1/11/2021 – 3/11/2021 Charlotte Pass – Club Lake – Carruthers Peak – Mount Lee
Kosciuszko National Park, NSW
Ngarigo Country
Distance: 29km Total Ascent: 1865m Total Descent: 1865m Time: 15 hours
Participants: Damien Aggio, Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Tim Hager (Leader), John Mickan, Stephen Poole, Peter Whittle (1 day)
So far, my family and I have been very lucky to have escaped CoVid-19. We have largely kept to ourselves, masked up when around other people and obtained all vaccinations as soon as we could. We were also very lucky to have been able to take advantage of good snow-falls in mid-June and spend six days lift skiing at Perisher Valley. Being easily excited, I spent one of my first days back home diligently going through all my snow-camping kit and packing it ready for a quick getaway as soon as the next opportunity arose. It turned out to be a long wait between ski trips.
Day 1: Monday 1/11/2021 Charlotte Pass – Club Lake
Max elevation: 1843 m
Total climbing: 220 m
Total descent: -233 m
Average speed: 2.48 km/h
Total time: 03:00:23
The end of lockdown, day one. With plenty of snow still on the ground, our very keen group of NSW Nordic Ski Club members were not prepared to wait a moment longer than we had to. We travelled down in several vehicles, as we were not all planning to stay the full six days we hoped for. I arrived first, and headed off from Charlotte Pass alone, straining under a pack weight that I hadn’t carried for a long time.
Departing after lunch, the only real objective for the day was to find a nice campsite somewhere below Club Lake and greet the others on their arrival. On the snow-free walk down to Foreman’s Crossing, I noted the work being done on a new track that would run beneath Mount Guthrie to Guthega alongside the Snowy River. After wading through the water at the crossing I followed the main track across four snowdrifts before sidling around to look for a flat dry site large enough for several tents.
I managed to successfully avoid any wet, boggy sections and found good spots to step over several small creeks. It appeared there had been plenty of locals out and about, as the multitude of tracks on Mount Lee had it looking like a downhill run.
Mt Lee
I established camp on a large flat, dry spot below Club Lake as planned. An hour or so after arriving I was joined by Damien, Tim, Stephen Poole and John. We were rewarded with a very colourful sunset, it was so wonderful to be out amongst the mountains with friends again!
Day 2: Tuesday 2/11/2021 Club Lake – Carruthers Peak
Max elevation: 2132 m
Total climbing: 1149 m
Total descent: -1176 m
Average speed: 5.16 km/h
Total time: 07:08:53
We awoke to a bluebird day and were very keen to get some skiing in. I had my skis on about ten metres from my tent and we were all able to follow the snow leads up to the bowl just to the south of Club Lake, climbing on skins until just below the ridge cornice. As I had spent months trying to rehab a knee injury, I was by this stage a little nervous to see how it managed lots of telemark turns. Three runs later I was ecstatic, it was a little sore but a lot better than the walking and short jogs on it in the previous weeks that had left it painful.
Following a little break, snack and water refill on a grassy patch we crossed over Club Lake Creek and climbed 300m to the top of Carruthers Peak. With awesome views under a clear blue sky, we lingered for a little while before enjoying our descent. By this time we had gone our own ways. I decided to venture up to the Club Lake bowl and try for a few photos, getting about 40m up behind it without skins to gain a slightly different perspective. Damien made an entry from Carruthers whilst I was there, although he snuck his run in before I noticed, I only caught him on a slow glide down Club Lake Creek.
Mt Townsend beyond Abbott Ridge from Carruthers Peak
Back to camp and time to search out sites for some more photos. I was happy enough with the reflections in one pool to return after dark with the tripod to see if I could do the scene justice with a timelapse. One thing I did learn on the return to camp is that my new tent does not have reflective guy ropes. That could be a problem during any nighttime excursions!
Another thing we learnt in the late afternoon was the weather was due to turn later tomorrow, with a fair bit of rain in the forecast.
Day 3: Wednesday 3/11/2021 Club Lake – Mount Lee – Charlotte Pass
Max elevation: 2106 m
Total climbing: 1019 m
Total descent: -1003 m
Average speed: 4.46 km/h
Total time: 06:05:56
Another blue sky morning, but with plenty of wispy clouds rolling across the tops. I spent the first hour of the day roaming around near camp seeing what I could find. There is plenty of character in old, pitted, spring snow. Just below us on the creek beneath a dip, there was another couple camped.
We had decided that we would try and sneak in a couple of runs before pulling up camp and retreating before getting wet in the forecast rain. The clouds gathered pretty quickly as we headed up for a warm-up run just to the south of Club Lake. By the time we reached our high point, the sky was grey. After our first run, Damien and I headed up Mount Lee for one last run. It was cold, very grey and windy on top and not really a place to linger for too long. Whilst there I tried my phone reception and noticed a two-day old message informing me that my step-father’s health had taken a bad turn. Regardless of any forecast, I would need to get home soon.
Heading out for aniother run
Back at camp, we were packing when the last member of our party appeared beyond Club Lake Creek. Peter made his way into camp, only to realise that his tent was missing. It had managed to fall off his pack somewhere along the way. With the rest of us pulling the plug and about to leave he decided he would also turn around and go back and try to find his tent.
I left, again by myself as the others were still packing up, keeping an eye out for Peter’s tent as I made my way out.
I think we all made it back to our cars before getting wet and Peter did recover his tent. My 94 year old step-father, having been isolated by multiple lock-downs in his nursing home had given up on living, he just wouldn’t or couldn’t eat and passed away on 27th November. We were fortunate that during those 3 1/2 weeks we were able to visit as we pleased under compassionate grounds.
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