Godley Pass

My information is now 30 yrs out of date, but back then a group of us did a route over Armadillo Pass, which is about 3km north of Godley Pass. We did it as part of a trip from up the Perth River, up Scone Creek, over the Main Divide, down the Godley Glacier, over Armadillo and down the Murchison. The Perth River was not hard, and the Main Divide Pass at the head of Scone Creek is high but very easy. Travel down the Upper Godley glacier was really easy, it's open and because the gradient is gentle we encountered few crevasses. But we may have been one of the last parties to get directly down the Godley terminal. It was even then a tricky day of navigation around slumping moraines and a rapidly enlarging terminal lake. It was none too safe with lots of falling rock in the hot afternoon sun. I would imagine parties have had to climb high to avoid it all for many years now. As I recall the climb up Rutherford Stream was be fairly easy, I don't remember any horrid bluffs and the stream has no gorges. Armadillo Pass itself was a classic, straddle over a knife-edge ridge, but the slopes were not too scary and the run-outs were reasonable. We did it with normal tramping gear, ice-axes and crampons. I recall front-pointing down maybe a 100m or so, but nothing too hard. I do recall that once over Armadillo we mucked about for an hour or so trying to find a route off the upper slopes (which were not too steep) finding a gut that let us get down a persistent line of bluffs. I think it was only about 50m or so down this rocky little gut and although we lowered packs and the others were top-roped down it, I down climbed it without too much terror. Getting down the Murchison glacier was not too hard but it will not be any easier now. Nor have I any idea how to cross the Tasman moraine nowadays, as it will have receded enormously since we crossed it. Someone else may have up to date information. If you can pull it off though you will enjoy it a lot... it was one of the top handful of very best trips I was ever fortunate enough to do.

Thank you Phillip, I think the Godley looks easier on the map than Armadillo, if one can judge that by the map at all. I think we'll just wait until we get there. We won't go over to the West Coast though, even if it sounds quite interesting! Andy

You are right, Godley Pass does look easier on both the map and on google earth, but Armadillo Saddle is the more frequented route, although I've no idea why. As you say, wait until you get there (or ask the local DOC people at the Hermitage) to make a choice. Both routes probably work, although bear in mind that just because a saddle, pass or col is named on the maps, it is NOT a good guide as to how usable the route actually is. Nor is there much consistency in how they are named... saddles, passes and cols would logically be named in order of increasing difficulty, but there are far too many exceptions for this to be a useful rule.