Each walk on our program is assigned a grade which, in conjunction with the walk description, will help you assess whether you have the required walking fitness and experience to do the walk. If unsure, please discuss with the leader before booking.

Below are the definitions of our grades for Day Walks and for Pack Carry Walks.

For Accommodated Trips and Base Camps, each day walk on the itinerary will normally be assigned a separate grade. The grade for the whole trip will usually be the grade of the hardest day walk.

 

 

 

Day Walk Grades

Walking Grades for day walks with a 5-8kg pack:

Grade	Track Description	Climbing Description	Walking Time ** (hrs)	Distance (kms)
Social	All on paths or tracks	Flat, gentle climbs if any	up to 2	up to 8
Easy	Mainly on tracks	Not too many ups and downs, with climbs up to 200m in total	up to 4	up to 12
Easy-Medium	Mainly on tracks	Some ups and downs, with climbs up to 400m in total	up to 5	up to 16
Medium	May include off track in light scrub areas and/or other challenges*	Moderate ups and downs, with climbs up to 800m in total	up to 6	up to 20
Medium-Hard	May include off track in medium scrub areas and/or other challenges*	Some steep ups and downs, with climbs up to 1200m in total	up to 8	up to 25
Hard	May include off track in thick scrub areas and/or other challenges*	Steep ups and downs, with climbs up to 1800m in total	up to 10	up to 30
Very Hard	Difficult terrain, thick scrub, alpine or desert areas and/or other challenges*	Very long steep ups and downs, with climbs over 1800m in total	over 10	over 30

 

* Other Challenges may include river / creek crossings, rock scrambling / hopping.
** Walking Time excludes lunch break.

 

 

 

Pack Carry Walk Grades

Walking Grades for Pack-Carry walks with a 12-15kg pack:

 

Grade	Track Description	Climbing Description	Walking time per day ** (hrs)	Max. no. of days	Distance per day (kms)	Pack Carry Experience required
Easy	Mainly on tracks	Not too many ups and downs, with climbs up to 200m/day in total	up to 4	2	up to 10	At least Medium day walking experience
Easy-Medium	Mainly on tracks	Some ups and downs, with climbs up to 400m/day in total	up to 5	3	up to 15	At least Medium day walking experience
Medium	May include off track in light scrub areas and/or other challenges*	Moderate ups and downs, with climbs up to 800m/day in total	up to 6	4	up to 18	At least 1 beginner pack-carry (E or E-M)
Medium-Hard	May include off track in medium scrub areas and/or other challenges*	Some steep ups and downs, with climbs up to 1200m/day in total	up to 8	6	up to 22	Pack-carry experience of at least Medium in past 6 months
Hard	May include off track in thick scrub areas and/or other challenges*	Steep ups and downs, with climbs up to 1800m/day in total	up to 10	7	up to 25	Pack-carry experience of at least M-H in past 6 months
Very Hard	Difficult terrain, thick scrub, alpine or desert areasand/or other challenges*	Very long steep ups and downs, with climbs over 1800m/day in total	over 10	over 7	over 25	Pack-carry experience of at least Hard in past 6 months

 

* Other Challenges may include river / creek crossings, rock scrambling / hopping.
** Walking Time excludes lunch break.

A Pack-Carry walk will be rated as hard as the hardest day, e.g. for a 3 day pack-carry with 2 easy days and 1 medium day, the Pack-Carry will be rated Medium.