Feathertop 10-12 July - Snowfest?

[earthairfire]

A group of us are planning on a Feathertop trip this weekend. Looking at the snow forecasts, it looks like we might be in for some challenging conditions with snow rolling in fast.

We're planning on bungalow spur there and back, figuring that it's fairly well sheltered most the way up.

Given there is no existing snow, we'll be taking suitable clothing, goggles, mountain tents etc, but are not planning to take snow shoes. I figure that even if it dumps 50cm of fresh snow (my assumed worst case overnight snowfall), it still seemsl manageable to walk down to Harrietville without snow shoes

Has anyone done Feathertop in similar conditions? Any tips / suggestions? Anyone else planning to walk it this weekend?

Cheers,

Tim

[neilmny]

Hi Tim,

You better have a look at Pete the Frogs report http://www.snowatch.com.au/1-7-day-snow-forecast.php
Only 10cm natural on Hotham at the moment but more coming.

[Moondog55]

There is no base for that snowfall to sit on so I think you will be fine without snowshoes
The track is very sheltered for most of the way but I do agree you will need to be prepared for bad weather

[andrewa]

Sounds a reasonable trip, as long as you don't want to get to the summit! If it's too lousy, you just turn around and go back down.

Strong northerlies and heavy snow forecast - I've decided not to bother going up Bogong this weekend, though largely coz of risk of car getting stuck at Camp Ck Gap by snow or fallen trees.

Have fun.

A

[Moondog55]

You should join them for Feathertop. just leave the skis behind or take figles

[Strider]

Anywhere a bit closer to Melbourne with good coverage that might be worth checking out this weekend?

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[north-north-west]

Lake Mountain and the Baw Baw are the closest. Have no idea how much snow they'll get from this, but it should be reasonable.

[Moondog55]

Check Donna Buang later tonite, might be lucky

[Strider]

What about Sugarloaf Peak in the Cathedrals?

[Moondog55]

What about Sugarloaf Peak in the Cathedrals?

Ask AndrewB
He may be able to give a better guess

[hobbitle]

I wouldn't be going near the Cathedrals this weekend but hey that's just me


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[Strider]

I wouldn't be going near the Cathedrals this weekend but hey that's just me

Why not?

I haven't walked the southern end of the range previously, but the northern end is quite easy. I know there are some hairy spots on the approach to SLP but am under the impression these can be somewhat avoided?

[hobbitle]

Weather forecast last I checked (Wed) said hail and thunderstorms. I'm not exactly a fair weather hiker at all but that's pushing it when it comes to wanting to do a walk for enjoyment rather than necessity.


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[north-north-west]

Snow, hail, thunderstorms, I don't mind - but there are places where they can be more of a nuisance. Sugarloaf is pretty exposed, with steep and potentially slippery rock. It's going to be windy. Not a good combination.

Not really a place to get the best out of a nice dump of snow, either. It's a small, narrow ridge, not even that high. If I wanted some good snow this weekend without too much driving, I'd be heading for the Baw Baw.

[highercountry]

The local (East Gippsland) ABC are saying the cold front coming through this weekend will be the strongest we've had for over two years.
I'd be fairly careful where I chose to go over the next couple of days.

[Moondog55]

The local (East Gippsland) ABC are saying the cold front coming through this weekend will be the strongest we've had for over two years.
I'd be fairly careful where I chose to go over the next couple of days.

Sounds to me like a perfect time to visit Feathertop and surrounds, I'd ask to come but I have to remove some windows and rip out some walls prior to the builder turning up at 0700 on Monday

[paidal_chalne_vala]

I am holding off this weekend until the cold front passes and we can ascertain how much snow has been dumped by this cold front at places that are good for snow hiking and camping such as Mt St. Gwinear and Mt Stirling.
I have got new MSR snow shoes, a whippet self arrest pole and all. So I am keen , but timing is everything. I like blue skies after a major snowfall. That is inspiring .Lake mountain after a big snow fall on a week day is good value otherwise it is often disappointing.

[surly 17]

Strider you could try Mt Torbreck it's not much further on from the cathedrals. It's fairly steep but you could turn back if it gets too hairy!

[earthairfire]

Thought I'd report back after our trip.

We had an amazing weekend with almost perfect conditions. ~10cm of snow overnight, but the prediction of crazy storms never eventuated.

Snow cover before heading to bed

Looking back over Federation Hut

Packing Up

Winter Wonderland

[andrewa]

Looked like quite a nice weekend, in the whole scheme of things. It'll be better when this snow consolidates - even knee deep snow is a PITA.

A

[jdeks]

I just got back from a hike from Harrietville to Falls Creek via the High Plains - spent Thur and Fri night in Fed ht.


Thursday had a nice blizzard than dumped a bit of powder. Snow's down to about 1200m, and about 50-60cm up at Federation hut and along razorback. Feathertop itself has full cover and its nice crunchy stuff, good for climbing even without crampons but Razorback itself is definitely snowshoe country now, and Diamantina Spur is diabolical...

Bungalow spur up to Fed hut, however is in great nick and can be done in an afternoon. The last km could *almost* use snowshoes, however with the amount of traffic up there on Friday, I would think you'd not need them at all now.

Seems the snow sightseeing season is upon us: Friday night had 14 people in the hut for dinner. Varied group, from snowboarders to serious alpinists doing rope training and some weekend warriors. Truly alarming to see a number of folks with absolutely no idea what they were doing. Girls wearing boots more suited to the mall than to trails, summerweight sleeping bags strapped to the bottom of gym backpacks, elephant-sized packs that somehow failed to contain winter tents or even band-aids. Particularly alarming was the group of two young couples who arrived exhausted after sundown, then had the de-facto group leader suggest attempting to traverse Feathertop's western slope to MUMC hut - a 35 degree snowslope with fresh powder, in the dark. Only when I pointed out to them the 'trail' wasn't really visible in daylight, there was room in the hut and we'd cut some more wood that arvo that his girlfriend, numb-handed and blister-footed, decided they were all spending the night there. Just as well - not one of them had a winter sleeping bag.

Seriously - it's a mountain in the snowfeilds, in July. Call me judgmental...but how do people not get the deal here?

[andrewa]

Gives the search and rescue people something to do!

I agree. Never ceases to amaze me either.

A

[Moondog55]

BTDT
Maybe it's because most people camp in summer when a sleeping bag isn't really needed and they buy what they can afford rather than what they need?
Peoples perceptions that a $500- sleeping bag is expensive but a $1000- weekend in a luxury hotel is cheap?
There are still some people who don't know that it actually snows in Australia as a matter of course and are really unaware of how debilitating our wet cold weather is.
BUT
I made the same mistakes myself when 17YO

[andrewa]

?BTDT...?

[Moondog55]

Been There
Done That

Had to help out at Feathertop hut more than a few times with unprepared walkers and day trippers caught out by sudden changes in the weather, not just in winter either.
it's one of the reasons I keep a few extra orange garbage bags in my rucksack top pocket and a spare cup on most trips
I remember one winter trip where a group of Army Cadets from one of the "Better" private schools came up dressed in jungle greens and Vietnam web gear/battle packs whose girl friends were clad head to toe in fleecy cotton and wearing gum boots, they were lucky.
Only 2 of the girls were mildly hypothermic and borrowed dry clothes and good feed in front of the fire fixed them up. I could have happily strangled the cadets tho when they opened their packs to show us how much Bundy rum they had managed to fit in and proceeded to get sloshed before looking after their girls

[Moondog55]

?BTDT...?

Been There
Done That

Had to help out at Feathertop hut more than a few times with unprepared walkers and day trippers caught out by sudden changes in the weather, not just in winter either.
it's one of the reasons I keep a few extra orange garbage bags in my rucksack top pocket and a spare cup on most trips
I remember one winter trip where a group of Army Cadets from one of the "Better" private schools came up dressed in jungle greens and Vietnam web gear/battle packs whose girl friends were clad head to toe in fleecy cotton and wearing gum boots, they were lucky.
Only 2 of the girls were mildly hypothermic and borrowed dry clothes and good feed in front of the fire fixed them up. I could have happily strangled the cadets tho when they opened their packs to show us how much Bundy rum they had managed to fit in and proceeded to get sloshed before looking after their girls

[walkon]

Gday jdeks
It was good talking to you on Saturday. If only you had stayed an extra day. I take that back as breaking trails in powdery fresh snow exploring beats it all, especially summiting. The weather was magic on the weekend though with gorgeous sunrises/sunsets and bluebird skies which were certainly cherished by our group.

Always see lots of unprepared walkers that leave me shaking my head, sometimes partly cause I can see some of my own errors .

[jdeks]

Gday jdeks
It was good talking to you on Saturday. If only you had stayed an extra day. I take that back as breaking trails in powdery fresh snow exploring beats it all, especially summiting. The weather was magic on the weekend though with gorgeous sunrises/sunsets and bluebird skies which were certainly cherished by our group.

Always see lots of unprepared walkers that leave me shaking my head, sometimes partly cause I can see some of my own errors .

Actually, that was my mate (the tall bloke?) you spoke with. I'd summited and was rolling down Razorback by Saturday morning; they wanted to stay longer but had to head home that arvo due to work. That was his partners first hike overnight hike, period, so it was a bit of a 'deep end' swimming lesson for her. She actually prepped for it though and did very well, considering Bungalow had a good amount of snow on it when we went up on Thursday night. We even wound up getting the yeti feet out for the sake of stamping in something a little easier for those behind us. Just as well too, considering the number of people who came trudging up the next few days, sans snowshoes.

As for the merits of breaking trails in the powder, if you'd asked me my thoughts on that halfway down Diamantina Spur....well, you'd probably get a very different answer. I wish I could say it was worth it for the hut at the bottom, but all I got was 100m of downclimbing on frozen shale, 2km of looking over my shoulder trying to watch the dogs tailing me in the dark, and 3 totally empty woodstacks at Blairs.

What were the crowds like on Sat night at the hut?

[walkon]

Too many people at the hut for me so we went elsewhere. From the looks of it those snow boarders used up nearly all the wood at federation hut, they didn't like being asked to go out and replace what they had used. Though I think karma played a part as last I saw they were looking for their car keys . It's interesting looking at the mentality of the different user groups, on the whole, whilst backcountry. The board riders are certainly bigger takers.

[andrewa]

?wild dogs, jdeks? I've never run into them, and hope I don't.

Don't hear much about wild dogs on the forum.

A