Mt Hotham - 12 June 2009
I was keen to get some skiing in after the recent snowfalls so Mirandah and i headed down to Hotham to see what it was like. We left Wagga at 10pm and slept near the trout farm (harrietville). Woke at 6am so we could get up the hill to see the sunrise. It was cold but worth the effort for the views.
Mt Feathertop and The Razorback before the sun rise.
Sunrise over Mt Feathertop and The Razorback
Feather like cloud over Mt Feathertop
Another photo of Mt feathertop and The Razorback - just in case.
I had walked down a couple of the northern facing gullies of Mt Hotham to take a few photos in the morning. Snow cover was pretty good (definitely skiable) but quality looked a bit suss. Based on what i had seen down there i wasn't overly excited about prospects of skiing any pow so took it easy. Had a breaky at Swindlers and then decided to go for a tour out to Mt Loch.
Snowmakers were going full bore in Heavenly Valley.
I think this sign read "Caution - Rime covered signs may be hard to read"
The view to Mt Howitt, Cross Cut Saw, Mt Buggery, Mt Speculation, Mt Stirling and Mt Buller from Hotham Central.
Anyway we are on our way through the resort and a spied a short but sweet looking slope heading under the Gotcha chairlift. I decide to drop into the top bit to test snow quality. It was awesome fluffy pow so i ended up dropping down to the lift station. Mirandah made her way down very nervously behind me - trashing the nice lines i had left in the snow. When we got down to the Gotcha lift load Mirandah spied the Extreme Area signage and quickly decided she would exit the area. We decided it would be better for her to go and spend the day on the lift. She ended up retreating to the car to read her book, and had an enjoyable day looking at the view of Mt Feathertop and The Razorback.
After Mirandah left the scene i ventured into the next gully north. Snow up high was a bit wind affected but got into a half pipe like gully that was holding good snow. Unfortunately this type of gully doesn't suit my type of conservative skiing so i headed across slope and found a very short but steep slope holding awesome snow. Got 10 or so good turns in before i hit the trees. Then cut across under the gotcha lift again and hit a semi filled extreme area. Not quite enough snow to ski it with any confidence. Got down to the creek and then decided to try something on the eastern side.
Our ski tracks down Initiation and mine down Gotcha Ridge.
Tracks down Gotcha Ridge
Skinned up Spargos which was bloody difficult in the conditions. Snow was to light and dry to grip so i ended up walking zig zags up the slope at reltively low angle. Top of Spargos was wind packed so i skied the gully to the south of it (think this might be one tree hill). Good snow in parts up high and awesome down in the trees. Thought i better make the most of my skin track and repeated this run. The second time i skied the lower half of Spargos, which was holding some great snow - although plenty of stuff sticking out still, and by this time lack of fitness was starting to affect ability to make a turn. Skied down to bottom of heavenly chair and then up Snake Gully to the top of the ridge. Dropped into the pow above gotcha chair again - a quick 100m vertical of awesome snow. Then bailed back to the car at the dam.
My tracks down One Tree Hill. The good stuff was tight in against the trees.
Primo Pow on Lower Spargo's.
View back to One Tree hill on my way up Snake Gully.
There are some good skiable lines out there but still a few obstaclse so its hard to find continuous fall line with good snow. Still the limited amount of turns i had were some of the best i have experienced in terms of snow quality. If that lot had fallen on an existing base it would have been epic.
By the time i got back to the car a sea of cloud had formed on the western side of the Razorback, which made for spectacular afternoon vistas. High cloud meant the sunset was a non-event though.
Feathertop and The Razorback coming out od a sea of clouds.
Land Ahoy! - Mt Buffalo plateau poking out of the clouds.