Leatherbarrel Creek / South RamsHead
Both the Leatherbarrel Creek and South Ramshead areas offer some great options a relatively short ski from the car (Dead Horse Gap) or Thredbo chair and these are the best ways to access the areas. They are great options for newbies looking to get some experience not to far from help. In the context of this page when i refer to South Ramshead area i am talking about the slopes that drain into the Thredbo River and Dead Horse Gap Creek (east). The west facing slopes are discussed in the Leatherbarrel Creek section.Leatherbarrel Creek
The Leatherbarrel Creek valley offers some sensational skiing all within a short distance of Thredbo and Dead Horse Gap. There's two very different sides to the valley. Runs off The Ramshead down the eastern side of the valley offer the most vertical metres of skiing but are exposed to the afternoon sun and the wind. If you've come from Thredbo or Dead Horse Gap you're best bet is to start your day from somewhere near the Ramshead.
Unfortunately the east side of the Leatherbarrel Creek was burnt out in the 2003 fires. This has reduced the snow holding ability of the slopes, particularly on any slope with a northerly aspect.
Runs down the western side of the valley are shorter but are on the leeward side of a large plateau so they typically hold better quality snow. And as you look down at the peaks on the western side of the valley from the Ramshead its worth noting that these peaks are only a few metres lower than Victorias highest mountains.
Alan Andrews named several runs into this valley in his book "Skiing the Western Faces". The lines identified and named by Andrews are quite distinctive, however several variations of each are possible. I like to consider these runs representative of what's on offer in the different parts of the valley. I've marked the distinct areas on the photograph below.
The west facing slopes off the Ramshead (ie. east side of Leatherbarrel Creek) viewed from The Twin Humps.
The west facing slopes off the southerly ramsheads (ie. east side of Leatherbarrel Creek) viewed from The Twin Humps. Note that the Golden Gully is located just out of shot left.
View of the western side of Leatherbarrel Creek from the top of The Corrie. The runs down this side of the valley offer less vertical but hold good quality snow.
The area to the north of The Corrie is probably a good starting point if you've never skied in the area before. This area is relatively rock free and holds skiable snow before many of the other slopes in the area so if you're on an early season cover skiing this run first is a good insurance policy against getting left high and dry on one of the steep rocky outcrops near the top of the Corrie or The Couloir. You start this run on the wide open slopes above Cootapatamba Hut. Ski the slopes as far as you want and then peel off to skiers left into the Leatherbarrel Creek catchment. The entire run is open and relatively hazard free and can be skied on a pretty thin base. From the bottom you scope out potential lines through the rocks closer to the Ramshead.
The Corrie starts approximately 500m north of the Ramshead and follows the northernmost major drainage line from the Ramshead into Leatherbarrel Creek. What starts as a depression between two rounded tops feeds into a steep rock lined chute. Once you've skied through the chute the slope opens up somewhat. The most obvious line is to continue down the drainage gully, but similar lines exist north of the gully.
The Corrie is well defined but there are several variations through the rock outcrops either side of the main run. These lines need a reasonable cover for them to be skiable and probably should be scoped out from below before being attempted.
The major drainage line to the south of The Corrie is referred to as The Couloir. The Couloir starts on the summit of the Ramshead and follows the gully that starts immediately north of the Ramshead. As shown in the photograph below the terrain on offer on both these runs and their surrounds are very similar. However, The Couloir offers a little more vertical. If the snow cover isn't deep you may struggle to negotiate your way through the rocky outcrops on the upper western and north western faces of the Ramshead. In this situation its best to save your legs and ski the run from the flat area just to the north of the Ramshead.
A closer view of The Corrie and The Couloir as named by Andrews. There are several variations of either side of each run. Its best to check the rock bands either side of The Couloir before committing to the other steep rocky options.
View down The Corrie. There are plenty of sharks in here early in the season waiting to take a bit of your ski base.
Looking back up the lower part of the slopes to the north of The Corrie. These slopes don't take much time to fill in as this early season 2005 photograph shows. At the same time this photograph was taken the major runs to the south had insufficient snow for them to be skied properly.
The next defined run along the valley is The Spur. The Spur starts from the top of the Ramshead and provides the most amount of vertical of any run in the valley. As it's name suggests the run follows the western spur of the Ramshead. Up high the Spur is relatively narrow. At the tree line the spur fans out and there are several similar lines to be skied through the snow gums and down to Leatherbarrel Creek. There are three distinct clearings through the snow gums lower down and these are the most obvious lines on offer.
The areas to the north of the marked The Spur run have a more northerly aspect, which means they are more heavily treed and lose cover much earlier than the slopes to the south of the marked run.
The line marked below is not the steepest terrain on offer in the area but it does offer a great long run with a sustained pitch.
Closer view of The Spur and The Golden Gully. There are several obvious variations to the runs marked above.
The golden gully gets its name from the golden coloured rocks that are present in the area. The main gully is a watercourse approximately 500-1km south of the Ramshead. If the cover is sufficient the gully presents a continuous fall line all the way to Leatherbarrel Creek, however, its mostly uncovered down low. Up high there are many options funnelling into the gully. From the north you can ski in from the Ramshead. There are some nice steep south faces slopes in from this side, some of which aren't fully visible in the photograph above. The area south of the marked run still provides some steep skiing but is generally flatter than the north side. It is also more heavily treed due to its more northerly aspect and it melts out much faster than the areas north of the marked run.
All these options feed into the gully by about the half way stage. If the creek is open (and it normally is) you have to traverse across the side of the valley and then drop in as more fall line as it becomes available.
Looking down the Golden Gully on a not so 'Golden' day. Note the thicker vegation on the northerly aspects (left of shot) compared to the sparse vegetation on the south facing slopes (right of shot).
The area to the south of the Golden Gully is quite heavily treed and clear continuous lines are hard to come by. There are definitely some turns to be laid in this area but you're probably best off expending effort in other areas before trying them out.
The southern sides of the ridges in this area provide your best chance of open space. One line in particular was named The Cleft Rock Run by Alan Andrews. I have never skied these slopes but have viewed then from the southerly Ramshead.
Looking north west from the southerly Ramshead toward the Twin Peaks and Simkin Peak. The Cleft Rock Run is visible down the spur in the middle ground.
Further south of The Cleft Rock Run is the western face of the South Ramshead. The terrain in this area is very similar to that in the Cleft Rock area but the vegetation is denser still and in some places impenetrable at much more than walking speed.
The relatively gentle grades and dense snow gums on the western side of South Ramshead.
The western side of the Leatherbarrel Creek valley doesn’t provide as much vertical skiing as the Ramshead side but its good terrain with consistent pitch and there are some good steeps available.
The slopes closest to Cootapatamba are typically crowned by a cornice formed by snow blowing across the relatively flat terrain to the west. Whilst vertical is limited these south and east facing slopes are a nice grade and typically hold good quality snow a few days after the last fall. The further south you go the more vertical is on offer. In comparison to the eastern side of the valley the vegetation on the western side of the valley is relatively sparse, and the trees are spaced nicely for continuous tree skiing.
Yours truly skiing the short but sweet line down the west side of Leatherbarrel Creek on a rare freshies day in 2006.
The two main features on the western side of Leatherbarrel Creek are Simkin Peak and The Twin Humps. Several lines are possible from the top of Simkin Peak down into leatherbarrel Creek. They are relatively featureless faces and gullies.
Yours truly skiing the face directly east of Simkin Peak in 2006.
The Twin humps stand proudly at the southern end of the valley. The east facing slopes from the twin humps provide some excellent steep continuous fall line skiing. The top 100m is typically around the 35-40 degree mark. When you hit the tree line you have a few options. There are two defined treeless gullies to head down or you can take on the trees. If the cover is limited you may have to bail at the tree line. It is easy to repeat ski the western side of the valley by skinning straight back up the slope. If returning to Dead Horse Gap the easiest exit may be via the Golden Gully. Going via the North Ramshead is likely to be the easiest way to get back to Thredbo.
The view down from the top of the northern Twin Hump. You can branch left or right before the tree line to pick up obstacle free lines down to Leatherbarrel Creek.
The result. After dropping into a rather steep and icy top 50m of the northern Twin Hump the snow softened nicely and the grade was perfect.
The Twin Humps. Similar but shorter lines to those shown above are also available from the smaller southern Twin Hump.
There are many options for long cruisy runs through gladed bowls to the south west of The Twin Humps. I have never skied in this area but have veiwed it from the Southerly Ramshead. The runs appear to have a relatively gentle grade.
South Ramshead / Bogong Creek
The eastern side of the Ramshead and South Ramsheads drain into Bogong Creek. Bogong Creek flows through the valley located a short distance south of the Karels lift at Thredbo.
Looking south easterly across the Bogong Creek valley from just south of the Thredbo resort boundary (near Karels T-Bar).
The run from Thredbo to Dead Horse Gap is well known and often skied, but its probably best left to those that want some additional adventure on top of a days resort skiing. The most enjoyable way to ski from Thredbo to Dead Horse Gap is to follow the ridge on the eastern side of Bogong Creek (marked 'Summer Walk' in the photograph above). The run drops 400 vertical metres but this is over a horizontal distance of 3-4 km so its very flat most of the way and you'll probably end up pushing some of the way down. The last 500 metres of the run probably provides the most excitement as you fall down the steepest part of the run to the carpark at the cascades.
The more exciting runs feed into Bogong Creek off the Ramshead and southerly Ramsheads. These slopes are relatively gentle but provide some interesting rolling terrain. Lower down sparsely spaced large gums make for some good tree skiing and provide some protection from the weather.
The gentle rolling slopes on the east side of the Ramshead (out of photo top right) and southerly Ramsheads (centre of photo). The terrain is treeless above 1800m. Snow above the treeline is usually affected by the wind to some degree.
Looking north to the Ramshead/South Ramshead area from Bobs Ridge. The top of the Karels lift at Thredbo is top right of photo. Bogong Creek flows through the valley below the Ramshead.
Looking north west to the South Ramshead area from Bobs Ridge. The more heavily treed lower parts of the South Ramshead immediately above Dead Horse Gap and The Alpine Way are obscured by the ridge in the foreground.
Andrew tackles some of the rolling terrain to the west of Bogong Creek.
The most popular slopes in this area are probably those on the eastern side of the Southerly Ramshead. That is because the Southerly Ramshead is located straight up the hill from the Dead Horse Gap car park. Again the runs are relatively gentle, treeless above 1800m and feature nicely spaced gums lower down for some tree skiing. The slopes in this area are definitely a good place to start for those starting out in the backcountry. The slopes on the eastern face of the Southerly Ramshead are relatively long and gentle. The slope off the north east face of the Southerly Ramshead is relatively short and steep.
Tracks down the south east face of the Southerly Ramshead. The upper slopes are treeless but give way to nicely spaced gums lower down.
Tracks down the short but steep north east facing slopes of Southerly Ramshead.
The vegetation tends to get denser as you head south from the Southerly Ramshead and vertical metres on offer are pretty limited. However this area is great for sightseeing.
Great scenery at South Ramshead.