Bogong 24-27/9/07

Graeme Nelson (story and most of pics)

Emma Nelson

James Nelson

Steve Poole

We met up at Cobungra on the day before the trip, saw that the weather window was right and got set to go. Graeme was the only one to have been to Mt Bogong before, that being at a similar time last year, with little snow of the ground with the poor season, and going by a different route. Graeme, Emma and Steve had been on a number of trips together in the past. James was a good downhill skier but out of practice, and a BC newbie. Suitable old rear entry boots were found to go in AT bindings for him. Emma was recovering from a viral infection and was unsure about whether to come, but decided to do so with as little weight as she could. This led to her unconventional gear choice of 70cm snow blades (“mini-skis”) with her tele boots locked in, and Verts snowshoes for climbing and travelling in soft snow. This left only Steve with telemark gear, with two of us in AT gear.

Monday

We set out late morning, stopped at Omeo to fuel up and check the latest weather, then north up the Omeo Highway before driving up Mulhauser Spur. After lunch at Camp Mulhauser, a stiff climb got us onto Long Spur, joining the Australian Alps Walking Track. Access to Cleve Cole Hut was a hike except for a brief ski with packs down Bossiae Hill. It was getting towards dusk when we arrived. There was a large group of Mt Bogong Club members in the hut, enjoying the benefits of stored food and LPG gas, cooking gear, mattresses, showers, spring-fed water on tap, martinis and steaks for dinner etc. It was a relatively balmy evening with a nearly full moon rising, and we were happy to set up camp outside, and use the hut when needed for shelter and to dry any damp gear.

Tuesday

It was a beautiful sunny day, made for touring and exploring the area. It is about 4km around the top to the summit, and a further 3km to West Peak. There was plenty of good spring snow for skiing, but it was afternoon before we started making any real turns. A bit of time was spent sorting out gear, and in blister management for James. We had lunch at the summit, then over the Hooker Plateau to West Peak, with some gentle skiing on the way over. The view over Little Mt Bogong, into the Kiewa Valley to Mt Beauty and over to Mt Buffalo was spectacular. Looking in other directions including north of the summit made a great 360 degree view. South of the summit and in the east facing gullies was where the snow lay though, and it was time to get some skiing in on the way back. A run named Red Dwarf’s, running east from the Hooker Plateau provided a steeper line and good quality snow. After slogging out to near the summit, there was time for a run on Cairn Gully on the way back to camp. Steve took advantage of the wide cruisy terrain to lay some tele turns.

Wednesday

The weather was still good in the morning, with views to the NSW Main Range even clearer than the previous day. We were looking for more and steeper skiing this day. One possibility was the chutes facing southeast, running into Cairn Gully. The closest two chutes to the summit, Tombstone and Death Cookie, had plenty of snow and plenty of tracks. There was another line further along the ridge that still had some clean vertical, but most were broken up by rock bands. We decided to leave this area to the next trip, and to spend some time in the Audax area, at the northeast corner of the plateau. Together with Soudax bowl, just south of Audax, and Westons area, closer to Cleve Cole, this is the snow often seen on Bogong when viewed from the Main Range. This area had great spring snow this day; with a little morning sun then cloud coming in to avoid it becoming slushy, it was in the “hero snow” category. There were few tracks and enough lines to spread out. Graeme took a warm up cruise down Westons North on the way out there. Steve let loose down the middle of Soudax for about 300m of vertical. Emma made the most of her short turn radius to take on the chute known by club members as Stay Sharp, to skier’s right of the large rocky outcrop. Graeme took the next gully skier’s left of the same outcrop, and James the next face across. Then it was the big boot out, to be ready to do it again, with more gullies and faces still to be tracked that day. The weather was starting to look threatening in the afternoon, but visibility remained OK, and the hail and rain waited until we were back at camp. That wet evening we cooked in the hut. The Mt Bogong Club had a guitar and some song books kept in the locked section, and this was the night for some amateurish plonking on the strings and belting out hits of long ago. A couple of us joined in, the alternatives being to listen, to try and ignore it, or to sit in the tent in the rain.

Thursday

The weather had cleared again overnight, with a cool breeze blowing. It was our time to pack and leave Bogong. Howmans Falls provided a good side trip on the way out, with a bit of fantasising about skiing the adjacent chute if only there was more snow. We were back at the car for lunch, while the weather was deteriorating again. It was good to call in at the Blue Duck Inn at Anglers Rest on the way back, remembering a great trip over a beer for the non-drivers.