Grading of walks is always a contentious issue. An inexperienced navigator may find a trackless cross country jaunt difficult, where an experienced walker may be able to do it in their sleep. A fit person may find a solid hill climb relatively easy when an unfit person will struggle. However, does a walk rated "HARD" mean that it is long and gruelling, or that the navigation is difficult? Many guides attempt to combine all the factors that contribute to the difficulty of a walk into a single number or rating, which is often unhelpful.

The two main components that determine the difficulty of a walk are the level of fitness and skill needed. The length of the walk, the amount of climbing and the quality of the track all determine what level of fitness is required. Difficulty of navigation, route finding, scrambling and water finding contribute to the level of skill required. This site gives a fitness grade and skill grade for each walk.

The following table indicates approximately what the different fitness grades mean. The distances are given in kilometres, however they assume relatively flat ground. Climbing or steep descents, and tricky terrain, will increase the kilometre equivalent. A climb of 100-150m is equivalent to about a kilometre. Difficult terrain such as scrub bashing, or creek walking will also increase the kilometre equivalent. Note that these distances are for overnight pack walks. Day walks can cover longer distances for the same level of difficulty.

Please note that these distances are for reasonably fit and moderately experienced walkers - others may find some 'easy' walks relatively hard.

  • Easy (E) - less than 10km a day, with full pack, on flat track, or equivalent
  • Easy-Medium (EM) - 10-15km a day
  • Medium (M) - 15-20km a day
  • Medium-Hard (MH) - 20-25km a day
  • Hard (H) - more than 25km a day

Skill grades are harder to define, as a number of different skills may be required for a given walk. Note that even easy walks assume that you know how to read a map and use a compass. Examples of the sort of walks that would be graded:

  • Easy (E) - walking mainly on well signposted tracks
  • Medium (M) - some sections of easy off track navigation, or track finding hard. Some easy rock scrambling required
  • Hard (H) - significant sections off track, with navigation hard. Exposed rock scrambling required, and route finding is difficult at times

Despite all of this, walks obviously can not be captured in a couple of letters. The grading is simply a guide to the level of skill and fitness below which you may have some difficulty completing the walk. For more information, read track notes, look at maps, do some research and talk to people.

Arguably even higher skill grades would be required for some remote wilderness walks. However, in keeping with the spirit of adventure, those sort of walks are not explicitly described on this site, although suggestions may be given. That sort of walk should be judged on its merits. As a result there is nothing graded with more than Hard for both skill and fitness.