6/09/1996 – 8/09/1996 Guthega Power Station – Schlink Hut – Mawsons Hut – Geehi River – Kerries Ridge – Jagungal return
Kosciuszko National Park, NSW
Ngarigo country
Participants: Pat Brown, Steve Davies (Photos, Report), Phil Parle
Attempted Jagungal ski trip. Determined to travel as light as possible. New tent did not arrive in time. Skipped on the down booties and all camera gear. Had a new thick thermarest to try out.
Basic gear: TUA’s & skins, Bivy bag, sleeping bag & inner, Trangia
My Food: Fri dinner: Veal Cord-en-bleu with Soyaroni and veges.
Snacks: Home dried fruit, Pecan cookies, Mars bar Rice bubbles.
Day 1: Friday 6/09/1996 Guthega Power Station – Mawsons Hut
Departed Barrack Point at 3:45am in Pat’s Subaru. Stopped for chains in Cooma, boots for Phil in Jindabyne, bought thermal gloves at Paddy’s.
This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.
Max elevation: 1863 m
Total climbing: 1145 m
Total descent: -675 m
Average speed: nan km/h
Left Guthega Power Station around 9:30am up Aqueduct determined for a slow and steady pace to last the distance. Looked unpromising as no snow first 20 minutes, then skis on rest of way. Brief rest and snack at Disappointment Spur hut then continued ever onward and upward past Whites and over Schlink Pass to lunch stop at Schlink Hilton. Good snow depth and consistency. Weather mild with a cool wind, which strengthened and cooled to become quite blustery and cold beyond the pass.
Encountered 14 high school students doing Duke of Edinburgh award week trip at hut, then another four person party who had just crossed Kerries in miserable conditions. Weather changing but couldn’t decide if easing enough to head to Mawson’s via Kerries. Eventually decided on safe option and went via road and Duck creek. Headed off to right up last ridge before Valentine’s, then up creek which finishes at saddle at 5835′. Continued across to Mawson’s in failing light and terrible thin breaking crust without skins – hard work – but others working just as hard. Relieved to make the hut and find it empty, a quiet and pleasant night. Got straight into cooking the Veal – eaten in installments and Soyaroni.
Got excellent first night sleep on new thermarest and no annoying native (marsupial) fights.
Day 2: Saturday 7/09/1996 Mawsons Hut – Jagungal return
This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.
Max elevation: 2050 m
Total climbing: 689 m
Total descent: -669 m
Average speed: nan km/h
Awoke early to investigate conditions, nice light pink sunrise and morning fog-like clouds, decided to prepare and head out and see what the weather had planned for us. Left straight after the obligatory Muesli breakfast at 8:50 am. Carried two light “day packs” including tent, bag & small thermarest for insurance.
With recollections of river crossings from past trips decided to “detour” via the Big Bend and Bluff Tarn Creek to follow Eastern side of Geehi all the way to the base of Jagungal.
On the climb out of Big Bend we found many icy patches, making it very tough without putting on skins. These icy patches diminished in number along the Geehi. It only had a few spots where we could even find water! The going was fast and very pleasant, very cool but cloud cover kept reducing – Jagungal visible most of the way. Dropped packs at base of large bowl on SE corner, snacked and headed up on skins.
Reached top at 11:30am – very windy, hard snow – excellent views all around, clouds off to the west maybe a change. Very pleased to have done it. A first time for Pat, second for Phil (1982), and the sixth time for me. Two other groups (total seven people) around summit whilst there. Headed back to the bowl after photo shoot (Phil & Pat both took compacts) and did two runs. Some nice fresh snow over icy patches.
Had lunch and decided to return in case weather changed. Returned via the same route. Received a very strong helping hand home with the brisk northwesterly, made very good time across the Geehi Flats, snow still very firm with large sections of fresh snow. Arrived back at Mawsons Hut around 3:00pm, all sat down for a while and enjoyed a couple of hot drinks and a well deserved rest.
Headed back outside after 4:00pm to try out a bowl behind the hut but weather was closing in – low cloud and poor visibility, along with very sore right heal resulted in several falls amongst flat lighting.
Returned to hut.
Day 3: Sunday 8/09/1996 Mawsons Hut – Guthega Power Station
This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.
Max elevation: 1965 m
Total climbing: 522 m
Total descent: -997 m
Average speed: nan km/h
Continued to patch up blister – cover it.
Much discussion about which way out – decision left to the morning.
Left around 8:45am. Yesterday’s threatening change not around. Decided on another early start and to cross the Kerries. Cold and windy with large looming cloud mass on the western front, progressed painfully (thanks to right boot and large blister) but at a steady and reasonable pace to avoid being nailed by the change. Snow really hard with equal amount of thin fresh windblown cover. Views back to Jagungal spectacular. Exited Kerrie’s via creek below Gungartan Pass to finish just above Schlink Hilton, Fantastic run all the way down the creek but too painful to enjoy. (Fix the bloody boots!) Skinned it up to pass arriving around 10:30am. Too early for lunch so had some snacks and watched the other two enjoy the slopes (there’s a first for everything!). Returned to Guthega in survival mode – would have been better off overall with touring skis – struggled along aqueduct skinless, not gliding on flats and not gripping uphill. Slow and torturous – a longer walk back down as some snow lost. Very pleased to get back to the car at 1:30pm.
Home around 7:00pm
WRAPUP
The right hand boot has visited several bootmakers – nothing can be done with it. Would not contemplate a similar trip distance in same boots again – much too painful. Same boot has rubbed in same spot since new. Have tried all sorts of leather softening to no effect. Any suggestions??? May just have to buy a new pair.
Clickable icons on a world map which open the related trip report
A detailed, searchable trip list with links to reports, photo galleries and other content
