Wednesday 18/09/2019 Charlotte Pass – Carruthers Peak
Kosciuszko National Park, NSW
Ngarigo country
Participant: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report)
After limiting weather the last two days we awoke to calm conditions and a clear blue sky. The mixed bag of destinations on offer included Watsons Crags, Mount Kosciuszko and Lake Albina. Planning to do more skiing next week in those areas I opted out, aiming instead to ski in the area of Mount Lee.
Max elevation: 2170 m
Total climbing: 1624 m
Total descent: -1634 m
Average speed: 7.65 km/h
Total time: 07:07:58
A snow bridge crossing presented itself at the usual Main Range Track fording point. From here I aimed straight towards Mount Lee before becoming very tempted to do a downhill run on nice firm snow with a topping of a centimetre of frost. Dropping my pack I climbed further up the foothills of Carruthers Peak before embarking on a easy, gentle run straight back down to Club Lake Creek before continuing.
Once below Club Lake I headed straight up the distinct, wide ridge between Mount Lee and Carruthers Peak, stopping just below the cornice above. The first descent convinced me I wouldn’t get to the top of Mount Lee before it had softened too much be be worth the steep climb, I instead opted for two repeats of the same ridge before having a short, late 1:30pm break for lunch.
Such a beautiful clear day demanded a side trip to summit Carruthers Peak. It never disappoints and seemed especially spectacular today with the crystal clear air and total absence of clouds. Needless to say, with such superb conditions, plenty of photographs and numerous panoramas were shot throughout the day.
Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) near the Snowy River
Departing the summit at 3:00pm I had a great descent back down, with just a hint of crusting as the snow was cooling off. After crossing another snow bridge upstream from the morning’s route, I was very fortunate to encounter an echidna just past the Snowy River. From here I made my way to the top of the Kangaroo Ridge Triple Chairlift through the snow gums. By the time I made this final descent half the slope was in shade and was very lumpy and frozen. Back to the lodge at 4:30pm.
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