4 hours return | 4.8 km | Canterbury
I had never really heard of this track before and had actually been intending to spend time in Arthur's Pass rather than here, but the weather caused a bit of a change to our plans so after seeking some local knowledge at the coffee cart we had a number of recommendations, one of which was Foggy Peak.
It was a beautiful day for late June and was forecast to get even better through the day, so we decided this was the best day of the weekend to tackle Foggy Peak. It isn't a long track but is almost entirely uphill for the two hours that you are heading to the summit so does take a fair bit of effort. The track starts by the Porters Pass viewpoint. There is no sign, and it isn't 100% clear where to start, but you can see the peak up above you and so start heading into the tussocks and you soon see a well-worn track and the occasional orange pole that guides you to the start of the track.
This is clearly a popular walk. We headed up around 10am and there were a couple of other groups ahead of us. As we came down however there were a lot of people going up, so you can see why the track is so well worn. Aside from the few markers at the bottom, the track isn't marked, so if going up when the conditions aren't great then route finding skills are a must. However, on a good day the track is really easy to follow both up and down. The beginning takes you through tussock fields and after about 30 minutes you are up onto loose rock and scree sections. The scenery is beautiful from the get-go so there is always an excuse to stop for a breather whilst you take a moment to enjoy the view.
After around an hour we hit the snowline and started to follow in the steps of those ahead of us. I found the snow easier to negotiate than the loose rocks, but we had perfect conditions with no ice so we were very lucky. 15 minutes later we arrived at a little plateau where for the first time we found ourselves in sunlight. This side of the mountain doesn't get much sun in the winter so it was a pleasant relief from the cold air that had been circulating further down. After a quick stop to reassess if we could continue safely we pushed on with what turned out to be the final 30 minutes of the ascent.
The path got steeper before flattening out onto a bit of a saddle to the final climb up to Foggy Peak (1,741m). Icicles had formed on the side of the hill, clearly indicating the normal wind direction. Again, we were lucky as it was incredibly still that day and other than a few clouds that drifted in and out over the peak we had a perfect blue-sky day. The last few meters I was constantly turning around and trying to take it all in, the views are staggering with snowy mountain peaks, tussock fields, Lake Lyndon below and then the vast green valleys stretching out for miles into the distance.
We spent well over an hour at the summit enjoying the views and chatting with others that had made their way up that day as the clouds rolled in and over and then back out again. Some people were already on their way down from Castle Peak which is an option for the more adventurous. The saddle across to Castle Peak was icy and definitely not something to attempt without crampon and ice axe, so for us this was the final destination, and we were more than happy with the views we were getting from here.
We followed the same track down and carefully picked our way back down the snowy slopes before hitting the scree. It was a little faster on the way down than up but we took it slowly in case we hit any icy patches and I was certainly grateful for having poles to help negotiate the steeper sections. This is probably my favourite walk in the area to date, no doubt made better by the snow and beautiful weather. If you aren't used to summit tracks then it will be hard work and physically challenging, but worth the effort. Make sure you have the appropriate alpine experience and gear if you are going to attempt the track in the winter and if you are doing it in the summer then take plenty of water as there is nowhere to hide out of the sun on this route!
Parking: Porters Pass Viewpoint on the side of the main road.
Overnight options: Not available.
