Moondog's snow trip - Cecile's report

[Cecile]

Hi everyone. I thought I would start a new thread just for updates.

Ted managed to head out just after 5, "to miss traffic on the Ring Road" but I know a lot of it is just being antsy and wanting to be on his way. I think he's also a little concerned that his camp, which he set up a few weeks ago, has not been vantalised or raided, or the tents collapsed from the weight of the snow. He's confident that everything is fairly well camouflaged; a comment on the ski forum said that the person "...could not see the camp...." which means it's very well hidden, or gone

I was surprised that he had not set up the Paris sled for the trip, especially as he schlepped six of them home from New York. I think he's glad he also bought four smaller ones, two of which are now his sled train for hauling gear. Thanks to the little mum and dad hardware store where we bought them - a cause of much hilarity in there. "Why would anyone be buying winter sleds in the middle of summer??" Apparently there were numerous phone calls between the head office and the local store where we picked them up to confirm it wasn't a bogus order. My family is very well-known to them, and we had a lot of fun talking to them about Ted's plans. I think they will be rather delighted when I send them photos.

He has a new Telstra phone for the duration, so hopefully he has at least some service at Pretty Valley. Anything's better than what Optus has up there (as in, nothing!) Anyone who is planning to go up to visit can message me for his new number.

[Cecile]

"There's no snow" was his report from turnback at 5pm. Well, not much, yet. He is disappointed that he'll be relegated to Wombat's ramble, although he's pretty sure that he will not be able to do much the first few weeks, plus most of the main runs aren't open yet anyway. Hopefully the snow keeps falling and the season is worthwhile.

[photohiker]

"There's no snow" was his report from turnback at 5pm. Well, not much, yet. He is disappointed that he'll be relegated to Wombat's ramble, although he's pretty sure that he will not be able to do much the first few weeks, plus most of the main runs aren't open yet anyway. Hopefully the snow keeps falling and the season is worthwhile.

lol.

Here was the Falls Creek marketing email from this morning:



Maybe Falls marketing should contract to the political parties

[Avatar]

Capture.PNG (763.7 KiB) Viewed 38155 times

Maybe let some images from the snazzy Telstra phone tell the story?

[Cecile]

Phone call last night, and he reported that "the tent is trashed." He was tired and wet, hungry, and very disappointed. I guess his plan to have the camp ready for when he arrives backfired, just a little.

Apparently while there's not a lot of snow in the village, there's over 1200mm at Pretty Valley, and his main tent collpsed under the weight of the snow. The tent is "shredded" and from what I can gather most of the main poles are snapped. He has backup shelter, but last night was forced to the hut. Today is another trek into the village and down to the car for the big shovel and heavier gear.

Not a great start!

[whynotwalk]

Looks like there'll be lots more snow early next week if Ted's still out there. This is from the facebook page "John's Weather Channel".

Early days.. But most weather models are suggesting the coldest outbreak of the year early next week for south eastern Australia with snow down to 100 metres in Tasmania possibly even sea level! 300-400 metres in Victoria and 500 metres over the southern highlands of NSW

cheers

Peter

[Cecile]

Maybe let some images from the snazzy Telstra phone tell the story?

I missed this comment. The snazzy Telstra phone has no reception at Pretty Valley. How can there be no reception when there's clear view of the tower at Mt McKay? Fail Telstra, fail.

[Travis22]

Sorry to hear of the dramas with MD's tent.

Sorry if ive missed any discussions here in the lead up but do you know at this stage how long he'll be out there before coming home, then returning etc...

Travis.

[Xplora]

I have always had issues in Pretty Valley with Telstra with a hand held but if you head up the road toward Tawonga Huts it is great. My phones all have antenna connections and with an antenna they work fine in Pretty Valley. Antennas do not weight much and do not have to be fixed to a vehicle. You can also need a patch lead and if the phone does not have an antenna port you can get a passive stick on or use a cradle (like a Strike Force) with one in. $120 sets you up with the lot depending on the dBa of the antenna. A fair bit of rain has fallen on the lower slopes so much of that snow has gone. Sorry to hear about the tent and his camp.

[Cecile]

Sorry to hear of the dramas with MD's tent.

Sorry if ive missed any discussions here in the lead up but do you know at this stage how long he'll be out there before coming home, then returning etc...

Travis.

I don't know all of his movements, and I don't think he does, either. In the short term he's going to make his campsite as good as is possible, given the ruined big tent, and I'm sure he'll keep me posted. I will post here when I know.

[DarrenM]

Thanks for the updates Cecile. Sorry to hear of Ted's drama's and I hope he can organise something to keep him out there.

[Cecile]

Thanks for the updates Cecile. Sorry to hear of Ted's drama's and I hope he can organise something to keep him out there.

He's resourceful and thankfully very experienced. He may crash in the hut for shelter but at least he's now got his sleeping mat and full sleeping bag, and the big shovel. All of his provisions, the wood stove, camp stoves etc are buried in the snow that crushed the tent so that will take some digging out.

I might be heading to Rays for a new big tent and have it sent up. This wasn't in the plan! GRRR

"You know the new tights you made for me? They are now loosies. I've lost at least 2" off my waist in two days."

[Cecile]

I haven't heard anything in three days and of course worry kicks in about now, especially since last conversation he had not yet been able to dig out his food or other provisions. I know the weather's iffy and he tends to stay put when it's blowing hard but not knowing is no fun. And not being a snow camper myself I don't "get" the whole survival thing.

There's a new tent on the way up there so that's something.

[Giddy_up]

He will be fine Cecile, I've camped with him and he knows what he is doing up there. At worst he is hunkered down in the hut and at best he is so damn busy with his shovel he has lost track of time.

Nice to have you back on here for Ted's winter sojourn too [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND SMILING EYES]


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[Tortoise]

Hey Cecile,

It's definitely tough being the one at home, not knowing, just waiting. I've been on both sides.

For MD, staying put is by far the best thing in severe conditions, even though it may mean no communication. He has shelter, warmth and water. I would hazard a guess he still has a fair bit of...ah...stores on his person to actually survive weeks rather than days without food if such a need ever arose - which I can't envisage happening at Falls Creek. As you say, he is definitely resourceful. He is experienced. And he has you waiting for him at home!
So those tights of his might stay loosies for a bit longer, but with Giddy_up, I'm very confident he'll 'weather the storm' just fine, and will have yet another great story of overcoming a challenge.

Oh, and I think you're amazing, by the way - supporting him so much in his passion, even if you find it hard to understand what he sees in it.

[Cecile]

Reassuring posts from Tortoise and Giddy_up, thank you both. Doesn't stop me being overly concerned though. Worry rat much?

[photohiker]

Hope he's doing ok. Probably holed up in the hut waiting for a break in the weather.

I suggested a satellite communicator, sounds like that would be the only way of getting a message out.

[Cecile]

satellite communicator

Yep, well that didn't happen.

[Lophophaps]

Cecile, when going away I always tell my contact to only worry if I'm late and the weather is poor. If the weather is good then there should be nothing to stop me reaching the end of the trip. Bad weather means that I might be delayed, and fine weather no real excuse. On one trip I maintained contact from peaks with a distant view of relay towers, one about 60 kilometres away. Over a period of several days there was no reply from home, and I was worried. Vehicular collision, heart attack, natural disaster, federal election results not as expected? It was sorted when I got home - phone bust I think it was. MD is in a popular spot, only a short way from the resort boundary. He may be uncomfortable and annoyed at what has gone wrong, but that's all.

[Cecile]

Okay, so am I a drama queen? I don't know but suffice to say it was a tense day, not knowing. A phone call to the ski lodge to let them know the new tent would arrive on Friday, and the owner said she would follow up on his wellbeing. Less than an hour later I got a text saying he had just walked into the lodge.

As we all thought he was fine. He spent one night in the hut and the rest setting up tents and other living arrangements. "Housekeeping, and staying alive. There's been a metre and a half of snow so far, and not a soul has come up here all week or I would have got a message to you." The mobile phone battery isn't keeping a charge, and he said he walked to the cattle grid three days ago to try and ring.

All up so far he's lost four tents (most of them were free, or a few dollars each,) and his 30-year-old snowshoes died. He's safe, has food, and a little contrite that I worried so much. And as mentioned, he was so busy that he had no idea it was six days since we last spoke. His comment about being cold, tired and hungry was what worried me the most, and he said, when we spoke last I was, but I'm not now.

ARGH

All good, and I think now that he's more or less settled it will be smooth(er) sailing. Except for the phone, which needs reviewing.

Thanks everyone, here and in messages.

[shortstep]

Glad to hear he is fine, healthy and has made contact with you. The hardest thing is the 'not knowing' that he put you thru. Now you can rest.

[DarrenM]

Glad to hear he's doing ok. Maybe a croudfunding page needs to be setup to buy a proper 4 season tent. It always worried me watching the tent threads. I know Ted's resourceful but I'd back alpine weather every time. I've spent 2 decades sitting out blizzards in quality 4 season tents and would never take anything less for long trips.
I bet he's having a ball though Cecile!

[Cecile]

Glad to hear he's doing ok. Maybe a croudfunding page needs to be setup to buy a proper 4 season tent. It always worried me watching the tent threads. I know Ted's resourceful but I'd back alpine weather every time. I've spent 2 decades sitting out blizzards in quality 4 season tents and would never take anything less for long trips.
I bet he's having a ball though Cecile!

Darren, he does this on a shoestring out of necessity and a four season tent just isn't financially do-able. Mind you, if I added up all the money spent on making do, he would probably have had enough to buy one by now. In the days when he was earning big bucks he could afford high end gear but I'm the only one working and...well you get my drift. I would much prefer he has sturdy kit that's going to stand up to a big dump of show and give him the comfort he looks for now that he's older and is starting to prefer his creature comforts, like a camp stretcher and a wood stove.

[DarrenM]

I understand Cecile. Gear is so damn expensive these days and making things can be half the fun. I reckon in this situation Ted should be able to get reasonable funding for a good setup, even if it is for next season. I'll probably chat to him after this trip anyway and maybe I could help setup a page for him. I wish I could get down for a visit but I'm broke.

[Cecile]

I understand Cecile. Gear is so damn expensive these days and making things can be half the fun. I reckon in this situation Ted should be able to get reasonable funding for a good setup, even if it is for next season. I'll probably chat to him after this trip anyway and maybe I could help setup a page for him. I wish I could get down for a visit but I'm broke.

I think we should include a whizz-bang satellite phone in that crowd fund

[Cecile]

All good on the mountain. Ted went down to the village for groceries, and to his car for a raincoat, and to do laundry. He has the laptop with him and he's been able to log into wifi for a quick update. He missed the last lift to the top, so I suspect will bunk in the lodge for the night, get a shower and eat someone else's cooking. Apparently he is hoping I will head up there for a weekend, as the lodge has some spare queen bed rooms. I actually think I might do it, except the thought of that winding road puts me off completely. I have plenty of annual leave to use...

HMMMMM

[Cecile]

So, he relays the story that he woke in the night and found an Antechinus on his pillow, eating the last Mars bar.

Then, he went on to say that the little fellow found the box of port. The two-litre one he bought two seasons ago and that no one drank, so it's been up and down the hill multiple times. What Ted didn't realise was that the little guy had chewed himself a nice hole in the box, then through the plastic, and was found drowned the next morning.

"He must have died very happy!"

[DarrenM]

Thanks for the update Cecile. The port didn't go to waste!

[Cecile]

Today is a "bluebird" day and he's out on the slopes with new, dedicated Telemark skis, He sounded pretty excited to be trying these skis out, since he's never owned a Telemark-only pair. His first attempt will be on Mousetrap, which is the baby run. It will be interesting to hear how he goes.

The more I look at pics of the resort, the more I think I actually want to go up. For a weekend. If only that road were not so twisty, or the helicopter wasn't close to $600.

[neilmny]

Hi Cecile,
Yes the road is twisty, but just take your time and stay left of the white line, pull over when you can to let faster vehicles pass you and you'll be fine.
You'll need to take chains and know how to fit them but they are seldom needed to be fitted going up to Falls Creek specially when the weather is good.
You will have the cost of day access parking or overnight parking if you stay up there.

The alternative might be to leave your car at Mt Beauty, get the bus up and leave the road worries to someone else.
You won't have the cost of overnight vehicle parking either. http://www.fallscreekcoachservice.com.au/?park_and_ride

Go on give it a go....it's absolutely beautiful up there.