Top Waitaha Hut
(Top Waitaha Hut looking
downriver:
Photo Nicola Noble 2007)
Maintenance Status
Top Waitaha Hut has been designated as minimal
maintenance.
Location
Waitaha catchment: Grid Ref: E1427288/ N5222410.
Map BW18. Altitude 1060m. Top Waitaha Hut is located
in a large tussock basin at the head of the Waitaha
valley. Serene and remote, the alpine meadows and gently flowing river
bely the rugged, wild, gorgy nature of the lower
valley and physical hardships required to pass through it. The basin headwaters
are bounded by the pristine permanent snowfields,
glaciers and ice plateaux of the Mt. Evans massif, an area visited exclusively
by hardier tramper/ alpinist.
Access
DOC ceased maintaining the upper valley tracks in
Waitaha valley in the early 90's and they became increasingly overgrown and difficult to follow.
In August 2007
Permolat volunteers recut and
reamrked the unmaintained sections from Kiwi Flat Hut to
Chainman Creek above the Windhover Gorge.
Unfortunately, the winter storms
of 2008 undid much of the good work, on sections above Moonbeam Hut.
From Moonbeam the track follows the river terraces on the TL for 20 minutes. It
passes through mature totara/ pahautea forest before dropping to the riverbed.
There is a short section of river travel crossing Dorothy
and Alexander creeks after which the track re-enters the bush. From here to the swingbridge
and across on the TR as far as the second side creek prior to
the climb around Windhover Gorge is a mess.
There are extensive areas of windthrow that have completely obliterated sections of track and
progress is extremely slow.
There is a reasonable dry rock just before
the turnoff to the County.
Once past the second side creek on the TR the track improves,
but still needs some
reclearing and marking. It sidles
briefly, then ascends a steep ridge on the TR
of Chainman Creek, circumventing Windhover Gorge. At about 900m
the track drops back into Chainman Creek. Follow the Creek down
to a point 50m above the Waitaha where the track exits on the TR.
The Waiatha River above Chainman Creek
is lengthy, rough, and untracked, with numerous large boulders
and alpine scrub surrounds. Progress can be slow, particularly if the River is up.
There is a dry rock near the second side creek above Chainmain Creek, 20m up
and 20m east of the creek.
After much scambling and bashing the River flattens and the tussock
flat below the Hut comes into view. This feels like an idyllic stroll in comparison
to the preceding bits. Allow
10-12 hours currently for the
journey from Moonbeam
to Top Waitaha Hut.
Type
Top Waitaha is a basic six-bunk NZFS tops design. It has no open fire
or woodburner and is unlined. Water is from the river. There is no toilet.
Condition
Top Waitaha Hut is basically in good condition. It was repainted and may have received
some minor repairs
from DOC in 2003.
There is considerable recent water damage under the western window and walls,
possibly from the 2008 storms.
Routes
The route to Ivory Lake Hut from Top Waitaha is up the
river flats above the Hut to the Reid/ Stag Creek confluence.
Climb from here due East up onto
a flat tussock bench on the TL of Stag Creek.
The bench has numerous small tarns and is rerasonably pleasant travel.
It eventually tapers out and Stag Creek rises up
to meet it. Drop into Stag Creek and boulderhop up to where the
Ivory Lake outlet creek cascades
over bare rock walls from the lip of Ivory Lake. The Hut is perched
on a rock bench above the cliffs here, but is not visible from the Creek.
Continue up Stag Creek 100m past the outlet and
pick a route up through some sloping ledges
onto the southern lip of the Ivory Lake cirque. Ice axes and crampons may
be necessary on this bit in
Winter. There is a less exposed route a bit further up Stag Creek via a very small creek
draining the face at the eastern end of the Lake. Head up its TL to Hut level
and sidle back over to the eastern edge of the Lake. Allow around two hours to get from
Top Waitaha to Ivory Lake.
There are routes from
Top Waitaha via spot height 1870m behind Ivory Glacier to Tuke Hut,
Mt. Beaumont and Galena Ridge. Access to the Cropp
basin is possible via Mt. Beaumont and the Whitcombe valley
can be accessed from Steadman Brow via a tops track down to the Price Flat swingbridge.
To get onto spot height 1870m head up the Waitaha River from Top Waitaha
Hut. Follow Stag Creek up to the Watson Creek confluence, then climb
up the face on the TL of Watson Creek onto
a prominent spur that runs east onto point 1870m. The ridge from here to Beaumont is
easy travel with a number dropp-off points into the upper Tuke basin.
Mt. Beaumont has permanent snow on its summit and a small glacial remnant
on the South face.
The track down off Cropp
Brow via Steadman Brow to Price Flat in the Whitcombe
was recut
in 2010. Allow two hours from the scrubline down to the bridge. DOC have re-relegated the
Steadman Brow track to fully maintain because of its access value.
There is a route over
Ragged Peak and The Tusk to Dickie Ridge and Dickie
Spur Hut. There is one section on this route that a few folk have had difficulty with,
around spot height 1920m just North of The Tusk. A rope may be handy as a back-up here.
Dickie Ridge is reasonably straightforward from here down to Dickie Spur Hut.
There are routes from Top Waitaha out over the Hitchen Range
to the lower Waitaha and Kakapotahi valleys. Access to the range is
via a side
entering the Waitaha at 235430E/ 5784370N. There is saddle at the top of the TR fork
of this creek.
There are some steep exposed sections on the Hitchen Range between
Mt. Allen and Mt. Hitchin.
It is possible to sidle underneath these on the Kakapotahi side by dropping
from Ridland Saddle down the ridge on the TR of the upper TR fork of Isobel Creek. Climb in a
westerly direction from the
confluence of the upper TR and TL forks up to a col between spot
heights 1385m and 1585m. Continue along the crest of the Range from here to Mt. Allen.
An old track up to Mt.
Allen from the lower Waitaha valley no longer exists in useable form,
but access down should be possible
via the Robinson Slip and MacGregor Creek. The top of the slip is very steep and unsafe however,
and a route up the slip suggested by
Danilo Hegg in 2008 may be worth using to get down. This is via the second creek on the TR
before the slip at the top. This is accessed down the western spur of Mt. Allen.
There used also to be
an old Forest Service route from the top of Swandri
Spur down Slip Creek to Polluck Creek Hut
in the Kakapotahi. No
recent inforamtion is available on this route however.
There is are high-level routes
from Top Waitaha to County Stream Hut
via the Bloomfield Range. The easiest access onto Mt. Bloomfield
is up an open side creek that flows into the Waitaha
opposite Dropp Off Creek. The old Forest Service guides recommended
dropping of Bloomfield into the County down O'Reillys Creek, but the Creek has a waterfall
and alpine scrub and it is a considerable distance from here up to County Hut.
A more sensible and direct approach if conditions permit is
over the summit
of Mt. Bloomfield and down a steep rib between the two
forks of Bloomfield Creek. The drop-off point is
just North of the saddle between Bloomfield
and Artist Dome.
Access onto Bloomfield is also possible from a spur
ascending West from Reid Creek. Ice axes may be required for a section of ridge just
South of the summit of Bloomfield.
An excursion to Reid Lake from Top Waiatah is recommended if you have the time.
Reid Creek disappears into an awesome
slot gorge just below the lake. The gorge can be
negotiated by terrace hopping on the TR.
Repairs needed
Some sealing may be required around the windows and on the West side of the Hut.
Provisions on Site:
Billies and one pair of downhill skis.