Cradle Mountain Snow Reports

[Aztec]

cmtoday2.jpg (41.39 KiB) Viewed 176517 times

But wait... is that blue sky?!??!

[Overlandman]

Snow fell over night with more forecast for today. Cradle Valley & the Plateau are covered in a blanket of white.
From Tas Police

Community Alerts
Hazardous Conditions
Thursday, 2 July 2015 - 5:31 am. Updated Thursday, 2 July 2015 - 6:55 am

Icy Road conditions on Highland Lakes Road from Liawenee south bound. Motorists are advised to proceed with caution.

Cradle Mountain Road between Cradle Mountain and Miena – heavy snow. Motorists are advised to proceed with caution.

[gayet]

Camera has frozen?

[Aztec]

I'd say the link to the camera has dropped and the image is the last one received

[north-north-west]

Quite a bit of white stuff on kunanyi this morning, too.

[Overlandman]

Black Bluff was white as this morning

http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/318 ... 29#slide=8

Photo 10 of Dove Lake with spa cabins is a little bit wrong

Hopefully the Mountain View web cam isn't broken again as it is still stuck on 1/07/2015 6.30.17pm

[Nuts]

It's a bluebird on our mountain for the weekend:

Screen Shot 2015-07-18 at 11.58.18 AM.png (295.53 KiB) Viewed 176149 times

[lachlanf]

Looks like I won't be packing snow shoes for a departure this Friday... not complaining.

[Nuts]

Hard to say, a few showers predicted during the week but not much so far, the clear winter days are gems. Replace s'shoes with extra down!

[aloftas]

Hard to say, a few showers predicted during the week but not much so far, the clear winter days are gems. Replace s'shoes with extra down!

That night it was -12 after the dump of snow a couple of years ago... I post holed through that, via the button grass swamp on top of ARm River. Crazy stuff...

I was the muppet along with two guys who felt no pain, had no fear and cold was just something to forget about. I could see the yellow markers on top of the snow poles on the cirque around the swamp, but nooo..out comes the gps and here we are trampling through a button grass swamp...going down 4 feet into a hole, getting up...exhaustion takes minutes in adverse conditions.

It is why I am so leery...we camped near a creek before Lake Ayr...I didn't have the courage to venture further next day when I was the only one with dry boots...

after taking the other two pairs of boots down to the creek to THAW them out, I decided, never to do it unless I was fit, aware, and in a group that had consensus programming....

Hardest thing I ever did, was to say, after the boys had their boots back on,.,..we are going home.

I was out of there like a gazelle, let me tell you.


So....

http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=28485



Maybe the ethos could be, "if it looks like snow, take snowshoes"

I give the average Joe 10 minutes of postholoing into fresh dump, or trampled slush before Johnny Doubt sets in, Yuanita Wet and Harry Hypothermia jump on board.

[corvus]

+1

[Nuts]

haha, you've found another walking partner Corvus?
I'd agree, it can be exhausting (and daunting) and that track does have some very deep holes to be found if you can't stick closely to it.

[lachlanf]

I'm watching the forecast / webcam very closely, but given we're already taking the extra down I'd rather avoid the shoes - easy to drop into Bogong and rent on Thursday if it comes to it.

We're also doing a pretty cruist 7 day walk, so if one or two days are extended a bit by some postholing we will survive

[Overlandman]

Another blast of winter overnight with snow settling on the ground at Cradle Valley & the Central Plateau.
With the strong winds overnight, conditions would have been a blizzard

Edit snow is continuing to fall, looking forward to Lachlanf's report & wondering if he picked up those snow shoes

Regards Overlandman

[Overlandman]

Snow is continuing to fall, and may ease tomorrow
Regards Overlandman

From Tasmanian Police Road Closures

http://www.police.tas.gov.au/community-alerts/

Roads Closed

Sunday, 26 July 2015 - 2:52 pm. Updated Sunday, 26 July 2015 - 4:49 pm

Cradle Mountain Road – in its entirety – is now closed due to snow. From Moina to Murchison Highway

Sunday, 26 July 2015 - 3:18 pm.

Police advise that the Lyell highway from Derwent Bridge to Queenstown is accessable only to 4WD vehicles

Sunday, 26 July 2015 - 11:34 am. Updated Sunday, 26 July 2015 - 2:52 pm

Motorists are advised that Ridgeley Highway near Hellyer Mine is slippery due to snow and ice. Caution to be taken.

Belvoir Road, Cradle Mountain. Currently unpassable due to snow.

Road Weather Alert for Tasmania
for Western, Central Plateau, Upper Derwent Valley and South East forecast
districts.

Issued at 10:14 am EST on Sunday 26 July 2015.

Snow covered roads above 400 metres will make driving conditions dangerous
during Sunday and Monday in parts of the Western, Central Plateau, Upper
Derwent Valley and South East forecast districts.
For information on any road closures, please contact your local council or the Police.
The next alert will be issued by 5:00 pm EST Sunday.

[Overlandman]

Roads are still closed
Web cam is back online
Hell there's a lot of Snow in that car park!

[Nuts]

Lachlan will be having fun ^^

[Aztec]

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Fun!!!!

[aloftas]

epic picture.
and a good historical record.

[Overlandman]

Had a look at the last shot of the day before dark.

I wonder how many times a year there are no vehicle tracks or foot prints in the snow at Dove Lake car park for the whole day!

[Nuts]

Looks like it will be backed up through the week with snow showers and cold days. Fun ++ (though the driving unlikely a barrel of laughs)

[Aztec]

Camera1.jpg (46.63 KiB) Viewed 175609 times

It doesn't take long for the snow to disappear!

[Nuts]

There wasn't a lot in that earlier pic, just hadn't been cleared, i doubt there are too many days this happens.
Still lots of fun to be had up higher (especially if the forecast holds true).

Just to say that the two references probably are on this page. Closed. And at the top, if it looks like that.. there will be people starting to struggle back on the road with 2wd/little experience with snow driving, may not even get purchase to get back out of the carpark (rise) without some level of anxiety. Maybe ok with a receding bad weather forecast otherwise just something to consider.

[Aztec]

Yeah I wouldn't mind being up around Kitchen Hut - was up there a month ago, and there were some big drifts here and there, but they were old and hard packed...

[Overlandman]

A few photos from the Advocate

http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/323 ... s/?cs=4169

[Overlandman]

More snow late yesterday, And overnight,
Snowing today up at Great Lake, had to have the xtrail in 4 x 4.
It was okay after the snow plough went through.
Plenty of vehicles heading up there for the fishing season opening.
Snow over the weekend. Heavy falls to lower levels predicted from Monday for the week
Snow shoes may be required.
Regards Overlandman

[Nuts]

Woohoo!

[Overlandman]

Snowing on & off today,
The web cam was frozen this afternoon
I believe it will be white up there tomorrow.

From Tasmanian Police


Sunday, 2 August 2015 - 5:26 pm.

Pinnacle Road, Mount Wellington, is closed at the intersection of Bracken Lane.

Sunday, 2 August 2015 - 1:51 pm. Updated Sunday, 2 August 2015 - 5:47 pm

Police wish to advise that the following roads have been closed due to adverse weather conditions:
-Anthony Road from Murchison Highway to Zeehan Highway
Motorists should also use caution on the Murchison Highway between Rosebery and Zeehan due to large amounts of hail on the road.

Sunday, 2 August 2015 - 1:02 pm.

Police wish to advise motorists of hazardous road conditions on the following roads:

Murchison Highway, Waratah/Tullah
Waratah Road, Waratah/Tullah
Belvoir Road Waratah/Tullah

Conditions are as a result of snow and ice on the roadway. Currently the roadway is open to all traffic however motorists are advised to exercise appropriate caution. Further updates will be posted as available.

[Overlandman]

From today's Advocate.
Cradle Mountainand and Lake St Clair had received about 30 centimetres of snow by noon as snow continued to fall yesterday. Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service communication manager Liz Wren said due to the snowfalls and road conditions the Mole Creek Caves were closed. Cradle Mountain and Lake St Claire were open, but with most access roads to the parks closed visitor numbers were limited.
About 40 centimetres of snow was reported at Dove Lake, with drifts of up to 60 centimetres on the road into Dove Lake.

On the news tonight it was stated that tourists and visitors with 2 wheel drive vehicles that arrived prior to Monday may be stuck at Cradle Valley for a week

[Aztec]

Man rescued from Cradle Mountain after being trapped for four days

AN experienced local bushwalker held off as long as he could before setting off an EPIRB on the Overland Track in the Cradle Mountain National Park today.

The 44-year-old man was walking south to north when he became trapped by snow at Kia Ora Hut. He had made numerous attempts to leave the hut during the last four days but had to turn back each time because of the deep snow drifts.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/man-rescued-from-cradle-mountain-after-being-trapped-for-four-days/story-fnj4f7k1-1227471575018

Anyone we know?
Glad it was a happy ending!!