Day 4: (Monday 26th Feb 2007) Today we head off to cross the Gillespie Pass and arrive at the new Young Hut. Luckily the weather lifted and we were not faced with a bitter grunt without views - just a 1 vertical kilometre grunt with views. Initially it was back up the valley but a right turn before the Gillespie Stream. From there it was another steep grunt vertically up about 200m (luckily via a series of zigzags) before emerging into a rather pleasant valley with a much easier incline.

The pleasant vale all too soon becomes a steady and unrelenting climb rewarded with increasingly impressive views of Mt Awful at the top of the Gillespie Basin and views back to the Siberia Valley and Mounts Kuri [2134m] and on the right Mt Alba [2355] (which sits just beyond the Crucible).

The track doesn't always seem to take the lowest saddle, presumably because the drop on the other side isn't safe. It appears that our track went directly up to the 1629m level instead of sidling up the contours to the actual 1501m Gillespie Pass. Eventually, after a 1 kilometre vertical climb we are on the pass and have a well earned rest and lunch. Some Israelis were also on top and one kindly took our group photo.

The descent starts with a 55m drop to a bit of a spur (1574m) where Ian was taking portraits against the backdrop of Mt Awful (actually the massive chunk of rock in front of us, Mt Awful is further to the left in mist). There are great views of the peaks across the South Branch of the Young and beyond to the even tall unnamed peaks beyond the North branch. Looking a long way down, one could see a tiny tent by the river. We then headed down another 600m vertically but only 600m horizontally, another 45° slope, but twice as big as the Crucible slope.

Once on the valley floor, it is a very civilised wander down past the man in the tent to the bridge near the site of the old Young Hut. I am fascinated by the unnamed "peak SE of Gillespie", not just by its angular facets, but whether it was the peak we scaled. After the bridge, we entered bush and descended 260m in about 1.5km to the new hut.