Winter conditions in the South

The bluffs on the Kepler are at about 600-700 metres. That's still at least 200m down in the trees from the bush line. If theres deep snow there then there then it must be metres deep up near Luxmore hut, hence why DOC Te Anau are saying snow shoes required. Key Summit is just over 900m. I would expect similar conditions. You'll need to talk to DOC Te Anau about it, that's assuming you can even reach it as the Milford Road might be shut. I would suggest maybe visiting the Mavora Lakes, east of Te Anau, assuming that road isn't shut. Should be some nice views up North Mavora with everything covered in snow. The 4WD track that forms part of the Mavora Walkway/Te Araroa climbs to about 40 metres above the lake on the way to Careys Hut which doesn't sound like much but the views are quite extensive.

the road from te anau to hollyford and milford sound has been closed regularly recently or has ice warnings http://www.nzta.govt.nz/traffic/regions/14

Key Summit / Overnight to Howden Hut MIGHT be possible. You'd be safe enough going from The Divide in that direction and seeing how far you get if the weather / forecast was good. If you encounter deep snow in the bush you can always go back. Planning on an overnight, you'd want to know the weather was going to remain stable and have good winter gear. Talk to DOC in Te Anau. Be prepared to turn back. The Milford Road has been closed between Lower Holyford and the Chasm, that is the alpine area beyond The Divide. The road beyond Te Anau will almost certainly be "Chains must be carried". If you don't have chains for your vehicle/know how to put them on properly you're not allowed through there. They can put up a barrier and check everyone before they're allowed to proceed. You'd need to carry chains on the Mavora Road at the moment as well. From Te Anau a day walk to Brod Bay would be nice. Day walk or overnight Rainbow Reach to Moturau Hut also. Both in the forest / lakeshore. Enjoy the night at Routeburn Falls Hut!

the winter brochures shows the avalanche paths on the kepler and routeburn http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/southland/kepler-track-winter-tramping.pdf http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/southland/routeburn-track-winter-tramping.pdf

All that fresh snow made for a great trip round the Silverpeaks loop this weekend. 400mm on the highest ridges ... hard work postholing but made for an amazing landscape. Jubilee Hut was surprisingly warm ... good sunny spot and really heats up in the day, and stayed (just) above 0 inside right through to dawn. Water bottle frozen solid within 30mins of leaving next day though. In and out via Careys Creek which stretched the short loop track into a reasonable overnighter (and avoided driving up mountain track road on 6" of snow).

Hi All, thought I should update in case it's of any use to others. For all our hikes, we had great weather - cloudless blue skies, but obviously very cold. So we did the hike up to the Routeburn Falls hut. The path was fine - a bit icy in places, but nothing serious. The hike was spectacularly beautiful. The hut was lovely but very cold - unlike madpom's experience, it was -5 inside the hut when we woke up, and -10 outside, so it must have been even colder before dawn. The stove was decorative, really - there was no fuel that would generate any heat (wet logs, no coal), so after a couple of hours, we gave up on the stove and relied on body warmth. We had good bags, and pulled our matresses together, so slept really well, to our surprise. The following morning, we hiked about half an hour above the hut (a doc suggestion), just into the valley above, for a really beautiful view, then descended to the valley floor again. We all loved the experience - the kids especially loved the adventure, and are still talking about the fact that there was ice on the inside of the windows in the hut! We also did the hike to Key Summit and down to the Howden hut. It was one of the most beautiful views any of us have ever had - the visibility was fantastic. Again, there were some icy patches, but no significant snow until we reached the peak; there was snow before the peak, from the junction, but it was so well-tramped that it was easy going. The 'nature loop' on top, on the other hand, would have involved wading through thigh-high snow, so we decided to forego the education. We were lucky as there had been no snow for about five days in Milford/Te Anau, so there were no issues with road closures. (We had chains and had practice using them on the approach road to Ohau!). We decided not to do the Kepler up to Luxmore (we had never considered going past that anyway); the doc in Te Anau told us the snow was deep and it would be tough going if we were considering it. We're now on our way back towards Christchurch, and from there home to Ireland. We have absolutely loved our time on the South Island and feel really lucky to have had the opportunity to see it in such great weather. Thanks again for all the tips here. Aedin.

Great to hear back after your trip, and that you got successfully to a couple of those places! Good that someone else had tramped a track through the snow to Key Summit, that's a spectacular spot to get to in the middle of winter.

Sounds like a wonderful few weeks @Aedin