Trip to Mt Reynard

Many of the early Winter Group members will remember going down to the Wellington River to camp and then driving up to Mt Tamboritha, The Lost Plain and round to The Gorge.

It has been years since I have been there, and since that time there have been the disastrous fires of 2006, followed by torrential rainfall on bare steep hillsides. Reports came in of Cheynes Bridge being washed away, and the bridge at Licola being cut, as well as severe erosion along the Wellington & MacAlister River valleys. There had been 400 mm of rain in 1 hour in the area in 2006.

Two Winter Groupies, Graeme Y & Peter M + an "old" Winter Groupy from way back, Jim R + John B went down for a few days in September.

The damage was very evident. There is a new steel bridge in place of the old wooden Cheynes bridge, and the bridge to Licola was temporarily closed as we went in due to construction works on the far side of the river on the day. They are still working on repairing the roads 2.5 years later! Most of the old camping sites along the river were either washed away, or are full of flood debris.

Three of us camped at Breakfast Creek, in a very pleasant site with plenty of available fire wood, and had an enjoyable evening sitting around the fire after a pleasant BBQ dinner. Next morning we headed up to Mt Tamboritha, wondering whether we would be able to get there given the high snow falls this winter. However, no such problem as some rain had washed significant amounts of snow away. We drove to the Lost Plain and skied around the plain getting our "ski feet" again, and after an early lunch, decided to do the 4 km Mt Arbuckle Loop. That was a bit slow due to fallen trees across the track, but we reached the summit without any problems. The views out over the Carey River to Spion Kopje and Mt Wellington and the surrounding area were good. John did a small operation on his skis to remove some wax from the kicker pattern to get a bit more grip. The trip off the summit was very pleasant with wider trails and open snow plains. We met a school group from Padua College on the Mornington Peninsular coming the other way. They were out on their first overnight snow camp. It is good to still see kids being introduced to this sort of activity.

We headed back to camp and got the fire going again, when Peter M arrived. He had been delayed by the need to remove a large tree that had fallen over the fence on his country property. We had another great night, and solved many of the world's problems before heading to bed fairly late.

The next day saw us driving around to The Gorge through some modestly deep tracks in the snow. We skied up through The Gorge and decided to ski up to Mt Reynard. This involved dropping down to a foot bridge over the creek, and then a long climb up to a saddle on the ridge. The next section was more than tricky as we skied up through open and fallen timber until we hit a very steep section. A bit of side stepping and zig zagging had 3 of us at the top. John was struggling with the snow conditions and the steepness, when there came a cry "Bugger, the sole has torn away from my boot!" A quick check in my emergency kit - the sort that you carry every trip for years and never use - brought out some thin cord and strong tape. We were able to tie the sole and the upper together, and then hold it in place with the tape. Before long we were out of the trees, and heading to the summit. The views were great, and after a very late lunch, it was time to head back to the cars.

The skiing was superb, with firm snow with a soft top cover, wide open snow plains, and a very pleasant downhill slope. We had to ski well up the valley from The Gorge to avoid the very steep and tree covered slopes. A couple of false starts had us at a broad valley that lead down to the valley we wanted. A few wide turns and some quick runs and we were down and out in the open! From there it was a matter of skiing diagonally up to the snow covered road on the other side of the valley and down through The Gorge and back to the vehicles. A BIG day, but very rewarding. The ski boot held together well!

We arrived back at the camp just before dusk, and soon had the fire going again. Many more of the world's problems were solved around the camp fire over a good meal and some very drinkable wine.

The next morning saw us pack up and head back home, once again, left in awe by the damage that had been done by the fires and the water.

A great few days in good weather, good snow where we found it, and wonderful companionship.

Graeme