.nz/milfordtrack_winter Quote: "Walking the Milford Track outside the Great Walks season should only be attempted by fit, experienced and well equipped people. Navigation, river crossing, and alpine skills are essential for your survival." Basically only alpine trampers/climbers, experienced over multiple seasons in the NZ Alps, should even think about it. Please do not dismiss our advice. It is based on first-hand understanding of Fiordland terrain and weather. There are many, many other options you can consider that will be just as rewarding and interesting.

One word: Don't.

Hi There, I have done the Milford, Routeburn and Kepler in winter. I would absolutely NOT recommend doing these tracks by yourself and without experience in alpine tramping. We turned back this year on the Kepler due to the heavy snow & low visibility on the ridge and then those 2 guys died 2 weeks later. No photo is worth the risk. All of my trips have been in the first 2 weeks of June and we only went due to the weather being settled at least a week prior and was due to stay settled during the trip. (no new snowfall) Any later than this and you would need to be seriously skilled in alpine crossing as the snowfall becomes quite heavy and there are large sections of icy track on all the routes . (it was waist deep at points already at this time of year) Even walking in knee deep snow is very tiring especially if you are post holing all the way. All of my trips involved a large group of experienced trampers and we carried a locator beacon and a mountain radio. I will tell you this in the 9 years I have been actively tramping, the night in the Mintaro hut on the Milford track has got to be my most stand out miserable night ever. FREEZING cold (- 15 degrees easy) and you can't get the fire going and no way to warm up those great walk huts. Also I doubt the boat will be running at that time of the year, we chartered the boat especially for our trip and he only agreed to go as there were 12 of us to make it worth his while. My recommendation for Views would be to day walk up to Key Summit from the Divide as this has great views down the Hollyford Valley to Big Bay and the surrounding mountains. Or you could overnight at Luxmore hut on the Kepler which has lovely views over lake Te Anau, and has Doc wardens there permanently in winter so they do have some firewood. Be honest with yourself in regards to your abilities and hopefully you be able to make the right decision.

Thanks guys for the advice. I am a fairly experienced summer hiker would be doing this with a guy who is really experienced with winter conditions and hiking down there. I would have a eperb on me at all times with that have a small one that would be on my belt at all times. Ballolard did you find that you had to do many river crossings?

Take a look at the track on topomap.co.nz. Count the side creeks. This area experiences very high rainfall and anyone one of these side creeks might easily become too dangerous to cross. It does make a difference if someone with a lot more experience is with you, but this does not eliminate the objective dangers of avalanche and flooded creeks. The deep snow and ice will also demand some skill with ice axes, ropes, belays and how to travel quickly during the short winter days. And also I'd ask how well do you really know this persons background? If all you have experienced up until now is summer tramping, you are putting a lot of trust into this person's skills and judgement. Have another read of ballolard's excellent comment. He's not really encouraging you.

"I would have a eperb on me at all times with that have a small one that would be on my belt at all times." This is great to have but should definitely not be a factor in deciding whether it's sensible to go.

I agree with PW, Ballolard, Izogi & Geoff While the idea of doing the Milford in winter sounds exotic and adventurous it’s fraught with scenarios and dangers that you just don’t normally encounter in summer. All well and good if BOTH of you are experienced in winter travel and can assess the dangers and make collective decisions, but its putting a lot of responsibility on your more experienced companion to guide you. That’s what he will be doing, guiding you! When you encounter potential avalanche danger or icy conditions. What do you do? If you make the decision to cross it then who goes first? Are you going to be roped up or not? Both options have risks. Are you going to carry avalanche transceivers, shovels, probes? Do you know how to use them? If your guide is buried do you know how to even begin a search for him? (The window for successful avalanche recovery is very small) What if either of you are injured and can't be moved? What if your swept over a bluff? Beacons are a godsend, but they are not a get out of jail card. Setting off a beacon will not ensure live rescue but it may tell them where to locate your bodies. You need to make a VERY informed decision about this trip and the capabilities of your guide. The questions that you are asking us are questions he should have already answered for you, don’t you think?:)

When we did the Milford it was still early in the winter and we checked with DOC about the bridges. They had not taken them all out yet, also we had just done the Routeburn and had 3 days of sunshine prior to starting the Milford and we had no rain on the track so the river levels were very low, so i can't help with the river crossings much. You could clearly see portions of the TRACK that could be underwater up to a metre deep when it is raining and some of the creeks we crossed with bridges were probably still running at waist deep even though there was low rainfall. Also you did have to cross a few side chutes. (Pompolona creek is a bad one) But it is fairly flat in the valleys and with good weather the rivers would pose no more danger than normal so it becomes a judgement call at the time and as always you would need to be prepared to wait it out or turn back if necessary. We hit snow at Mintaro hut and had it going over the pass (knee deep) and down the emergency track on the other side (the normal track had already been closed due to avalanche risk) It was icy on the north side of the pass and tricky coming down the stairs by roaring burn without slipping. Hope this helps with the decision making.