When I think about moderate to moderate/hard day trips that I’d like to lead for the Christchurch Tramping Club, I often find myself going through the same peaks repeatedly. Here is a list of those peaks, which may prove useful to other trip leaders as well, so I’m including everything I can think of. This list is a work in progress and certainly doesn’t encompass all possible routes, peaks, and combinations, but it should feature the most classic moderate CTC day trips.
Where you see the “exposure” note, you may want to bring a helmet.
Arthur’s Pass area
- Avalanche Peak (1100m up, nearly no exposure, Scott’s track is easier and provides a good descending route)
- Avalanche to Bealey traverse (1500m up, exposure, slightly easier from Bealey to Avalanche but a fantastic screerun down from Bealey to Rough Creek would be missed)
- Rome Ridge
- Avalanche Peak to Crow Hut (1800 m ascent, 18 km, very nice day out)
- Blind Spur (1500m up, very long day, a lot of variations possible, Bruce Stream is doable all the way)
- Blimit
- Cassidy
- Goat Hill
- Goat Pass (1000 m ascent, 28 km, many river crossings and long in quite moderately challenging terrain for a day trip)
- Mid Hill (1200m up, long slog across tussocks from Lagoon Saddle, great tarns suitable for camping below the top)
- Mt Aicken (1200m up, exposure)
- Mt Bealey (1100m up, very limited exposure, good for trampers who want to step up from marked tracks, taking the scree down to Rough Creek provides a great loop; see Avalanche peak above for Bealey-Avalanche traverse)
- Mt Binser (1500m up, long day, some scrub bash may be involved on the way down)
- Mt Bruce (1000 m up, follow the Cass-Lagoon Saddle track and go up whenever you feel like (see the first link below))
- in via the south-west ridge, passed Lagoon Saddle hut (marked track in the forest)
- out via Broad Stream (again, marked track)
- Mt Foweraker (1300m up, no exposure but unstable rock at places, a long day if doing a loop via Sudden Valley)
- Mt Misery (1200-2000m depending on the route taken)
- via McKay Stream (1900m up, a long way but a very pleasant journey along the tops)
- via Snowslide Stream (1400m up, classic and the most straightforward route)
- Mt O’Malley (1100m up, minimum exposure if avoiding the main ridge)
- Mt Philistine (1100m up, some exposure over Warnock bluffs spur but it looks harder than it is)
- Mt Scott
- Mt Temple
- Mt White (1200m up, 12 km, quite a decent day out, permission needed)
- Mt Williams
- Mt Wilson
- The Pyramid (1200m up, no exposure on the way up but there is a gnarly bit around pt1565, great scree down to Sudden Valley)
- Woolshed Hill
Banks Peninsula
- Mt Herbert
- from Diamond Harbour (1000m up, this can be done with Lyttelton Harbour as a meeting place to include a fun ferry ride, note track starts on the beach next to the ferry terminal)
- from Kaituna Valley (1000m up, interesting that you bag Packhorse Hut as well)
- from Orton Bradley (1000m up, my favourite way up, check opening hours of Orton Bradley carpark before you go, bagging Packhorse on the way back and taking Faulkner’s track create a good loop)
- from the Monument (500m up, quite a fun and unusual way, it’s possible to walk up the road from the ferry terminal, the road’s usually very quiet – in this case, it’s 1000m up)
- Mt Bradley via the Eye of the Needle (if done with Mt Herbert, 1100m up, 19 km, wee scramble required)
- Mt Fitzgerald (lovely line, add Rod Donald hut to get 1000m up and 23 km)
- Lyttelton to Lyttelton kind of thing (2300m up, 42 km – a long way but lovely line)
Canterbury foothills
- Ben More
- Bob’s bivouac (1400 m up, a decent day out but not technical so reasonably quick; good option when the weather isn’t optimal)
- Mt Oxford
- via Mt Oxford track (1000m up and down, classic Canterbury walk)
- loop via Ashely saddle (some speargrass between Oxford and Ashley saddle, from Ashley saddle it’s an enjoyable walk, permission is needed to cross the private land from Ashely onward)
- full Mt Oxford loop (1200m up, a long day)
- smaller loop via pt984 down to Ryde falls (1300m up, 19 km, decent bushbash)
- Mt Richardson (800m up, nice bushy sections and pleasant ridge walking)
- Mt Thomas
Craigieburn’s area
- Baldy Hill
- Hamilton Peak (1000-1500m up depending on the route taken)
- via Camp Saddle (1200m up, some crumbly rock but fun ridge for beginners on moderate terrain, no exposure but could be handy to have a helmet for steep rocky stuff)
- via Nervous Knob (fun easy ridge, no exposure)
- Izard (1200m up, best via Eastern ridge, easy but long climb, no exposure)
- Mt Cheesman (1200m up, doable via pt1552 but more efficient to take the route via the stream and pt1552 to avoid difficult terrain, no exposure but the ridge between Cheesman and Izard is hard, better to descent 100m to the other side and go around)
- Izard to Cheesman (1500 m ascent, a decent day out, probably the most adventurous traverse in Craigieburns, not exposed but a little bit crumbly)
- Cheesman to Hamilton (2000m ascent, pretty big day out but very fun, flat ridge )
- Mt Cloudsley
- via Long spur (1300m up, very straightforward, just follow the ridge; quite low angle makes it a good snow trip for beginners)
- get out via a scree to Long Creek
- you can add Izard or Enys (no exposure, flat ridge)
- Mt Cockayne (best via Cheesman, Hamilton Peak or Cheesman Ski Area, no exposure)
- Mt Enys (best via Cloudsley, easy ridge travel, no exposure but descending via Dead Man Spur can get tricky – steep and scree is mixed with bluffs, easiest is to drop down to Whitewater Stream between 1900-1700m ridge contour, no exposure but some scree slopes may be really steep with unstable rock and I’d bring a helmet for that)
- Mt Olympus
- Mt Wall
Lake Coleridge area
- Big Ben
- Black Hill (2000m climb, very long day, no exposure)
- Gargarus
- Godley Peak
- Mt Ida (1350 m climb, a decent day out, very steep at places, permission’s needed)
- Mt Oakden
- Steepface Hill
- The Spurs (2000m climb, long day, exposure on crumbly rock, permission’s needed)
Lake Sumner
- Top of the Ladder
- Jollie Brook Circuit (600m up, 32 km, straightforward, overgrown track at places, about 50 river crossings, good winter fun)
Lewis Pass area
- Garnet Peak (1200 m up, bushbash through the forest, no exposure)
- Lucretia
- Mons Sex Millia (1600m up from Boyle Village across Garnet Peak, big day out but worth it, no exposure)
- Mt Faust (1300m up, scenic and close to Christchurch, a good cut track from Boyle Village, no exposure)
- add Mephistopheles (1800m up, a long day but on easy terrain, minimum exposure)
- Mt Garfield (1500m up, hidden track in the bush, scenic, no exposure)
- Mt Lucia
- Mt Norma (1300m up, straightforward with cut track to the ridge, a decent day out)
- Mt Technical (1600m up via Lewis Tops, a big day but doable, perhaps 6 am start from Christchurch, exposure)
- Sylvia Tops and Devils Den Biv (1500m up, 26 km, no exposure but really long day)
- The Apprentice (1200 m up via Lewis Tops, vague track leads to the top, no exposure but steep)
- Travers Peak (1000m up, good steady climbing, minimum exposure), good track up through the bush, no exposure)
- Travers to Trovatore (1600m up, 19 km, a big day out with dodgy scree run)
Mt Somers / Hakatere
- Mt Harper
- Mt Somers
- via marked route (1200m up, marked route)
- via Woolshed Creek Hut (1200m up, fun but a long day, you can get down via the marked route and use Mt Somers walkway back to the carpark)
- via the saddle between Woolshed Creek and Pinnacles Hut (1400m up, a good loop if combined with marked track, a decent day out)
- Mt Somers loop (1600m up, big day out)
- Mt Winterslow
- via pt810 (1600m up, a vague but easy-to-follow track via pt810, marked at places)
- via the saddle between Woolshed Creek and Pinnacles Hut (1600m up, not marked but straightforward in good weather conditions)
Torlesse Range
- Castle Hill Peak
- from Porters Pass (1000m up, classic climb, a wee bit crumbly rock below the top)
- climb to the gap
- Foggy Peak (800m up, straightforward climb, Castle Hill Peak can be added)
- Mt Torlesse (1300m up, straightforward climb)
- add Red Peak and Junction peak (1800m up, long day and a long climb)
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