5 passes in a day

Date: 27 December, 2023
Location: Glenorchy, New Zealand

Distance: 69.25km
Elevation: 4,394m
Moving Time: 13:42:31 (I was moving much longer, but I was so slow my watch didn’t notice)
Elapsed Time: 20:59:14

The goal was to complete the 5 Passes Route in one push. I was keen for a slog. The route is considered for experienced hikers, taking anywhere between 3-7 days. The terrain is slow, with multiple river crossings, bush bashing, alpine passes and navigation challenges. Perfect.

This would double as training for The Revenant which I had scheduled in a month later.

I kicked off at 4am knowing the first section would be easy in the dark, starting from the Routeburn Shelter as the bridge at Sylvan Campsite was down from flooding and the track to Lake Sylvan was closed. A bit annoying as I would’ve liked to do a full loop, but this way gave me the Sugarloaf Pass in both directions (6 passes?), so who am I to complain?

Amazing scenery the whole way. It was very tough going with not much runnable terrain. Feet were wet most of the way. Beans Burn was marked with triangles and cairns to where it opens up before Rock biv, though it was still easy to lose the track (which I did frequently).

The climbs were grueling as were the constant rivers, tussocks and boulders. The final descent from Sugarloaf at midnight, 20 hours after being on my feet, felt like an eternity.

Overall a successful day. A ripper of a challenge in some beautiful surroundings.

2 months later a couple of parties tackled the loop route for a Fastest Known Time (FKT). They came in at 20:08:42 and 22:28:02.

Crossing the river on Beans Burn Track