Cradle Skyline Traverse FKT 4hrs8mins
Where alpinism meets trail running...
Such an epic epic route!!! So sweet to swim in Dove lake looking up at the skyline and reliving the experience afterwards... and the weather gods shined today with perfect weather!! The photos/videos absolutely don’t do the experience justice (except maybe
’s photos I included here from our trip last year)
This mountaineering route is really in a sweet spot for me - combining my (now very rusty and only ever mediocre at best in technical prowess) alpine climbing skills, with wilderness adventure running. After Maj and I got up to check it out last year, I knew I had to come back and test myself to set a reasonable FKT time.
For those familiar with the standard cradle traverse route, this FKT route honours the geography of the full cradle massif hence continuing south out past Fury, the resident snake, and over Benson’s Peak connecting in to the Lake Rodway track before running back.
WARNING - The traverse from Little Horn summit to Cradle summit contains a mandatory 10m abseil and numerous exposed and awkward slimy technical scrambling with around every fifth rock likely to pull off the mtn if you weighed it heavily or in the wrong direction - with you inevitably following. But if you have decent technical mountaineering or alpine scrambling skills and experience, decent route finding skills, and a good head for heights - pick a perfect weather window, know your escape routes, and go for it!!