Moondog55's Falls Creek trek

[Cecile]

Hello to the forum. I'm Moondog's other (better) half

I've just joined so I can update folks about how he's going up in Pretty Valley, if there's any interest of course. He won't have internet access and only sporadic phone contact. I"m very happy to tell tales!

Cecile

[Rob A]

Criminy. Hey there. Welcome and all that. Hope he has a good time and doesnt starve. I guess I dont get no good cooking tips for a while then?

[photohiker]

Up at Falls Creek village atm. Been a bit of a wild day with low visibility and high winds. Had good snowfall though. Very high windchill!

[bailz66]

Sounds Great Photohiker,

I am heading up there on the 17/18th so plan on dropping in to say G'day. Be interested to know how the conditions are a bit closer to the date to get our prep right.

We will be coming through PV at about 12:00-14:00 on the 18th.

Cheers
Warren

[Giddy_up]

Hi Cecile, I'm keen to hear how the lads are going up there, please keep us posted as time permits.

Cheers
G_U


"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards"

[photohiker]

My ski helmet after a few runs at the top of the mountain today.

Frozen Helmet

Need better gloves, current ones don't cope with this combination although they are ok in cold, dry conditions.

[photohiker]

Aha. Found I can actually upload to postimage from the phone!

[Cecile]

Up at Falls Creek village atm. Been a bit of a wild day with low visibility and high winds. Had good snowfall though. Very high windchill!

Hi Photohiker. If you're going cross country, he's camped past Pretty Valley Hut, not far from the pit toilet/picnic tables that are out there (not sure what the area is called but he has mentioned it in one of his prior posts. He is in an enormous red tipi.

Wild night last night, the wind caught his Megamid and snapped the main pole. He was at Windy Corner this morning, skied down from his camp out at Pretty Valley and would have gone back up sometime in the afternoon.

[Cecile]

Criminy. Hey there. Welcome and all that. Hope he has a good time and doesnt starve. I guess I dont get no good cooking tips for a while then?

I'm sure he won't starve! He's been doing this for nearly 40 years so is quite experienced...plus he's got at least three weeks worth of food. And coffee. And chocolate. He's all set.

Regarding cooking tips, here's one: Open Menulog. Choose restaurant. Pay. Food comes to your door.

[GPSGuided]

Aha. Found I can actually upload to postimage from the phone!

Hate that kind of condition.

[neilmny]

Hi Cecile,
I've been following Moondogs trip plans and preparations from the start it
will be great to get updates from you as time goes by.
I'm sure there's a few others interested too so thanks from us armchair enthusiasts.

Neil.

[photohiker]

Cecile, I have been a bit slow on the uptake. If he was there on Thursday, I could have visited him! Shame

We're on a family ski holiday, downhill skiers. I've done a bit of cross country, would have been fun to go out and visit! Leaving tomorrow morning. Pity, as the snow conditions are the best they have been for the whole trip now.

Maybe next year.

[sim1oz]

Hi Cecile,

Thanks for posting and glad to hear Moondog got up there ok. If all goes to plan, we'll be up there visiting him next weekend. I'm sure he's enjoying the Cherry Ripes!

Cheers
sim1oz

[Robatman]

Hi Cecile,
Glad to get updates, thanks
Hope tipi is fixable!
Robert

[Cecile]

Hope tipi is fixable!

Thankfully the tipi is intact. The broken pole is a different tent.

[photohiker]

Lots of snow overnight. Sad that we're leaving with such good snow conditions now.

[neilmny]

Michael, that is a heart breaker. It looks magnificent. How good is it for the Sunday arrivals.

[Cecile]

Hi Cecile, I'm keen to hear how the lads are going up there, please keep us posted as time permits.

Cheers
G_U


"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards"

At this point he's up there on his own. His first visitor had to pull out, so he said he was going to use the time to regain his fitness and practice skill with cross country/telemark, and if the sun comes out he might have a day on the piste. Unfortunately he won't have phone service unless he goes down to the village or is in sight of a mobile tower, so all I know is from our short conversation on Saturday.

I'm looking forward to hearing his news too!

[Cecile]

I heard from Ted today. The weather has been truly awful, with high wind, ice storms, and rain. Apparently it was so bad that at one point he met some army blokes, who gave up on the weather, while Mr Tough-Guy kept on going to the hut, where he cracked off a coating of ice before completing the remaining kilometre and a half to the campsite. The tipi broke in high winds as well, pole snapped and it's ripped. Thankfully,he does have another tent! When the tipi collapsed it was raining, and he's still trying to dry out. He skied down to the village today, took four and a half hours in sticky, wet snow. There are many others up there, including a bunch of school kids on an adventure camp of some kind.

But his comment? "I'm having fun!"

[+dj_hansen+]

I was out on the High Plains last weekend, we skied out to Edmonson's Hut for the night (I proposed we head over to join Moondog but the others wanted to head to the hut ) and the weather was quite challenging! Probably not the coldest conditions I have been in out there, but the wind, ice and snow was certainly good fun.

Trying to get 15mm of ice of the windscreen, bonnet and headlights of the car at 5pm sunday night at Windy Corner was fun too.... not!

[photohiker]

Trying to get 15mm of ice of the windscreen, bonnet and headlights of the car at 5pm sunday night at Windy Corner was fun too.... not!

Our car had every door iced shut! I literally had to bash the shutlines with my fist to break the ice up, it sounded like breaking glass! The shovel was in the back - I had to kick the heck out of the ice at the bottom of the door before it loosened up and swung open. Then the digging started... This was in the morning about 10:30 and the snow hadn't been cleared, if we didn't have 4WD it could have been a real drama.

[neilmny]

Cecile, It's good to see the weather improve a bit for him today.
A nice fresh 20 or so cm will make for some good skiing.

[Onestepmore]

so envious......pity he's in the wrong state!

[GPSGuided]

Our car had every door iced shut! I literally had to bash the shutlines with my fist to break the ice up, it sounded like breaking glass! The shovel was in the back - I had to kick the heck out of the ice at the bottom of the door before it loosened up and swung open. Then the digging started... This was in the morning about 10:30 and the snow hadn't been cleared, if we didn't have 4WD it could have been a real drama.

Don't you hate that! 20cm away from the shelter and potential warmth of a car cabin but can't get in. Been there too.

[Onestepmore]

Don't you just pee on the locks??

[photohiker]

Don't you just pee on the locks??

Central locking. Never used a key in a lock on that vehicle yet!

Unlocking is not the problem, and I'd challenge anyone to have enough pee to melt the amount of ice that was on it.

[andrewbish]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1376295446.001481.jpg (78.31 KiB) Viewed 16078 times

It's going to be a very big week at Falls Creek for our good friend Moondog..

[Cecile]

I saw on the news that it the wind was blowing at 100kph up there today. Not my idea of fun!

Haven't heard from Ted, with no mobile coverage at the campsite, but I imagine he's using all his energy to stay warm and (hopefully) dry.

[bailz66]

I don't think we will make it up to see Moondog this weekend.

We were planning a walk but with the weather atm looking very very bad I think chances are we will give it a miss unless something changes

[Travis22]

Glad to hear he's having fun!

I got out with the boys the other week for a quick getaway. Slept under the tarp in the snow.

My doors froze shut as did the zips on my canopy. Didnt use pee..... bottle of water did the trick

Travis.