Hiking the French ridge Hut in July and matukituky

Hey, my advice would be please don't be like some other tourists I have come across while tramping in winter, iv seen people carrying plastic bags rather than a proper pack, women wearing slip-on street shoes and one guy that only had an apple and a sachet of porridge for a 4 day tramp in the Tararuas. NZ's weather is on meth - super unpredictable. Hope you enjoy your stay in NZ my friend!

NO. IT'S TOO LATE, THERES TOO MUCH SNOW FROM NOW. THERES AVALANCHE RISK... ITS ONLY FOR EXPERIENCED PEOPLE WHO CAN READ AVALANCHE RISK NOW...

Dunno about over the hill in Wanaka but the snowline here is abt 700m. French Ridge is 1400m. 700 vertical meters above the snowline is a serious proposition, even if the avalanche danger drops. Hope you have ice axe, crampons, plenty of experience using them and a good knowledge of the risk level.

For a winter excursion with a stay in a hut above the bush line with snow all around and spectacular views, a trip up to Luxmore Hut on the Kepler Track for a night or two, returning the same way might be a better bet. Safer terrain, still spectacular. https://www.southernalpsphotography.com/Tramping/Fiordland/Mount-Luxmore-2013/i-X3sQVWX

Absolutely the advice above is sound; you WILL need to have good gear and some real experience. Do NOT take winter trip like this lightly. Having said that ... two of us did a winter traverse of Aspiring many years ago, from the West to East Matuki. It was a bit of an epic and probably we were lucky to get away with it... but from memory the trip from bushline to French Ridge Hut was straightfoward and not exposed to any unusual danger other than the normal winter risks of ice and maybe unstable fresh snow. If you choose to go up early in the day when it's still nice and frozen it should be ok. We never thought to rope up, but we almost certainly used our old fashioned long ice axes and crampons on the sections that were a bit steeper or icy. There were lots of other sections of that trip that were a LOT more vivid in the memory than the walk up to French Ridge. Overall if you have the gear to do it, and a reasonable prior experience on steepish snow, then you should enjoy the experience safely. The other thing I remember was the hut as being bitterly cold as any other spot I ever visited in the Southern Alps.

Thanks all of you guys. That’s why I always ask your opinions. I did different hike in Winter time in mount Etna around 2350 mt close to the pick of the Vulcan but I have to say has been now more than 7 years without hiking in winter conditions.(and i was with a guide) I do have fear and respect of the kiwi winter that’s why I ask all your opinions. I don’t have axe and crampons to be honest. I might wait till October then because I don’t think I would be getting the risk by my self. Thanks for the Kepler track tip.

I've been around that area this time of year and the snow was waist deep in most places. Made the going very slow. Obviously its a better proposition if you are experienced.