Victorian Alps Alpine Crossing

Hotham to Bogong

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been studying track notes and poring over maps to come up with a plan to get on most of Victoria's Highest Mountains in one trip next winter.

Start: Diamantina Hut, Great Alpine Road, near Mount Hotham
End: Mountain Creek Campground, near Tawonga

Mountains to be Summited:
(in walking order)
Mt Feathertop (1922m)
Mt Jim (1818m)
Mt Cope (1837m)
Mt Nelse West (1893m)
Mt Nelse North (1885m)
Mt Bogong West Peak (1965m)
Mt Bogong (1986m)

THE PLAN :



Day One: Cross the exposed Razorback Trail (11km) and camp near Federation Hut. Ascend to the summit of Mt Feathertop (1922m). If it's windy or snowing heavily, get up to Federation Hut via Bungalow Spur from Harrietville instead.



Day Two: Attempt Mt Feathertop again in the morning if the weather is clear. There should be plenty of time to get up Molly Hill and Little Feathertop as well if the weather is clear. Head down the steep Diamantina Spur down to the river, make camp near Blair's Hut.

Day Three: Get up on the Bogong High Plains and climb Mt Jim and Mt Cope. Probably will camp at Cope Hut. I wonder if I'll see any brumbies on this day.

Day Four: Cross the wind swept plains past Langford Gap to reach Fitzgerald Hut. Potentially organise a food drop from Falls Creek.

Day Five
It might be very windy and icy on Day 5 walking on the exposed Quartz Ridge to the highest point of Victoria. Unfortunately there is no other way to get there. Hopefully the wind won't rip us off the mountain on the way to Mt Bogong West Peak after passing Mt Nelse and Timm's Lookout. Get on the summit of Mount Bogong, and either camp at Gorge Gap or camp at Cleve Cole Hut.

Day Six
One more crack at Mt Bogong then time to head back. Get out of the cold and descend to Mountain Creek Camping Ground via the Staircase Spur.

Note:

• We probably will allow two days for bad weather
• We will carry an EPIRB beacon, snow shovel, crampons, ice axes, 4 season alpine tents, shellite stoves, etc.

Let me know if you are interested!!! I will be doing lots and lots of training prior to the trip.

First Real Adventure in 2009

My friend and I will be heading to Mt Bogong (1986m) this weekend. It's the highest mountain in Victoria which I last visited in winter back in 2005. It's going to be tough walking 6-7 hours uphill, half of which will be in a bit of snow. But this will be a good test of my fitness three weeks before the big Overland Track in Tasmania.

Planning to test the brand new 4-season Thermarest and the new ice axe. Weather permitting, camp will be made at the base of the final climb to the summit plateau. There's an ambitious plan to pitch the tents on the very exposed summit but that will be disastrous if weather conditions suddenly change for the worse.

Hope it's going to be a fun trip!

Old Coca Cola Ads

I drove all the way to Bright (300km+) from Melbourne on Sunday to see the famous autumn leaves. Unfortunately, I was two weeks too late and most of the leaves have fallen and there wasn't much to be seen. I should have been there on Gala Day on the 2 May but I had to go overseas for a week and a half... Oh well, I'll make sure I'll return to the beautiful town earlier in autumn next year.

On the return journey back to Melbourne, I stopped at an antique store just outside Bright and spent nearly an hour there looking through several rooms of treasures. There was just so many interesting things to look at in this store. I ended up finding two old Coca Cola ads from the 50s and 60s. Not too disappointed after all!

Back in Melbourne - First Run!

After spending 10 days in Hong Kong not doing any exercise and dining out for nearly all lunches and dinners, I finally came back to Melbourne on Sunday.

Surprisingly, I still weigh the same. I was expecting to put on 2-3kg because everyday over there I was binge eating delicious but fattening food. I decided to go for a 5.2km run in the afternoon to see how terribly unfit I was.

Again surprisingly, I actually matched and arguably exceeded my pretty modest standards. I wasn't feeling too out of breath, muscles are perfectly fine and I actually sprinted the last section to get home.

Hopefully it's a sign that the "new blood" (donated blood recently) is recharged, the muscles are ready, the mind is focused to take on the upcoming winter hiking trips.