Overland track in winter "brrr...!"

[sarge]

Hi all Not sure if this topic has been discussed recently bc I havent logged in for a while (apologies if it has...). My husband and I are planning to walk the overland track in late August/early Sept.

We are both experienced walkers and have hiked the overland track twice in summer months. We have a tent that is 'bomb proof' and suitable for alpine conditions (although we plant to stay in the huts where possible). My question is if there is anyone here who has hiked at these times what your experiences were re: the number of walkers, weather and conditions, and scenery in winter.

thanks!

[Son of a Beach]

I've done the OT in August once (nice and slow over 8 days was very relaxing). We shared a hut on the first two nights (Windy Ridge and Kia Ora) with a couple on their honeymoon (bad luck for them), but had the remaining huts to ourselves for the rest of the trip. Mind you, this was about 10 years ago. I would expect you'd see more people in winter these days, especially in the Pelion area.

We tool cross-country skis with us, but it was a winter of not a lot of snow so we ended up using them less than planned. They were great for where the snow cover was good though. However, I've since tried snow shoes, and they are a lot more practical this kind of walking (ie, where you cannot ski the whole way), since they are easier to carry, and easier to get on/off.

Walking in deep snow without snow shoes is very slow and exceptionally tiring, and I'd strongly recommend getting snow shoes if you can. It makes walking across the top of the snow just as easy as walking over grass.

Of course you need to be prepared for severe weather. We didn't get anything too extreme, but just the normal snow, sleet, wind, rain, hail and thunderstorms. Oh, and of course it was very cold!

We did get to ski Mt Ossa and Barn Bluff though. That was fun!

We carried a tent (for safety), but ended up sleeping in huts every night. I usually avoid the huts, but when they're not full of people, they're really quite nice. Do NOT count on the huts being warm. The new Waterfall Valley hut was the only one with a gas heater at the time but it was all out of gas when we went through, and we had two VERY cold nights there (after looking forward to a warm gas heater for 6 days). The coal heaters in the older huts can be difficult to get going, if you're not familiar with them. People say that if it is exceedingly cold, you can pitch your tent inside the hut for a warmer night's sleep (obviously only if you have the hut to yourself).

The scenery, of course, is fantastic, and well worth it when (if) you get breaks in the weather. Due to the time of year, you should expect fewer and shorter breaks in the weather, but when you do get them, it's just magic.

Beware of ice on the track too. Very slippery indeed!

[sarge]

thanks for the advice - I wondered about snow shoes but will definitely bring them. When we hiked OT in Jan 06 we experienced a bit of snow in pine valley which was absolutely lovely. We had some success in operating the coal stoves then too.

Funny thing is we were originally planning to hike the Larapinta trail in NT in August but have since been warned that due to droughts there is a severe lack of water and we don't like the idea of having to carry 10+ litres each, so its off to the tassie snow instead! I think suits me better for some reason the worse the weather the more I enjoy the walk. Might have something to do with lack of crowds.

[frank_in_oz]

Hi Sarge,
We came in via the Walls of Jerusalum to Hartnett Falls and then up to Cradle Mountain (Lodge) in July last year.
This is the first post on our blog about the trip. http://frankinoz.blogspot.com/2007/07/l ... -cold.html There is one for each day if you are interested

There were 5 in our party. We never saw anyone from Lake Ball to Kia Ora Hut - jolly good I say!!

Points to consider:
1) We had tents (Kia Ora was nearly FULL) - it was school hols 2) Great weather most days and the views to die for.....
3) Took snow shoes - bought some Yowies on eBay just before we left. Used them a bit but not much snow (which was REALLY sad- we wanted heaps)
4) Pelion - about 12 people including us (they close the "living area" into two to enhance the gas heating - worked well)
5) Windemere - about 10 including us
6) Duck boarding is treacherous - incredibly slippery when covered in ice (the wire gets covered over) Our problem was that there was snow and ice, BUT not enough to go off track so we ended up putting snow shoes on and off a lot. In the end just used our poles and walked carefully.

These http://www.kahtoola.com/microspikes.html might be worth investigating. An American I am doing the Overland with in May has a pair of these and he highly recommends them. Think he is going to bring his so I will check them out.

Rock faces and sections of the track were also covered in ice all day. Bit like skating across them - dangerous , fell over about 4 times I reckon
7) Cold, really cold at night once you stopped. Felt the same while we were walking and just had shorts and an inner layer with a long sleeved shirt on during the day. At night we we adhered to the layer principal by necessity!!

(sadly, there was a dump of about a metre of snow once we got home - we wanted it!!)
Have a great trip.

[sarge]

Hi Frank

Thanks for all the info - read your blog with interest. Gosh it looks cold but what lovely clear weather you had! I Might have to splash out on some merinos.

also those shoe micro spikes look very interesting. I have never heard of them before. Someone else has suggested getting things called overshoes to deal with slippery surfaces such as ice (http://www.overshoe.com). Does anyone have experience with these? They are a bit pricey.

[sarge]

Frank, could you post a link to the other days for your hike - I could only find days - july 8 & 11. would like to read the other days blogs too!

Many thanks

[frank_in_oz]

There you go:
http://frankinoz.blogspot.com/2007/07/d ... m-hut.html
http://frankinoz.blogspot.com/2007/07/d ... salem.html
http://frankinoz.blogspot.com/2007/07/d ... -lake.html
http://frankinoz.blogspot.com/2007/07/d ... a-hut.html
http://frankinoz.blogspot.com/2007/07/d ... ut-to.html
http://frankinoz.blogspot.com/2007/07/d ... e-hut.html
http://frankinoz.blogspot.com/2007/07/d ... ntain.html

Reminded me to tidy up the posts and put a "Related Post" footer on each

As you say, the weather was great. Hope it is like that when I am down there in May.

[scrub boy]

G'day, I did it in July/Aug and had incredible weather, climbed barn bluff, ossa, pelion east, almost to the top of gould (condition on the boulders very tricky), I have photos of us on the top ridge of mt gould wearing only thermal tops. Camped a few nights but used the huts for the space and social benefit (group of 5). Obviously it was cold but really rewarding, few people crystal clear days, heavy frost etc. There is an article in an old outdoor australia or something similar (written by bob mcmahon?) about a trip in Nov where very heavy snow cover was experienced. A friend of mine and his partner were choppered out in sept, they were OK but were just not making headway due to the snow cover. I have done a few winter trips, the most extensive snow cover I have seen on the actual track was in Dec 2000 at christmas time! So it is a lottery but I reckon some snow shoes would give piece of mind. Enjoy, it will be great whatever the weather.

[sarge]

I think I remember reading that article somewhere, might go home and check my old mags for it. Did your freind who was choppered out have snowshoes?

[kanangra]

I was wondering if the track fee was still payable in winter or whether that was just in the peak season?

[Son of a Beach]

I was wondering if the track fee was still payable in winter or whether that was just in the peak season?

Hi Kanangra. According to the official Parks department page at http://www.overlandtrack.com.au/doing_bookings.html :

Bookings are required for each walking season (1 November to 30 April). During the booking period walkers will be required to walk the track from North to South (Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair), and pay the Overland Track Fee.

(That policy may change in the future but should be good for at least this year.)

Note that the Parks department official Overland Track pages are accessible via Bushwalk Tasmania's Overland Track general information page.

[norts]

All your questions about the admin for walking the track should be answered here

http://www.overlandtrack.com.au/

Roger

[frank_in_oz]

Another bit of news about undertaking the track in winter is that the shuttle bus to Dove Lake will be running all winter.

Here is the link to the press release from last week. http://www.media.tas.gov.au/release.php?id=23771

[kanangra]

Thanks guys.