NSW Nordic Ski Club
My K2K
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The cast: Paul Jennings (leader), Alan Waddington, Andrew Stock, Carl Bazely, Garry Gow, John Croker.
As a newcomer to the NSW Nordic Ski Club, I was extremely impressed to find that the club actually had 3 K to K trips scheduled for this year. I was further impressed to find that the plans for the trip involved spending the pre-trip night in the luxurious surroundings of the shelter sheds at the Adaminaby sports ground. This made me aware that the NSW Nordic skiers were obviously tougher and more frugal than I was. Garry and I arrived from Wollongong together with Andrew already there. The other three members of the party arrived somewhat later, all introductions postponed to a more civilised hour.
Day 1
The next morning was clear but frosty, although the sun was quickly warming things up. Having been informed that the 8.30 start at Mt Selwyn was non-negotiable, most members of the team were concentrating on the job of switching from being car-campers to ski-tourers, while simultaneously eating breakfast. I was impressed by Paul's relaxed attitude, but decided he must have been an extremely efficient packer, when he did finally get going. The snow cover at Selwyn certainly looked good, although it had obviously not been topped up for some time. In the overnight parking area we had ample opportunity to organise ourselves for the day, and in fact could probably have organised ourselves for several days worth of activity. Suffice it to say that the non-negotiable departure time proved to be flexible, and we finally were able to make our departure about two hours late. Fortunately the snow was just about ideal for travelling with a good firm base and softening surface, not to mention a nice tailwind. We made good time along the plateau, and lunched just at the base of Tabletop, in a sunny little hollow sheltered from the wind. Travelling continued to be easy after lunch, and with some deft navigating from Paul and despite my apprehensions, we made a nicely direct and efficient route to Arsenic ridge. The benefit of the leader's experience showed, and we managed to hold the crest of the ridge virtually all the way to Brook's hut, something I had been unable to manage in 2 previous visits, and we were setting up inside by about 4 pm. True to his e-mailed plans, Carl provided steak and vegetables (fresh) for tea for his half of the group and I included the red wine.(This was obviously not advertised in the trips program-eds)
Day 2
From Brooks we kept to the high ground on the western side of the plain, and had snow virtually all the way down to Happy Jack's Creek. We were substantially to the west of the bridge at the creek and had to wade across, although the day was warm and sunny, if a little windy, so it was good drying weather. After the crossing it was into ski-carrying mode for the climb up to Happy Jack's road, and then a short walk to the west, until we were back up into the snow zone, on the higher ground below Far Bald Hill. This was really the last point at which we were forced to walk, although some chose that option just before O'Keefe's hut. We visited Boo Bee for lunch then headed up to Doubtful Gap then down across Doubtful Creek, which was another wade, or should have been, as I demonstrated by falling in while trying to rock hop across. We then picked up the Grey Mare fire trail to O'Keefes. The descent of the fire trail to Bogong Creek was somewhat challenging, with some icy patches in the relatively narrow and steep roadway. Bogong Creek was another wade, with the steep and patchily covered fire trail on the other side another challenge. The first members of the party arrived at O'Keefe's just on dusk, with the first drops of rain just beginning to fall. Some members of the party decided to try "skiing by torchlight" but all were in residence by the time the rain really got serious. Kransky sausages were on the menu for night 2 - I was starting to regret all that time spent agonising about how to make rice and pasta dishes appetising ! Paul's team put us to shame in the dessert stakes, with freshly cooked pancakes, complete with whipped cream, although in some cases it looked like whipped cream topped off with a pancake.(chefs on the rampage! But do they cook at home?-eds) After the creek crossings during the day, there was some damp footwear, and a few people had their inner soles drying by the fire overnight. The four legged occupants of O'Keefe's obviously thought Garry was the skier with the cleanest feet, and showed their appreciation by eating part of one of his inner soles during the night.
Day 3
The rain had turned to snow overnight, and looked like it would continue for some time the following morning, with howling wind and poor visibility. Accordingly, we abandoned plans to climb Jagungal, and the prospect of more creek crossings meant that the Grey Mare route was not all that popular. Therefore we headed east from O'Keefe's, up Bogong Creek, over Jagungal saddle and McAlister saddle, and then down the Geehi to Mawson's, with a detour around Tarn Bluff. Conditions were virtually blizzard for most of the day, and the navigators did very well to hit Big Bend virtually spot on. My automatic camera showed it's dislike of the conditions when the battery went on strike at lunch time, although it did come back to life when the weather improved.
"Then across Doubtful Creek, which was another wade, or should have been, as I demonstrated by falling in while trying to rock hop across!"
In this section we were starting to strike substantial ice patches, scoured clear by the howling gale. Quite fun with a tail wind or a slight downhill, but not so much fun going into the wind or uphill. Mawson's had already a couple of residents who were doing a downhill K to K from the other end. We managed to weatherproof the back room for the night with some difficulty, and had to rely on using the large snow drift outside to block some of the holes in the perspex window panes.
Day 4
The weather conditions were much the same the next day, and we only went to Schlink, via the Kerries. Icy patches were again a problem, and now the wind was mostly a head wind, with no more free yardage to be made. Unfortunately visibility was again minimal, and the scenic attractions of this section were lost on us, intent mainly on getting into some kind of shelter as fast as possible. Schlink is now completely open, so there are multiple bedrooms, bunks with mattresses and carpet on the floor, as well as two separate kitchen areas, and we enjoyed a brief moment of luxury. Towards evening the weather started to improve, and things looked promising for the next day. Our menu for the night was basically rice (apologies to Alan and Carl), although I think we were fairing a little better than the other half of our team, from whom we heard questions like "How many days did you say I had to bring food for?"
Day 5
The weather was much finer, with bright sunshine and little wind. We went up to the Rolling Grounds, via Schlink Pass. At the pass we found that virtually all of the phone companies were available, so the mobiles got a bit of a work out. The snow was generally fresh and soft, although there were some quite big icy patches. Lunch was had at Consett-Stephen Pass in a light breeze and beautiful sunshine. We then went up the west ridge of Tate and had a fairly epic photo session on the summit, with great views along the main range and back to Jagungal. This was the highlight for me, considering that on a previous trip I had descended to Guthega at this point, owing to poor visibility. Although the weather was good we decided that in order to give ourselves the best chance of climbing Kosciusko and possibly continuing on to Dead Horse Gap, the best option was to "cut off the corner" by skiing down to the Snowy to camp for the night. The descent of Tate's east ridge seemed to go on forever. The snow was firm with some ice near the top, but got very soft toward the bottom. Garry decided that all of this open space was too much and skied into Alan, just to remind him that accidents can happen anywhere. Fortunately the only damage done was to Garry's previously good reputation for common sense. Closer to the bottom, Carl had a more significant fall, injuring his ankle. It was virtually dark by the time we reached the bridge near Illawong Lodge, so we decided to make camp a little way up Spencer's Creek. The tents had their first outing for the trip, and although adequate, did seem a little crowded with 3 inside. At this point Andrew and Paul did a bit more night skiing in order to finalise our transport arrangements for the end of the trip by using their mobiles when they could get a signal. Unfortunately it was twenty minutes away! Finally the arrangements were made with the result that we had an inflexible 1.30 pm deadline at Thredbo. The night was probably one of the coldest I think I've had, and the interiors of the tents were well and truly iced up the following morning. Perhaps a bit more ventillation would have helped. Andrew avoided this by sleeping outside.
Day 6
The next morning we skied up Spencer's Creek to the Perisher/Charlottes road, but were very slow because of Carl's ankle. Ice patches were again a feature, and worsened toward the top of the creek. Fortunately at the road an obliging electricity technician passing on a snowmobile agreed to give Carl a lift to Perisher and Garry decided to ski back with him. The rest of us then had about 2 3/4 hours to get to Thredbo to meet the bus (the driver was uncontactable during the day). So began the final push to Thredbo. A trip up Kosciusko was out of the question and we made it with about 5 minutes to spare. However at the top of Crackenback we were ambushed by a photographer and reporter from the Canberra Times, who acted like they were just waiting for us to arrive (see last month's Kick and Glide-eds). We ended up being a little late to the bus stop, but fortunately the bus was too. Gary and Carl were collected at Bullock's Flat, and the bus then delivered most of the team to Alan's place at Berridale. The drivers were taken back to Mt Selwyn to dig the cars out and drive them back. Thanks to Paul for his leadership and organisation and to Andrew, Alan, Garry and Carl for their company. It was one to savour.
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