Routeburn Canyon
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Also known as: Bridal Veil Falls.
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| | Raps:max ↨105ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger | |||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 6 May 2016?
"extracts from Facebook posts, click link for full details (privacy restrictions may apply). " I found a watch in Routeburn canyon today. If youve |
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-44.7087, 168.2578
-44.7193, 168.2782
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Introduction[edit]
Bridal Veil Falls / Routeburn canyon is a great day out. It comprises two parts, an upper section and a lower section. The lower section is commercially guided and starts at the bridge crossing the creek.
Please be considerate of commercial trips that may in the canyon. Consider talking to Canyon Explorers in Queenstown to check if they will have a group running through.
Approach[edit]
- Park at the Routeburn Canyon track head (-44.71934, 168.27822)
- Walk along Routeburn Track until you reach the bridge (-44.71934, 168.27822) crossing the creek that is fed by Bridal Veil Falls (which is much further upstream and you do not descend)
- The lower section starts at this bridge. You will see bolts near the bridge on both the river right and river left. Options!
- If you want to do the upper section there is a small faint track that starts just 5m back from the bridge. There should be a blue arrow marker.
- Follow the faint footpad up on the river left until you eventually reach approx -44.70868, 168.25785 (start-ish of the upper section where you can don wetsuits)
- There should be the occasional bit of tape marking the route up but don't be surprised if you loose the track... particularly as you reach the start point
Descent[edit]
Upper section[edit]
- ~10m, bolts, river right into pool (wade across)
- ~20m, bolts, river left to ledge
- maybe a shoot slide but can down climb on river right
- ~10m, bolts, river right to pool
- ~32m, bolts on river right at edge of "infinity pool". Overhanging abseil down to low grade shoot/slide... can done with with 60m rope if you are careful about how you come off the rope and hold on to pull side as you transition to slide
- ~20m, bolts, river right down sloping slab
- ~3m slide that you can easily accidentally just walk past into shallow pool
Lower section[edit]
- Starts with a ~8m drop (bolts, river left)
- Proceed down canyon. Lot's of little drops and interesting things to do.
- There is more metal in this section than a smelter! Bolts everywhere.
- Anything that is remotely spicy can be bypassed. Lots of hand lines for all the guided ducklings.
Exit[edit]
- After the last abseil walk down the creek a little bit and find a path on the bank of river left.
- Follow it until you hit Sugar Loaf Stream.
- Walk up Sugar Loaf Stream to get back to Routeburn track; or continue down the Routeburn River river bed, and with some accurate map reading climb out of the river bed to find the little southern loop of the Routeburn track (there's also a spur path that overlooks the river, if you can find it).
- Enjoy the manicured Routeburn track back to car.