Rachel Smith & Robert Phillips | February 2021
Armed with some 3-month old (but apparently outdated) route advice, Rob & I created the ‘fun’ route up the Fox glacier to Chancellor hut:
A) Kerosene taxi: Cheating! (not that we could afford it)
1. Walk up road: We nailed this bit!
2. Cross the (swift flowing, silty, ice chunky) Fox River: We couldn’t feel our legs for half an hour after this. We later learned this step was avoidable.
3. Cross an ice shelf on the terminal face of glacier: We nailed this bit, but later learned that this too was unnecessary.
4. Scramble up ‘suicide alley’: This rocky gut was surprisingly nice. We were actually on route here.
5. Cross the Fox white-ice: We got off-route here and ended up lost front-pointing in a maze of steep undulating ice ridges
6. Dubious choss scrambling: This was required to compensate for the poor route choice on the white-ice, we were definitely off route here.
7. Follow the DoC track: We succeeded at this for only a short while…
8. Leave the DoC track in favour of the direct route: Reverse canyoning up a slippery waterfall face just seemed like a good idea. You might want a rope.
9. You’ve made it. Be sure to check the hut cupboards thoroughly – there could be beer in there: (we forgot this step, until right as we were leaving)
On route (for a short while) after negotiating the Fox Glacier 
Spot Chancellor hut!