Distance: 3.3 km (4.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, hard - Moderate-hard terrain
Altitude: 1008m to 1899m. Gain: 0m. Loss: 891m . Gradient: 16 deg (Moderate-hard)
Skills: Occasional scrambles (3/7) - Streams (2/6) Winter - High avalanche risk, snow/ice underfoot (6/7)

Unmarked route, hard (8/9)
Unmarked route, no clear geographic features to follow

Secondary, unmapped (4/5)
Route not on maps, an alternative recognised access to hut or along range / catchment

Moderate-hard (difficulty: 4/5)
Continuous moderate climbs

Moderate-hard (difficulty: 4/5)
Tall, walkable scrub / large rocks, occasional waterfalls or gorges in rivers

Occasional scrambles (difficulty: 3/7)
Tramp with some scrambles and exposure to falls

Streams (difficulty: 2/6)
Small streams, danger only in extreme weather

High avalanche risk, snow/ice underfoot (difficulty: 6/7)
Snow/ice likely on track, high/prolonged avalanche risk

No description

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

From Hopeless Hut there is a well marked track through some attractive bush, ending with an impressive vista ahead.
From here the route is marked with cairns, usually plentiful but annoying absent in some parts. I’d spend much of the next five hours clambering up, down and across rocks of varying sizes, all requiring care and attention. This is definitely not a route to do if any rain is likely, it was challenging enough in the dry. Another blog called it, with classic Kiwi understatement, “a bit of a grunt”.
The goal was to reach the tarn that feeds the waterfall, involving climbing ever steeper piles of rock, surrounded by some wonderful views.
Two sections really got my heart pounding. First heading up a very steep section with lots of loose rock, which I had visions of tumbling down.
Secondly a bit further up when I couldn’t see any more cairns, and the way ahead involved me climbing on all fours for 5 metres or so, feeling very conscious of the heavy pack I was carrying, and the drop below.
It was a huge relief after a rather stressful and exhausting hour and a half to reach the attractive tarn.
I thought that this was relatively close to Sunset Saddle, but it certainly wasn’t, with another hour and quarter to go, walking through a barren, rock filled landscape.
The saddle was ahead but with no clear path, and spotting cairns in the rock filled landscape was like a particularly hard Where’s Wally puzzle. From the saddle the route to Angelus Hut is easy to follow, but the first part of the descent is particularly steep and slippery on scree.