The Eastern Arthurs

[melinda]

Wow,
The 'youtubevideo' is impressive.
As I said, justs throwing ideas around.
Melinda

[ILUVSWTAS]

Yeh it sure is!!
The western Arthurs is probably safer than the Eastern. Longer and maybe more ups and downs, but not as much exposure and "tricky" bits. Maybe try the Western first??

[melinda]

Hi ILUVSWTAS,
The ups and downs don't worry me.
But wow, the tricky bits might!
This all sounds great from the safety of my computer desk!!!
Melinda

[Son of a Beach]

Don't try climbing with a rope or rock climbing gear unless you REALLY know what you're doing. You could end up in more danger than not using it at all. A rope for pack-hauling is a fine though - anyone can do that. And once you take your pack off, it makes the tricky bits somewhat less difficult.

[melinda]

Don't worry Son of a Beach,
I'm sitting safely behind my computer in Sydney. Dreaming....
Melinda

[Azza]

Re-climbing gear on the eastern arthurs.

I think maybe for the direct ascent to the summit of Federation you could considering taking climbing gear.
Its a lot of weight to carry all that way, but there is little protection and no decent anchors to abseil off.

Some rock climbing info at:
http://www.thesarvo.com/confluence/disp ... ation+Peak

As for the tricker bits along the rest of the range - a pack hauling rope to raise and lower your pack should be
enough to get you through just fine. The rule of thumb is that if you have trouble on the rest of the range i.e.
excessive pack hauling then don't attempt to summit Federation.

Cheers

Aaron

[ILUVSWTAS]

Ivan said he packhauled on his way up Moss ridge when he went on his climbing trip of Fedders. They climbed up every side of Fedders.

[PeterJ]

Enjoyed the photos; brings back memories. Gee the fire scorched Luckmans.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Thanks Peter!! Yeh the fire was big. Burnt up to the start of the Huon track all the way down to Morraine A.

[DaveNoble]

Nice pics!

Dave

[ILUVSWTAS]

Thankyou very much Dave!

[melinda]

Hi Dave,
I 'm trying to get some understanding of how tough the Authurs are.
So ... could a day on the Eastern Arthurs be harder than say a 3pks day??? (48hrs/Blue Mtns)
Melinda

[DaveNoble]

Quite different types of trips - so cannot really compare. But if you can do a three peaks day then you should be easily fit enough for the Arthurs.

The main differences are - big packs, a lot of scrambling, some exposure, weather - can quickly turn bad. You should not under-estimate or over-estimate these factors.

Dave

[melinda]

Cheers Dave,
Thats encouraging!
I do understand the Arthurs are tough and that Tassie presents a whole lot of different challenges to the Blue Mtns.
Looking at this site is teaching me that Tassie can be very different.
Just dreaming at the moment!
Melinda

[flatfoot]

I'd like to walk the area some day. I need to build up loads of experience first. For the time being I think it's okay to dream and find some good photos (google is my friend, in particular google images).

I found this great photo of Geeves Gully:

Image below is from http://www.cia.com.au/drittson/bushwalking.html

Lake Geeves from Geeves Gully below the summit of Federation Peak



If you're not that familiar with google images, this is the link for the search. There are some interesting hand-drawn diagrams for climbing routes.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Yeh thats it! Geeves gully was a bit of a surprise! Plenty of good handholds and fairly easy to get up, even with 20kg's on yr back. Really really wouldnt want to fall or seize up in fear of heights here though.....

[melinda]

So is that the worst scary bit???
Melinda

[ILUVSWTAS]

It's probably not the WORST bit, just the furthest you would fall... we didnt have to pack haul through here anywhere, but we did twice through the Four Peaks. A fall through here probably wouldnt be fatal, just likely to break something. There are several tricky sections throughout the entire range, Geeves Gully is just the steepest Highest bit you have to go through (not including Federation itself) The entire Southern Traverse is kind of "exciting"

[melinda]

You know when I hear bushwalkers start saying things like "not far now", "interesting" and,

kind of "exciting"

I start to worry.
Melinda

[ILUVSWTAS]

Hehe, your a very wise Woman!