NSW Nordic Ski Club

Jagungal - Weather to Go or Not?

Kenn Clacher, 1996

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It was, we admitted to each other on Saturday morning before setting out, the sort of weekend when you would stay at home if only you had not committed to someone to drive, passenger, lead or otherwise ski. So the five of us set out into threatening weather: Kenn Clacher, Edith Baker, Norm White, Gary Stalgis and Greg Layman. The objective of our three-day trip was to ski from Munyang to Jagungal and back, base camping at or in the vicinity of Mawsons hut and taking in the summit of Jagungal on a day trip.

The weather forecast read:

"Overcast. Rain developing later tonight and continuing into Saturday. Some snow mainly about higher ground tonight and early tomorrow. Some moderate rainfalls developing tomorrow. Strengthening southeast winds.

Outlook:

It wasn't wrong. It was, we later discovered, the weekend when violent storms hit Sydney.

Initially, conditions weren't too bad, just a little rain, sleet and wind to herald our departure from Munyang. Up Disappointment Spur, past Disappointment hut and over Schlink Pass, it could have been worse. It was, as soon as we started to climb up Bogong Creek, about 400m west of Schlink Pass on the way up to Gungartan Pass. What had been a simple, pleasant wander up the creek one week previously on Kerry Hunter's trip was now an epic struggle.

It only took about 100m of desperate effort up a gentle but hard slope into a fierce wind to convince us that this was not the way to go. So we turned towards Schlink Hilton hut, to battle on there, have lunch and consider our options.

As we regained our composure in the hut, we were presented with a fascinating array of characters, not unlike the unfolding of a soap opera. At regular intervals the door would burst open and people would stagger in to announce that conditions were the worst they had encountered in 75 years or thereabouts of skiing. The clincher came when we heard tales of three skiers having to remove their skis to make any headway from Orange Hut to the Valentine's Hut turnoff, and still not being able to make any progress. They were apparently last heard of being blown into the Geehi Valley. Another party set out for Valentine Hut, only to return 10 minutes later claiming impossible conditions. So we decided to stay the night at Schlink Hilton.

To fill in the afternoon however we thought a return trip to Valentines hut with only daypacks might be worth a try. It was. After some uncomfortable conditions for the first few hundred metres from the hut and again over the saddle into the top of Duck Creek, the skiing was great. Once in Duck Creek we were sheltered and the snow good. We cursed ourselves for not bringing our full packs, the more so when we returned to Schlink Hilton to discover that 20 people would be sleeping there that night.

On Sunday morning, despite the weather continuing as on Saturday, we resolved to get to Mawsons hut. We had to escape the hordes at Schlink! We were now without Greg, who decided to return to Munyang with some other Schlink hut inhabitants. It turned out that the wind had abated a little and again there were only a few short stretches before Duck Creek where the wind was difficult. After skirting the northern end of the Kerries we arrived at Mawsons Hut around 11:30.

After lunch we wandered off in the direction of Jagungal although it was shrouded in cloud. We climbed over the northern side of the Cup & Saucer and of Mailbox Hill, then skied to beyond McAlister Saddle. All the while the cloud covering Jagungal was lifting and by around 2 o'clock the peak was revealed in all its awesome beauty and splendour. A check of torches carried by the party revealed that there weren't enough for a return in the dark. A trip to the top of the Monarch of the Snows would have to wait another year. We returned to Mawsons by way of McAlister Saddle, Smith's Perisher, the Bulls Peaks and the southern side of Mailbox Hill and the Cup & Saucer. The ski down the creek was a disappointment as we had to push hard downhill through soggy snow. Compensation was in the form of having the hut to ourselves.

The next day we returned via the Kerries with only a little cloud to contend with. After morning tea at Whites River hut we lunched at Horse Camp hut, reclining on deck chairs on the snow in the sun. By 2:30 we were back at Munyang.

We who had started as reluctant voyagers returned very pleased we had succumbed to our self-imposed obligation after a great three days of skiing on a most rewarding trip.

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