Barker Memorial Hut

Barker Memorial Hut is a remote 10-bunk alpine hut on a bluff above the upper White River, in a high basin in Arthur’s Pass National Park. It’s a rewarding overnight base for experienced trampers and climbers, with steep valley walls and peaks all around. This is a serious backcountry destination, not a casual day stop.

From Carrington Hut, the White River leg takes about 4–5 hours. It involves route-finding, scrambling and several unbridged river crossings; high-level backcountry and river-crossing skills are essential. Rivers can become dangerous or impassable, so check current DOC route and avalanche information before setting out and turn back if a crossing isn’t safe. The mountain radio here is no longer monitored, so carry a personal locator beacon.

There are 10 bunks with foam mattresses, solar lighting and an outside tank-drop toilet, but no heating. The hut is first-come, can’t be booked, and DOC hut passes don’t apply. A rainwater tank is listed, but its current condition and potability aren’t confirmed; bring a reliable way to treat water and your own food and supplies.

The present hut was built in 1980 to remember Neville Barker, a Canterbury Mountaineering Club member killed in the Second World War. It replaced an earlier hut built in 1945 with help from the Barker family. Forty-five club members carried supplies to the first hut over three days; the replacement’s materials arrived by helicopter.

The red hut sits above a tarn, with a rocky basin and high peaks closing in around it. Include the hut and tarn together for a sense of scale, with the basin’s steep walls in the background.