Mt Townsend / Alice Rawson - 6-8 August 2010

After experiencing the stress of the resort on Monday it was time to leave the crowds behind and head out on the main range for a couple of nights. Mark, currently blessed with some free time, jagged a leave pass from the mrs. Andrei, back in the country after a few years in the states, was also keen to get back into some Aussie Powder. Rohan, a snow camping virgin, was keen to be broken in. Mirandah was keen to try out her new Dynafit setup and came along also.

Our party of 5 met headed to Thredbo to gain an easy 550m vertical on the Kosciuszko Express. From there we skinned out to Rawson Pass, skied to the base of Muellers Peak, and then skinned up the hill to find a very tidy camping spot on the lee slopes of Mt Townsend.

Andrei and the view north from Rawson Pass.

Roahn and Andrei check out the view from our camp site.

Mark was trying out new boot liners. A poor decision to use a footbed in the newly molded liner resulted in some badly bruised feet. Mark's efforts to control the whinging resulted in expressions of pain through grunts and moans as he made his way into the campsite like he was walking on broken glass. It was a little after 2pm and the able bodies in the party decided to get in a run whilst camp bitches Mark and Mirandah started to set up the camp site.

We headed a little way up the slope to the top of the Racecourse runs. Rohan and Andrei skied the southern racecourse run. I skied a little further up the hill and skied the northern racecourse run. Snow was pretty crusty but you could break through it on the steeper slopes. Not so much fun down lower on the flatter terrain. After a run we skied back to the camp site to set up for the night.

My tracks down the Racecourse (north) run.

We spent a few hours digging a cave kitchen, stopping briefly to take in the afternoon light on the western faces and Kosciuszko.

Mirandah takes in the view from our camp site.

Last light on Muellers Peak and Mt Kosciuszko.

The temperature dropped rapidly once the sun had gone down and we were happy to have a few stoves chugging out steam inside the snowcave. After dinner we called it a night. I had fun setting up the Kiva in the cold at about 10pm for Mirandah and I to sleep in. Mark and Rohan shared the taj, and andrei made use of the snow cave. We woke to a very cold but still morning.

Our campsite on Saturday morning.

Watching the sunrise from the tent. Mark relaxing in the Taj and Mirandah still sleeping in the Kiva.

Rohan enjoying the morning sun near Muellers Peak.

Looking south to Mt Kosciuszko.

After breakfast we headed out for a ski, bar Mirandah - who decided to find a place in the sun and read her book. We skied up to Alice Rawson Peak. From the top Mark, Rohan and Andrei skied down into Ian's Gully, whilst i skied down the Alice Rawson Run. The snow was wind effected in parts, crusty in parts and there was the odd good turn as well. Conditions in Ian's Gully were a bit better. The cover down low was very patchy and not very ski friendly. Once at the bottom we skinned back up Lady Northcote Canyon to Lake Albina.

Rohan near Alice Rawson Peak.

The view SW to VIC alps from Alice Rawson Peak.

The western faces from Alice Rawson Peak.

The western faces from lower Alice Rawson Run.

Looking back up Ian's Gully (photo darkened to show tracks).

Men of the Backcountry 2010. Lady Northcote's Canyon is enough to make Mark and Andrei get their gear off.

The Granstand looked to be holding some soft snow so we doffed the packed and had a short run down. It was pretty nice. From here the western face of Northcote was also looking inviting. We headed to the top of Norhcote, only to find the Golden Eagle run looking much better so we changed plans and dropped in. Snow had a bit of a surface crust but was nice and soft underneath and pleasant to ski.

Short run down "The Grandstand". (Photo darkened to show tracks).

We skinned back to the top of Northcote and then skied down the western face. The western face was a bit icy but had softened enough in the sun for us to make a few nice turns down into Lake Albina. I've always overlooked this slope - it's normally very rocky - but it provides some nice steep lines and would corn up nicely on warmer days.

These two guys gave Northcote a miss in favour of Carruthers Peak.

Rohan (the dot) at the bottom of the Golden Eagle run down the east face of Mt Northcote.

Same photo with some track enhancements.

Looking back up the Golden Eagle Run.

Skinning back up Mt Northcote.

Mark and I skinning back up Northcote.

By this stage it was getting late and we were tired so we headed back up to the camp site.

Fuzzy clouds hung around all afternoon.

The Crags.

Fuzzy Clouds over the western faces.

Mirandah and fuzzy clouds over Kosciuszko.

Fuzzy clouds over Kosciuszko.

Afternoon light on the western faces and Mt Jagungal.

Our campsite at sunset.

Me taking photos.

We spent a bit more time making the cave a bit more comfortable before getting into dinner. The smart members of the party got into some fried snags. We also had a bit more time to knock off the 2L of port which i had lugged out.

We were treated to another perfect morning on Sunday. Despite the air temperature being -6, the lack of wind meant it was very comfortable sitting around in relatively light clothing.

Fine still morning at the campsite.

After breakfast we packed up and started heading back to Thredbo. We spied some nice snow on the northern spur of Kosicuszko and had a short but good run down. Again a bit of surface crust but quite nice to ski.

A short but good run off the Kosciuszko north spur.

There was talk of more runs elsewhere on the way out but the promise of some greasy food won out and we skied back to Thredbo. I managed to have an obligatory "Pack Stack" on the flat area between the kosi lookout and the eagles nest. We skied down a very crowded supertrail on surprisingly good snow. Besides the need for Mirandah to tell a snow boarder to "Fuck Off!" it was an incident free pack run and a good way to finish off an enjoyable weekend.