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Sourced from Topo50 Map BU23 Boyle Village. Crown Copyright Reserved
About this hike on Faust’s ridge
The Difficulty Rating: ★★★☆☆ (Return to the same way)
Faust is the mountain which I visited for five times between 2019 and 2024. The trail head is close to Boyle Village, about 16 km to the south of Lewis Pass. There are a couple of reasons that make it my favorite hiking destination: The easy access to the trail head, the moderate difficulty for hiking to the summit and the beautiful tarns along the ridge.
In September 2019, only several months after my first day hike to Faust, my partner and I headed to the trail in the hope of camping by one of the beautiful tarns I saw last time. The sandfly was absent at the trail head during this time of the year which was great as normally they were very annoying while I put on my boots beside the car.
We met a hiker before the bushline, the only person we saw during the trip. (Actually he was the only people I saw on five hikes.) We walked up the snowy slope soon after the bushline. Although we brought crampons and ice axes as the winter condition was expected, we still hesitated to proceed on this harsh-looking terrain.
Originating from Taiwan, our instinct saw snow as a pleasant but fearful sign when hiking. Also considering the tarns were very likely frozen or hidden under the heavy snow, we decided to pitch the tent somewhere cozy nearby in stead of challenging the snow for reaching the summit or any tarns.
It was a calm night with a clear sky where Milky Way happily overlooked my camera. We played snow for a while in the next morning before our return to the trail head. My partner did not see any tarns until her next hike to Faust in 2024.
More image and route information are available from my posts, “Faust, a Day Hike” and “Faust’s Tarns.”
