Merritts Traverse
Download & Print Map and Notes3 hrs
167 m
Hard track
Covered in snow & closed part of the year
Kosciuszko Express Chairlift
(0km) Bottom of Kosciuszko Express chairlift → Top of Kosciuszko Express chairlift
1.9 km
20 mins
558m
-1m
Very easy
Eagles Nest Restaurant
(1.86km) Top of Kosciuszko Express chairlift → Top of Snowgums chairlift
420 m
12 mins
11m
-84m
Hard track
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Merritts Nature Track’ sign[10] downhill along the wide management trail, keeping the main valley to your right. The trail soon leads to a four-way intersection marked with a ‘Kosciuszko Walk’ sign[11], just above the top of Snowgums chairlift[12].
(2.28km) Top of Snowgums chairlift → Lower bench seat
290 m
8 mins
2m
-73m
Hard track
Veer right: From the bench seat[18], this walk follows the clear track downhill, which soon heads down the steep steps[19][20], coming to another bench seat (and another good excuse for a rest).
Lower bench seat
(2.57km) Lower Bench Seat → Int of Merritts nature track and Village trail (upper)
210 m
6 mins
1m
-48m
Hard track
(2.78km) Int of Merritts nature track and Village trail (upper) → Bottom of Antons
470 m
11 mins
20m
-42m
Moderate track
(3.25km) Bottom of Antons → Top of Gunbarrel Express
500 m
17 mins
85m
-11m
Hard track
Top of Gunbarrel Express
(3.75km) Top of Gunbarrel Express → Bottom of The Cruiser
840 m
19 mins
3m
-125m
Moderate track
(4.59km) Bottom of The Cruiser → Schuss intersection
1.5 km
37 mins
9m
-261m
Hard track
(6.11km) Schuss intersection → Friday Flats
480 m
10 mins
0m
-55m
Moderate track
Friday Flat
(6.65km) Thredboland intersection → Int of Friday Drive and Merritts Nature Track
430 m
8 mins
7m
-10m
Very easy
(7.08km) Int of Friday Drive and Merritts Nature Track → Int of Riverview Terrace track and Merritts Nature Track
70 m
2 mins
11m
0m
Easy track
(7.15km) Int of Riverview Terrace track and Merritts Nature Track → Bottom of bobsled run
240 m
4 mins
5m
-8m
Moderate track
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the paved footpath west towards the clearing[95], keeping the valley to your left. The footpath soon leads out of the bush[96] and then along side the bobsled run[97] to find the building at the bottom of the run[98].
Thredbo Bobsled
(7.39km) Bottom of bobsled run → Bottom of Kosciuszko Express chairlift
230 m
5 mins
13m
-6m
Moderate track
Maps for the Merritts Traverse walk
You can download the PDF for this walk to print a map.These maps below cover the walk and the wider area around the walk, they are worth carrying for safety reasons.
Perisher Valley | 1:25 000 Map Series | 85252S PERISHER VALLEY | NSW-85252S |
Chimneys Ridge | 1:25 000 Map Series | 85241N CHIMNEYS RIDGE | NSW-85241N |
Kosciuszko | 1:100 000 Map Series | 8525 KOSCIUSZKO | 8525 |
Jacobs River | 1:100 000 Map Series | 8524 JACOBS RIVER | 8524 |
Cross sectional view of the Merritts Traverse bushwalking track
Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the Merritts Traverse
Overview of this walks grade – based on the AS 2156.1 – 2001
Under this standard, a walk is graded based on the most difficult section of the walk.
Length | 5.8 km | ||
Time | 3 hrs | ||
. | |||
Grade 4/6 Hard track |
AS 2156.1 | Gradient | Very steep (4/6) |
Quality of track | Formed track, with some branches and other obstacles (3/6) | ||
Signs | Directional signs along the way (3/6) | ||
Experience Required | Some bushwalking experience recommended (3/6) | ||
Weather | Storms may impact on navigation and safety (3/6) | ||
Infrastructure | Generally useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats) (1/6) |
Some more details of this walks Grading
Here is a bit more details explaining grading looking at sections of the walk
Gradient
2.8km of this walk is very steep and another 2.7km is flat with no steps. Whilst another 1.4km has short steep hills and the remaining 690m has gentle hills with occasional steps.
Quality of track
4.3km of this walk follows a clear and well formed track or trail and another 2.9km follows a smooth and hardened path. The remaining (430m) follows a formed track, with some branches and other obstacles.
Signs
Around 4.3km of this walk is clearly signposted, whilst the remaining 3.3km has directional signs at most intersection.
Experience Required
Around 6km of this walk requires no previous bushwalking experience, whilst the remaining 1.6km requires some bushwalking experience.
weather
Around 5km of this walk is affected by storms that may impact your navigation and safety, whilst the remaining 2.5km is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation).
Infrastructure
This whole walk, 8km is close to useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats).
Similar walks
Other Nearby walks
Plan your trip to and from the walk here
The Merritts Traverse walk starts and ends at the Bottom of Kosciuszko Express chairlift (gps: -36.503981, 148.30397)Your main transport option to Bottom of Kosciuszko Express chairlift is by;
Car. A park entry fee is required for driving into the park.
(get details)
Fire Danger
Each park may have its own fire ban, this rating is only valid for today and is based on information from the RFS Please check the RFS Website for more information.Weather Forest
This walk starts in the Snowy Mountains weather district always check the formal BOM forecast or pdf before starting your walk.Forecast snapshot
Park Information & Alerts
Short URL = http://wild.tl/1k
Gallery images
There are other downloads I am still working on.
You will probably need to login to access these — still all free.
* KML (google earth file)
* GPX (GPS file)
Special Maps/ brochures
* A3 topo maps
* PDF with Lands Topo map base
* PDF with arial image (and map overlay)
I wanted to get the main site live first, this extra stuff will come in time.
Happy walking
Matt 🙂
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