An epic solo traverse of the Southern Alps | Three Passes Route | 4K Cinematic

[@smilesandlaughsalot]

Another superb effort Daniel. Well done! Really, REALLY love the way you notice and capture the small details...

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Thanks Jono! My experience of these trips is just as much about the small details as the grand vistas, it's fun to capture them both.

[@markhealey4832]

Dude, that was epic! Fantastic work! 👍

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Cheers Mark! We must get into the hills sometime :-)

[@duncanwallace7760]

Wonderful!

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

thank you :-)

[@pauljk100]

Amazing work. Well done.

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Thanks Paul :-)

[@hamishperkins2307]

You must really enjoy getting out on your own with camera in tow, into New Zealand's absolute splendor. Stunning.

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Indeed there's not much better, absolutely love it!

[@Longtack55]

Great effort for the photography. Many 15 year olds of my generation without adult supervision have enjoyed this route.

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Thanks David, appreciate the comment! I would've loved doing this as a teenager, what a great adventure that would've been.

[@tonymckeage1028]

Great to see the route, my only experience with this route was when myself and a mate walked up to carrington hut for a weekend trip, it was meant to be a two day there and back from klondyke corner, we had settled into the hutt and the sun had gone down and we heard that a tramper had had a fall on the whitehorn glacier, they had taken him up onto the pass but then decided to return, the message was if anyone could travel up onto harmon and meet them on the way down! we set off in the dark up Harman and eventually found the group in the "Dark" they had pitched a tent for the night as the tramper was suffering mobility issues, we had a chat with the team leader who was escorting the guy out and we agreed we would go back to harman, get our gear and head for the car at Klondyke and get in touch with the police and SAR, it was Queen's birthday weekend so there was a frost and we had to ford the waimak a number of times in the dark! the frost was settled to within a foot of the waters edge! it was very cold! we finally got to the car and had a short sleep before dawn when we went to arthurs pass and talked to the police, they arranged for a helicopter from the coast to pick him up off harman, bring him to Arthurs Pass and put hi on the train! I remember this well

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Wow, that sounds like quite the adventure, glad it all ended well! It's rough terrain up there - getting an injury and wondering what you might do is something you think about often when tramping solo. Though when going solo I find it helps me concentrate on every step even better than I might do if tramping with someone else or in a group.

[@tonymckeage1028]

@@DanielMurrayPhotography he wasn’t alone. He was with a tramping group! He didn’t have crampons an tried to transverse the glacier walking high on the side! That was the first mistake! The second mistake is they took him up to whitehorn pass! The camped on the pass! Then returned to harmony pass the next day! They got caught on the second night and camped on bluffs above carrington! He was effectively immobile at that point and the two of us agreed to go out to arthurs pass! I have modest search and rescue experience and was at the time a member of Oxford SAR team! This was the most challenging rescue I had been involved with

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

@@tonymckeage1028 Sorry, I should've been clearer - I understood he was with a group from your first comment. I was more reflecting on having walked through that terrain myself (solo) and being hyper aware of all the things that could go wrong, even if you're experienced. It is very unforgiving country.

[@tonymckeage1028]

@@DanielMurrayPhotography He was with a Group, it was actually Canty University Tramping club, it was a challenging situation for the group, as he became unable to walk on the 2nd night, I agree about the country, not an area i was experienced in! but i did the walk to carrington hut quite regularly

[@GirlVersusWild]

Good for you Tony, helping rescue someone in that situation!

[@stevewalker3666]

Fantastic footage thanks so much for making. This trip is on my hit list its making me want to do it more now!!!

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Thanks very much. It's such an epic part of the country!

[@hikesome]

What a wonderful adventure and fantastic cinematography and production Daniel! Outstanding film

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Thanks very much Mario :-)

[@trishpeddle4500]

Wow. Great video of your epic journey. Thanks for sharing😮

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Thanks heaps Trish, glad you enjoyed :-)

[@MichaelK1206]

Your best edit so far 😍 what an adventure!

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Cheers Michael. Yes, very happy with how this turned out. Still lots to learn though! 😊

[@LeeCook01]

Looked like a fantastic trip mate and of course beautifully put together

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Cheers Lee, had a great time on the trip as well as on the PC putting this together :-)

[@BackcountryKiwi]

Beautifully shot! Amazing work. Cheers

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

thanks very much!

[@joseluiscantabranagarcia5445]

Nice Daniel!

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Thanks so much :-)

[@Paul-travl]

Amazing Daniel!

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Thanks very much :-)

[@GirlVersusWild]

One specific question I have is regarding the end of the walk at Lake Kaniere! How would you recommend getting back to civilisation/ Christchurch from there? 😊

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

I was fortunate to have my wife pick me up so never looked into alternative options :-)

[@NickSolLyons]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing I was just about to say can we get more where and where for us newbies .. but your end sequence was really good. Could I ask how much experience do you need for this trek ?

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Thank you! This trip is definitely at the more experienced end. Terrain is very rough in places and often there's no marked track. Full write-up on my blog: danielmurray.nz/a-brief-guide-to-the-three-passes-route/

[@NickSolLyons]

Ok thanks Daniel ! I'll check that out 👍👍​@@DanielMurrayPhotography

[@GirlVersusWild]

I’m thinking of doing the 3- Pass route solo soon! Any advice?! I wear sneakers and use paper maps but it would be high summer so hopefully safe!

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

I'd not recommend doing this particular trip with that gear. The terrain is rough and I'm pretty sure the snow field on Whitehorn remains year round. You're rolling the dice - if it's a cold day (and therefore icy) sneakers just won't cut it. Also paper maps is all good but only if you also have and know how to use a compass - if you strike low visibility (again a roll of the dice) then navigation skills are essential.

[@jamesbroadbent3555]

Nice cinematography. Did you have a drone?

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Thank you. No I didn't carry a drone as didn't have a permit (nor did I want the extra weight). The two aerial shots in the video were obtained after the trip.

[@OutdoorsmanDave]

Cinematically creative 👏 How did you navigate in the whiteout?

[@DanielMurrayPhotography]

Thanks Dave! The cloud came through in patches, I was using GPS and topomaps to get where I needed to go.