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2024-06-15T00:00:00.000Z • Mount Aspiring National Park, New Zealand

Summiting Mt Xenicus and Mt Erebus, New Zealand

A one night trip to summit Mt Xenicus and Mt Erebus. Just a stone throw away from the well known Routeburn Track in New Zealand.

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Michael Beckmann
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Links

  • See my Strava activity.
  • See my Instagram Story Highlights of the trip.

Start / Finish

  • Both at the Routeburn Shelter Carpark.
  • A well maintained gravel road leads up to the carpark.
  • It’s a 90 min drive from Queenstown with the option to book shuttles.

Season

  • We did this trip in June 2024. The weekend before our trip there was zero snow, but the following days there were a few snow dumps covering it in a decent layer of snow for us.
  • During summer there should be no snow up here. 

Campsites / Huts

  • We spent one night on this trip and slept it in the Routeburn Falls Hut. Mind you during summer this hut needs to be booked, possibly weeks in advance.
  • You can opt to camp at Lake Wilson, definitely a better alternative for summer.

Maps / Info

  • Please see the DOC website for detailed information on the Routeburn Falls Hut.
  • You can visit the Queenstown Town Visitor Centre for the current track conditions.

Food / Water

  • There’s a few streams you cross during the day. Just the section between the two peaks doesn't provide you with refill options. 
  • The hut has plenty of rainwater. 

Route / Conditions

  • On day 1 we hiked 9 km to the Routeburn Falls Hut and on the second day did the two summits + back to the car, covering 28km. 
  • The Routeburn track is probably one of the best maintained tracks in New Zealand. 
  • The section from the Routeburn Track up to Lake Wilson has a cairn track, which we found hard to find because of the snow. 
  • The track up to the summits, and the pass between them, but is pretty straight forward as you simply follow the ridges.
  • It being winter with snow, we had to use crampons for all the sections that were off track. We did bring two ice axes with us, but because the snow wasn’t icy enough, we only ended up using our hiking poles. If you do this hike later in winter, you probably can’t do it without the use of ice axes. Also avalanche risk will significantly increase.

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Hiking on June 14, 2024

On Friday afternoon, after work, we drove from Wanaka to the Routeburn Shelter Carpark. Arriving here at 5.30pm, it was already getting dark. However, with headlamps on and following the well maintained Routeburn Track, it was no problem getting to the hut. It took us around two hours to hike the 9 km to the hut. 
We quickly made some dinner and went straight to bed as the next day would be a long one.
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Day 2

The alarm went off at 5am and by 6am we were walking up to Lake Harris. Right as we hit the lake, we went off the main track, crossed the stream that drains the lake and started the ascent up to Mt Xenicus. From this point forward we also had to put on our crampons as it was too steep and slippery to do without. 
It took us about 1.5 hours to ascend all the way up to Mt Xenicus. Ascending it up from the South East Ridge was pretty straight forward and before we knew it we were on top. We waited a bit hoping the clouds would clear, but after 10 mins we continued onwards by starting to go down along the North East ridge. 
This being my first winter mountaineering trip, I definitely found this part sketchy and I had to put a lot of focus on my foot placement, especially considering it was the first time I properly used crampons. I was fortunate to have a more experienced partner and was glad Cam could lead the way and break the snow. I just had to follow, literally, in his footsteps.
It took us a comfortable two hours to go from the top of Mt Xenicus to Mt Erebus. On top of Mt Erebus we were treated with breaks in the clouds and could appreciate the surrounding area around us, definitely a treat after all the cloudy climbing! 
Climbing up to and descending from Mt Erebus was easier than Mt Xenicus. It’s probably the reason people rather climb Mt Erebus than Mt Xenicus. 
Once we were down Mt Erebus, we could already see Lake Wilson. Because of the steep banks you actually don’t reach the water level but stay around the 1500m contour line, walking past Point 1578. This plateau is also where you would pitch the tent if you decide to do so. 
After Lake Wilson, there are two ways to go down to Lake Harris. You either scramble down along the water source that drains Lake Harris, or you take the right-hand side stream which gives for a much more gentle descent (or ascent), I would recommend this one.
From this point onwards we noticed some cairns and could see a sort of track formed in the snow. This unmarked track to/from Lake WIlson should be pretty obvious in summer.
Having Lake Harris in our sight, we simply made our way to it and before we knew it we were back on the Routeburn Track. After having been off track for most part of the day, the Routeburn Track felt like a highway!
We walked down, past the Routeburn Falls Hut to grab our sleeping gear and continued down back to the car. Right as the sun was setting, we finished the trip.
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