Thread: 11 days in the Olivines

Had a cracker of an 11-day walk into the Olivine Wilderness Area over new years. Unarmed, but you'd have trouble covering that much ground and still having time to hunt anyway!

Started from the Routeburn road and walked around Lake Sylvan to the Rockburn, up the Dart to the Beansburn, up the Beansburn, over Fohn Saddle to the Olivine Ledge, down the Olivine River, up Forgotten River, over Forgotten River Col to the Olivine Ice Plateau. Climbed a couple of easy peaks there (Blockade and Little Ark) as ridiculously good weather meant the snow was too soft for any steep climbing - carried ropes etc all the way and never even used them! Then back down Forgotten River, up to the Olivine Ledge, over Fiery Col and down to Cow Saddle, down Hidden Falls Creek, over Park Pass and finally down the Rockburn and out over Sugarloaf Pass.

Got all that? Have a look on the map... New Zealand Topographic Map - NZ Topo Map

Fairly big country in there, feeling a bit fitter by the end of the trip for some reason. Anyway, here is a trucking schistload of photos for whoever wants to look at them.

Beansburn by Ben, on Flickr

Fohn Saddle by Ben, on Flickr

Olivine Ledge by Ben, on Flickr

Forgotten River by Ben, on Flickr

Forgotten River by Ben, on Flickr

Forgotten River headwall by Ben, on Flickr

Forgotten River hotel by Ben, on Flickr

Kea by Ben, on Flickr

Forgotten River Col by Ben, on Flickr

Forgotten River Col by Ben, on Flickr

Blockade Ridge by Ben, on Flickr

Olivine Ice Plateau by night by Ben, on Flickr

Olivine Sunrise by Ben, on Flickr

Mt Aspiring by Ben, on Flickr

Little Ark and Olivine Ice Plateau by Ben, on Flickr

Little Ark by Ben, on Flickr

Olivine Ice Plateau by Ben, on Flickr

Intervention Ridge by Ben, on Flickr

^^Perspective can be deceiving - the face above is about 500m away and 500m high.

Forgotten River Col by Ben, on Flickr

Intervention Ridge by Ben, on Flickr

Sunrise over Memorial Icefall by Ben, on Flickr

Blue Pool by Ben, on Flickr

Clarity by Ben, on Flickr

Blue Pool by Ben, on Flickr

Olivine Ledge by Ben, on Flickr

Kea in the wind by Ben, on Flickr

Fiery Col by Ben, on Flickr

Olivine Ledge by Ben, on Flickr

^^I Like how this one shows a few of the places we went - Olivine Ledge, the clearing at the Forgotten/Olivine confluence down the valley, the snowy peak of Ark peeking over the ridge in the top right.

Fiery Col by Ben, on Flickr

Cow Saddle by Ben, on Flickr

Hidden Falls creek by Ben, on Flickr

Park Pass by Ben, on Flickr

Sugarloaf Pass by Ben, on Flickr

More photos here too for anyone who isn't sick of looking yet: https://www.flickr.com/gp/gravelben/31452P