Great Walk #4.5 - Attempting The Routeburn Track in the Snow + Key Summit | New Zealand

In April 2021, we attempted our 5th NZ Great Walk, the Routeburn Track. As we were already late in the hiking season, we had to squeeze this Great Walk into the very last few days of April, and unfortunately we were met by some pretty serious weather. The Milford area was hit by a few days of heavy snow and rain right before we began the the track, and then the day we started, we got some of the worst weather of the whole week... Ultimately the track was closed down past Lake Mackenzie hut due to high avalanche risks further up the track, and we were forced to turn back. Despite this, we still got some amazing views up to that point and got a spectacular day for Key Summit on our way out. Even though we were a little disheartened about having to give up on the Routeburn in April, we still managed to make a positive out of the experience, and it doubled our desire to complete it the following season! We hope you enjoy this video of our hike into Lake Mackenzie, as well as our trip up to Key Summit, and we will see you in our next one! S&S