Tag: snow

Best Winter Tramps on New Zealand’s South Island

My pick of the best winter/snowy tramps on New Zealand’s South Island, particularly for those based near Christchurch or the Queenstown Lakes.

Firstly, deciding what makes a good winter walk is a subjective exercise. My selection includes walks that are beautiful at any time of year, but also lesser walks that are much enhanced by snow cover, whether in winter or the adjacent seasons. They are mostly day-walks to mountain peaks with a few overnighters and valley walks thrown in.

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Winter Tramping in New Zealand

A beginners guide to winter tramping (hiking) in New Zealand.

As winter approaches I thought I’d write a blog post on winter tramping, especially after seeing the first heavy snowfalls in New Zealand on social media.

New Zealand’s mountains are often at their most dramatically beautiful in winter, but tramping at this time of year presents a few challenges. ‘Tramping’ -the NZ word for rugged hiking, for those that don’t know – sometimes implies longer overnight walks. But I’ve been happy enough sticking to day-walks in winter. So this article is about how to get up and down medium sized mountains in winter conditions. And if you want tips for which mountains to climb, have a look at my winter best-of blog post for the South Island.

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