Looking back to the steep snow-grass sidle at the head of Pine Creek Icelandic landscape at the head of Pine Creek. Look out for the cairn marking the spot where the. Return to homepage. Lochnagar and more, from Auchallater, What a day! Undeterred, we had sorted our gear, confident that our past tramping experiences would allow us to finish the trip as planned. Loss: 1294m . Take the uphill one. This track is not cairned at all initially but has the occasional strip of insulation tape. This was still days away, though, and our job for now was to enjoy ourselves and be well rested for the strenuous days ahead. If you commit to the river then don't leave it. With our packs straining at the seams with a weeks worth of supplies, my girlfriend and I began the long climb to Shotover Saddle. The challenge lay just before Tummel Burn Hut: a few hundred meters of notorious New Zealand bush. Photo Chris Prudden, The Mount Aspiring Region: a guide for mountaineers, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand. Original fireplace but use with care. Walking routes to Lochnagar usually begin from Loch Muick's beautiful surroundings, either from the Spittal of Glenmuick or from Glas-allt-Shiel, where an open bothy can be found in an outbuilding around the back of the regal lodge. At a side creek we lost the track and had to travel a short way down a spur to regain the obvious trail (E40 663 163) after climbing out of the creek and scouting higher for it. Click the map, drag the pin or enter your own to set coordinates: More options are available with LINZ's online coordinate converters. 49vEgsTZv5FUFAHbwPkpChSxSrV1GcAtpRrzUCDsrCXcXnuzQ1HebKhSZ31F2bMC9GDLM1F5XHraRUQqGYgXgbKPD9UwqKr Photos (388) Directions. Once at the saddle, we planned to drop down to Tyndall Creek and then climb to Lochnagar (also known as Goat Lake by locals). NZ Topo Map reserves the right to remove any information from the web site at any time. Show additional layer of information on the map: NZ Topo Map is an interactive topographic map of New Zealand using the official LINZ's 1:50,000 / Topo50 and 1:250,000 / Topo250 maps. Follow the screen terrace east of pt2000 and into the basin at the head of Pine Creek. Walker-friendly accommodation in the area Braemar Hotels Braemar B&B Lochnagar munros with Conachcraig - Gammy brought the clag, Glenshee to Invercauld via Lochnagar (Ski Tour), Wild Windy Wilderness Wonderful White Mounth 5, The Beauty of Lochnagar: Family hike & Loch Muick Wildlife, From crowd to loneliness - Lochnagar on Ascension Day. The next bridge at Shiel Burn was nothing but a few logs spread across the hillside. Bitcoin address (SegWit): Cross on boulders here and then climb the slope to Lochnagar hut. Find out more over at Patreon. Usually done as part of a circuit of saddle . Lochnagar, the White Mounth munros and a compass. See more real weddings from Lochnagar! All route descriptions and difficulties given here are for summer conditions. Picking up a footpath, you will begin climbing uphill to the west and work your way between several mountain peaks to eventually arrive at the summit of Lochnagar with its beautiful lake below. Original fireplace but use with care. Angle more and more leftwards (east) as you descend. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension. Photo: Dennis Radermacher. Home; About Us; Discover . (Can also be reached from Rees Saddle.) From there we would move on to Snowy Creek, Dart Hut and Cascade Saddle as we circled back to the Matukituki. A word of advice: stay high and close to the ridge on the descent and take your time spotting markers in the bush. Get Trailforks Pro with Outside+ for 25% off! If you're finding the NZ Topo Map service useful please consider donating, no matter how small, it's greatly appreciated. Route mostly follows clear tracks and mountain paths but there is one steep boulder field to negotiate. Lochnagar from the N, The Stuic, Conachcraig & then some! Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. NZ WordPress design & development by The Fold. From Rees Saddle climb to the southeast past a couple of small tarns (good camping) and make your way to where you can observe the stream shown on the map. More route from Snowy Creek to Lochnagar via Shotover Saddle Thewestern end has a hidden waterfall and is more wild; we often see deer running up in the forested hills. Complimentary bottle of Champagne. Lochnagar, also called Beinn Chiochan, is a Scottish mountain. For us it was an easy stroll to Branches Station. Permission must be obtained from the station prior to the start of the trip. There is a recently built sleeping platform with a 2 person mattress still in its original protective plastic wrapping. Note: The sidle from the large basin at the head of Pine Creek to the ridge line overlooking Lochnagar is extremely steep and exposed and almost entirely on snow grass. Continue further to reach the viewpoint indicator on the pointed rocky outcrop at Cac Crn Beag, the true summit of Lochnagar, a magnificent viewpoint for Deeside and the Cairngorms massif. Anyway, Lochnagar is a spectacular, isolated lake surrounded by mountains and filledwith the clearest waters. Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. Contours and spot elevations in forest and snow areas may be less accurate. Getting up and across the peaks east of Lochnagar and dropping into Snowy Creek would have pushed our luck too hard. Information is provided free of charge; it is each walker's responsibility to check it and navigate 3 fit, capable and young trampers found themselves well out of there depths. Staying on the true left of the Shotvover for the rest of the trip, the only challenge was in climbing over the little knob marked Pt706 by Greenland Spur. The two routes given are by far the most popular options today. The terrain is easily travelled and the level of travel is not crucial as long as you are above the scrub and avoid steep micro exposed locations. Sidle the faces above Pine Creek NW for 200m until going becomes difficult due to bluffs descending from pt1896. Lochnagar with no rain,no bogs and no mates. Overlook the large rocky basin at the head of Pine Creek. Little mercies! Established campsites, from crowded urban to remote backcountry. It looks almost impossible until you are right upon it where a narrow snow grass ledge leads you into the bluff and straight through. It includes: This site generates persistent session cookies (that is, they have an expiry date and are removed on that date) for the purpose of monitoring site usage. Dennis Radermacher Some require bookings, others are walk-in. White Mounth Munros, Lochnagar & Midges From Hell. Email addresses are not made available to the public. New registrations only. You can now either retrace your steps back to the main path, or climb more directly up the slope on the left, known as the Ladder. Pay attention to the line of bluffs dropping down from Peak 1896, there is only 2 obvious breaks in the bluffs, themselves separated by a small bluff. Flat and headed to Lochnagar via Shotover Saddle and the upper Shotover. The following important information is taken directly from the maps legend: All information and materials available at this web site are provided "as is" without any warranties of any kind, either express or implied, and NZ Topo Map disclaims all warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement of intellectual property or arising from a course of dealing, usage or trade practice. Half of them were camping beneath tarps. Search for huts, peaks, streams, forests, towns, other features and coordinates. Lochnagar and Tummel Burn huts are private Branches Station huts and permission is also required to use them. Lochnagar loop route near Ballater Overview Photos Videos Reports Map 3D Tour Add / Edit 23.5 miles Distance 4,007 ft Climb -4,003 ft Descent 3,757 ft High Point 3000ft 1500ft 0ft 0miles 8miles 16miles Loop starting from Crathie near Balmoral, up and over Lochnagar and down past Carn an t-Sagairt Mor Detailed Description Local Trail Association Overview. The one critical bit we lacked information on was the traverse from Lochnagar into Snowy Creek. Click within an area to get map sheet details and download links. Further on, take the clear path which branches off from the track to the left - this is the main path for Lochnagar, and has been much improved in recent years by stone-pitching. The dry stream is very narrow and dry as stated and easily crossed. Water is sourced from the lake, 10m distant. Print/PDF map. Unless required by law, NZ Topo Map won't publicise the names or email addresses of individuals who provide feedback or who use submission forms without their consent. Youre now registered and can continue readingthis article, plus more this month. Send Bitcoin address to your wallet, Bitcoin address (Legacy): Note: The sidle from the large basin at the head of Pine Creek to the ridge line overlooking Lochnagar is extremely steep and exposed and almost entirely on snow grass. communicating with you, including responding to your feedback and information provided in submission forms. Photo: Dennis Radermacher. The eastern side is a little rough but to our delight we found a little track leading down. . All pretty straight forward until the Pine Creek sidle. Printed Topo50 / 1:50,000 map sheets are available from Bivouac Outdoor, both online and in store. ** By registering you are signing up to our Wilderness Daily newsletter and monthly New Issue Alert newsletter. Detailed information can be obtained at https://www.reesvalley.co.nz/access/. Moirs talks about climbing up high, but the area above the stream is covered in fearsome looking bluffs. We played the crossing safe by linking up and probing carefully. Lochnagar/Shotover Saddle/Matukituki Valley Track 2 days. In Summer the 300 meter route is classified as a 'Moderate' (approx. Gear lists, reviews, advice, maintenance. The route climbs the groove, before moving back onto the crest and with some variation, follows that for a further 150-200 m to the top. An invigorating view of the Matukituki Valley from near Shotover Saddle. 2 August 20142 Aug '14. There is a bit of reading material in the hut and a well marked track. The door and window are still functioning but the window is jamming when opened. Long circular from Cairnwell: 14 Munros, 39 miles, 12 hours. There are 13099 Walkhighlanders who have climbed Lochnagar. But dont sweat it cross over to the land of unlimited content by subscribing now. Follow the Snowy downstream - the entire descent can be made easily on the southern (TL) bank, though crossings would be easy enough in low flows. MBTiles downloads can be used to provide: Drag and resize the highlighted area to select the area of map you would like to print out. Its offers rustic accommodation, but we happily indulged after two days in a tent. This route is entirely on public conservation land. White Mounth Munro's (a.k.a. You can disable them or clear them out of your web browser without affecting your ability to use the site. You must have cookies enabled in your browser and permitted for our site in order to read our articles. At this stage we were both feeling the strain of the past two days. Follow this gully up to the saddle between pt1865 and pt1896. Edit- I didn't want to delete Honora'sroute guide about wrong Spurs As of Feb 2016 the route down from Shotover Saddle is snow poledthe whole way down. Find out more over at Patreon. The route to Lochnagar turns up the track to the right here. Okayyoure starting to see a pattern here we honestly love everylocation we adventure to!! When you have enabled cookies, you can refresh this page and continue reading. Edited full resolution images within an online private gallery This cult status hut is in a spectacular setting. It could save you hours. clothing stores hiring near me part time. Beyond pt1950 is the vast Snowy Creek valley. From Rees Saddle climb to the southeast past a couple of small tarns (good camping) and make your way to where you can observe the stream shown on the map. Get a weekly dose of discounts and inspiration for adventure lovers. They had cycled and walked in from Branches Station. The extra articles will expire at the end of the month. You may choose to disclose personal information to NZ Topo Map when you give feedback or in submission forms. There is a lot of cobwebbed fly corpsed detritis in many pans and crockery. Lochnagar & Conachcraig come what May - damn you Judith! Everything you always wanted to know about tramping but were afraid to ask. Follow the edge of the cliffs (not too closely!) The next morning, after donating a decent amount of blood to the hordes of sandflies outside our tent, we continued on the true left of Tyndall Creek. As you approach the bealach, the main Lochnagar path diverts off to the left, but it is really worth continuing ahead to the bealach itself. Follow the path as it climbs towards the bealach (col) visible between the main bulk of Lochnagar on the left, and its outlying peak of Meikle Pap. The White Mounth Circuit - A Nice Round Number, Catching the wildlife by surprise on Lochnagar, 1 Wedding, 5 Munros and hopefully no Funeral. 420m An alternative win-win method of donating is to buy an Entertainment Membership. Prior permission is required to cross their land. Follow the path up through the woods to gain the track which ascends beside the stream. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details. I swept the window free of webs and brushed mouse droppings off the mattresses. Cross the saddle onto the faces above Pine Creek to the north. It needs recutting. A traditional alternative is to begin from Auchallater in Glen Clunie, heading up towards Loch Callater and then following the old pony path that skirts round Crn an t-Sagairt Mr en route to the summit. Setting out from the car park, you will make your way to the southwest along the road until you reach the Spittal of Glen Muick Visitor Centre. Keep an eye on your inbox for our newsletters. These are ordered below with the most popular ones first. other things like your screen resolution and the language setting of your browser. Pay attention to the line of bluffs dropping down from Peak 1896, there is only 2 obvious breaks in the bluffs, themselves separated by a small bluff. We found an animal trail around 1300m which took us over a shoulder and down to the head of the basin where multiple tributaries of the Tyndall Stream join at the 1260m contour line as recommended for the crossing in Moir's Guide North. All prices in NZ$. Gain: 1637m. One way. We didn't and had to climb up to it from the start of a now scrubby narrow section of the river. Please be patient while the PDF is generated, especially with larger page sizes. using a map and compass. Family tramping it doesnt have to be perfect, NZ WordPress design & development by The Fold. As you start to encounter the scrub band sidle southeastwards onto the ridge where a good animal track (Feb 2016) drops down it to the lake. Looking back to the steep snow-grass sidle at the head of Pine Creek Icelandic landscape at the head of Pine Creek. Surprise snow on Lochnagar; late return in darkness! Questions? Usually done as part of a circuit of saddle crossings. From here, simply rock hop around the corner on the lake shore to reach the 2nd beach or around a further corner to reach the 3rd. route from Snowy Creek to Lochnagar via Snowy Saddle By Honora. Wed just ambled the few kilometres from the road-end car park through the verdant Matukituki Valley. This is a steep boulder field and care is needed; in winter this slope is notorious for avalanches. Ability to navigate in clag may be required. From there we made good time, crossed the river at Lake Creek and started up the well-defined track to Lochnagar. Gear lists, reviews, advice, maintenance. While out walking the trail, you will climb up into the mountains to traverse the summits of Cac Carn Mor, Lochnagar, Carn a Coire Boidheach, Crn an tSagairt Mr, Cairn Bannoch, and Broad Carn, before walking along the shoreline of Loch Muick. Backcountry and alpine huts open for public use. Sidle the very steep snow grass slopes around the top of Pine Cree, keeping high as you negotiate small gullies and the odd scree slope. Not all aerial wires, cableways and obstructions that could be hazardous to aircraft are shown on this map. Painted corrugated iron half buried in earth with a partial schist slabbed ,partial PV tarp floor. administering, evaluating and improving the site. One set of bluffs at 1800m can be avoided by dropping south of the spur towards the creek, and then sidling back onto the spur once beneath the bluffs. Add to favourites 5 members favourited 1 member checked in Follow well marked trial down to Shotover. From the junction with Twenty-Five Mile Stream, follow the true left of Rough Creek to just above its forks then up steep tussock and slabs of the north-west face. Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey. Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months. From here the fun beginsbe very careful to locate a cattle track which is narrow but overgrown. Going is scrubby at first but once the spur becomes more clear a good ground trail exists. From Rees Saddle to Lochnagar Hut via Snowy Creek View. The route to Lochnagar turns up the track to the right here. round to the right; in good weather you can peer down the gullies to the lochan below. Instead, climb the faces to the south to the easternmost saddle of the three visible. Read the best outdoor journalism in New Zealand Wilderness is the most-awarded outdoor magazine in the country. Several spurs appear from the top to be good routes down, but most bluff out at their base, so follow the route described here. Take the flatish ground out of the basin and follow the terrain as it begins to drop down the hill. This is a very steep descent on slippery snow-tussock with exposure to serious falls - take care and use an ice-axe. The climb is steep in places, but generally good going with only brief scrambles. Established campsites, from crowded urban to remote backcountry. From the top forks of the main stream of Twenty-Five Mile Stream head up Rough Creek. Our story is not half as interesting as it would have been had everything worked out as planned and we had not so badly misjudged travel times and the terrain. Central Buttress is the easiest buttress route on north-east face of the 1155m high Lochnagar, one of the foremost Scottish winterclimbing venues situated in the southern Cairngorms. The wild waters of Lake Creek and dark clouds further up the valley warned of a forecasted front coming in from the west. Follow the spur upwards until the left (western) side starts to become bluffy, and then sidle left (west) off the spur, round the base of a brief bluff and into the gully west of the spur. Mountaineagle on Loch Muick with a different take on it. We were not sure if this was an attempt at backcountry humour but we were happy for the distraction. Lochnagar loop is a 24 mile intermediate route located near Ballater. Allan Uren & John Cocks You are responsible for your own safety. Continue along the track to the Spittal of Glen Muick, where there is a small wooden visitor centre and public toilets. Travel up this narrow well-defined spur to the 1200 m contour line and sidle between this and the 1300m line selecting the optimum lines of travel above the scrub. Available wherever your are in print and on our website. A Scottish mountain which is at least 3000 ft (914.4m) . return false; Looking for somebody to go tramping with? Your donation will help cover the ongoing hosting and bandwidth costs required to keep this free service up and running. Sidle the very steep snow grass slopes around the top of Pine Cree, keeping high as you negotiate small gullies and the odd scree slope. Lochnagar was climbed by Queen Victoria, who wrote of the summit 'But alas! Travel up this gully which eventually peters out with a final cairn (E40 662 181) and you will see the remnants of a firewhich destroyedcedar scrub. The intended direction a trail should be ridden. In the end, we spent several hours on the last two kilometres, losing the route numerous times and ending up down-climbing a little canyon just 200m north of the hut. Cross rocky/scrubby/grassy terrain above the lake and drop down to the very small northern most beach. Open start point in Google Maps for directions. Climb the spur up moderate sloping snow grass almost to the top. From there we made good time, crossed the river at Lake Creek and started up the well-defined track to Lochnagar. The highest point is Cac Carn Beag. Descend snow grass towards Lochnagar. We were lucky enough to strike a meadow of narrow streams to camp at en route. A traditional alternative is to begin from Auchallater in Glen Clunie, heading up towards Loch Callater and then following the old pony path that skirts round Crn an t-Sagairt Mr en route to the summit. Lochnagar is one of our favourite alpine lakes. We later heard from the trampers at Lochnagar Hut that they had to wait nearly two hours for water to drop sufficiently to cross Shiel Burn with their bikes on their backs. Lochnagar is one of the most celebrated of the Munros, a pointed summit rising high above one of Scotland's most beautiful corries. Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. If your wallet complains that the SegWit address is invalid use the Legacy address instead. Dark Lochnagar with its magnificent northern corrie is the highest, most popular and much the finest mountain of the Mounth - or perhaps even of the Cairngorms as a whole. Follow the true left side of Snowy Creek up valley to the the base of the spur under the 570 grid line on the topomap. The track eases the climb and crosses the Allt na Giubhsaich, though it becomes rougher higher up, by then well above the ravine of the stream. The wide farm track soon tapered to a narrow trail in the underbrush. Peaks 2182 and 2223 both beckon as appealing side trips if you have time. The top of the spur bluffs out but simply sidle to the right beneath the bluffs until around them and then climb straight up on steep scree. Scree slopes lead to a dry stream bed which provides good travel down for several hundred meters (the stream bed later becomes the stream shown on the map at CA11 525 536 which drops to the lake although in Feb 2016 it was dry the whole way down). We were worried that our ordeal was not yet over, but the kindness of strangers saved our day. Follow the infant Pine Creek around the basin and as it begins to exit the basin through a gorge leave the stream and climb gently to the southeast up the only easy slope north of Peak 2000. Please consider joining or donating to the local riding association to support trail development & maintenance. Here there is a metal waratahwhich hada permalot market attached (Feb 2016)standing to mark the trail up this spur. Heatmap of where riders jump on trails.