Mt Arthur Traverse - Organiser: Grahame Harris
Summit Party: We left the Flora car park in fine, cool, sunny conditions for our Mt Arthur snow climb, expecting an easy walk up to the Mt Arthur Hut. But as we got nearer to the hut we started doing a Torvill and Dean routine on a very icy track. A snack break at the hut saw some of the group don crampons but once past the hut the snow was still quite soft and the trail well used, making the going easy. Soon our group was well spaced out, everyone setting their own pace in perfect weather conditions. About half an hour from the summit, harder snow conditions were encountered and the odd bit of step-cutting helped progress. The final steep face was soft knee-deep snow. As we came up over the steep face we were hit by a cold southerly wind, chilling us to the core. A sheltered spot in the lee of the summit gave some a tolerable spot to have lunch. Others opted to return to the lower altitudes for their lunch. Three of the group decided to return by the Horseshoe Gully and enjoy some trail blazing and snow slides on the return journey. We were all back by the hut by 3pm after a very enjoyable day on the mountain.
Summit members: Andy Clark, Uta Purcell, Christine Hoy, Tony Haddon, Mike Marren, Dion Pont, Ian Pavitt (scribe), and visitor Garry Russell.
Snow Craft Group : The previously cancelled snow craft group joined in with the Mt. Arthur tramp and diverted into a snowy basin to practice safe use of crampons and arresting a fall or slide on icy snow using an ice axe.
I enjoyed this stunning trip, as always, on the Mt Arthur track especially in winter. A bonus with the snow and ice adding to the scenery and some slippery challenges! The wonderful Dracophyllums looking ethereal draped in snow and many carrying seed pods which were shedding their load onto the snow. I felt very privileged to go with this group to such a great location and to have the added bonus of learning some new skills at the same time. I was surprised by the number of cars and families there for the day, most trekking up to the top to enjoy the snow.
We were lucky with a sunny and clear day for the trip and to have some snow on the tops to practice in. The snow craft was capably instructed by Grahame. There was a medium amount of snow and it was melting, however we did strike very slippery ice on the track causing a few slips and slides and some falls on the return. Where the track was steeper, Grahame showed us how to cut steps on the ice using our ice axes in the most energy-conserving way. We did make it to the Mt Arthur hut without donning the crampons but kept them on for a good part of the return trip. Beyond the hut Grahame found places to practice our snow skills. We all had great faith in our leader and trustingly launched ourselves onto an almost vertical slope traversing some distance using the crampons as instructed. He then had us return to the centre of this Tomo and proceed to scale the almost vertical wall by kicking our toes into the icy wall. We did all come out on top! Further on we descended into a large basin and practiced with our ice axes on the shady side of the mountain. Graham would have liked a more crisp ice crust on the snow slope to practice the arrest, but we did find that we could slide and still able to use our ice axes correctly to stop that slide. Altogether a good and safe lesson. We were joined by 4 cheeky keas at a rest stop on the way out – a bonus after a good day! Back at the hut we met up with the summit group and tramped and slid our way out together. Thank you, Grahame. Party: Grahame Harris (organiser), Gretchen Williams, Marianne Hermsen, Anita Robertson, Alison Nicoll (scribe), Margaret Page, Clive and Eric Richards (visitors).