Vic Alps Walk in the Spring

[Uncle Rumple]

Hello all

A group of us from Brisbane are walking the AAWT in 100km blocks – one week each year. In March 2015 we did the section from Hotham to Benambra/Corryong Rd and said to ourselves ‘wouldn’t it be nice to come back here when there was a bit of snow on the ground’.

So, I am contemplating a 6 day-5 night loop walk in the Vic Alps in late Oct/early Nov, roughly as follows:

1. Drive to Bogong Village, park the car, start walking south along the Fainter Fire Trail, camp at Spring Saddle or Bogong Jack Hut
2. Walk to Diamantina Horse Yards, via Fainters, Jaithmathang, and Towonga, Weston & Blair huts
3. Continue to Mt Feathertop, then south along The Razorback to Mt Hotham, then along the AAWT to Derrick Hut
4. Follow the AAWT to Wallaces Hut, perhaps via Red Robin Mine and Battery
5. Continue on the AAWT towards Ropers Hut but turn left at Spion Kopje Spur track. Camp near Spion Kopje – north of Falls Ck
6. Walk back into Bogong Village to the car, drive back to Melbourne

Some of this (Hotham- Spion Kopje turnoff) covers the same ground we did in March and an alternative, covering new ground, might be to head north on day 4 at Cope Saddle towards a camp at Pretty Valley Hut, then, the next day on to Falls Ck, Howmans Gap to a day 5 camp at Spion Kopje.

Does anyone have any comments on this itinerary and the alternative?

How much snow are we likely to see in late Oct/early Nov. We would like a Goldilocks amount! Expert opinions and wild guesses are both welcome.

Thanks!

[Lophophaps]

Uncle Rumple, that sounds about right, with a few riders. Firstly, I’d put the car on the Falls Creek Road where you will finish. Secondly, go the other way and get the river crossing over. If you get to the last day and find a wall of water then it’s hard to find an easy way around. There was a similar thread on here a while ago about a similar if not identical walk, and the above advice was given. That advice also suggested starting from the dam wall. You could take all the party to the dam wall, drive back to Bogong Village and cadge a lift up.

It’s a longish slog up the Diamantina Spur, and a steepish descent in places, not too hard, just long. Your day to Derrick may be a tad far. There’s a track over Mt Hotham from Diamantina Hut. Spion Kopje can be exposed, but there’s some valleys to hide in. Plenty of water in most places, plenty of campsites. Snow should be present on the east sides, and on the south side of Feathertop.

[north-north-west]

^ is pretty good advice, but just one thing: Spring weather - and especially October - is generally the most unstable. Be prepared for things to get nasty very, very suddenly.

[Uncle Rumple]

Thanks Lophophaps for the tip. I found the old topic which was helpful.

I also found these (separate from this forum, I think) which are also very useful:

http://trailsandtracks.blogspot.com.au/ ... -2013.html

http://trailsandtracks.blogspot.com.au/ ... -2012.html

My plans are a combination of the two, kinda sorta.

[Xplora]

What is a Goldilocks amount of snow? It is hard to predict how much will be around at the time you have chosen. So far the season has been very poor but it is likely you will see some snow still around in October. Usually the east side of Mt Cope will have some near the Bogong High Plains Rd and there may still be a bit on Feathertop but the rest of the walk should be grass. I have to agree about Diamantina Spur but you have no other choice unless you go the other way first. That is from Westons to Blairs then Dibbins, Derrick, Hotham, Razorback, Feathertop (Federation Hut) and down Diamantina. There are enough ups in the trip without adding that one unless that is what you like. Also as said before, weather at that time is all over the place. I have left Mountain Creek on cup weekend in shorts and T shirt then been in a white out with snow on Bogong on the same day. Quote from an article in latest issue of Wild 'No such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing'. It seems many people still rely on the huts to sleep in and are not prepared well for a bad weather camp. They are a good place to get out of the weather for cooking etc but many have rats and mice so I would not leave anything inside them. Can't image anyone sleeping in Blair's. Keep an eye out for the platypus in the stream near Blairs. Should be a nice trip.

[jdeks]

I've hiked most of these a few times, albeit generally in midwinter. Diamantina Spur is one to be wary of. It tends to catch a lot of soft powder due to the local wind direction, and when you put a bit of snow on it, and it goes from being a mongrel of a hill, to a no-shit nightmare.

I went down about 2 weeks ago in thigh-deep snow. Even going down, it's exhausting. It's not really a steady gradient - it's got a string of staggered, steep crests, so you spend a lot of effort working to get up as well as controlling yourself going down. Going uphill would be obviously much harder. I've never tried it, and don't plane to.

To make matters worse, it's getting pretty damn overgrown at the bottom, and the final descent off the spur proper into the valley is proper steep, and degraded to the point its basically a shallow climb. In the summer, its just a scramble. But it spends most of winter in the shade, so it was also diabolically icy and very hard to see the route under the snow. I had two slips and it was pure luck that saved me from a broken-bones level injury.

I did Feathertop the morning before I went down, and it took the whole afternoon, about 6 hours, to get the 5.5km from Razorback to Blairs hut, arriving after dark. This was *downhill*. I could not imagine going up it with the snow any deeper than boot height, and I'm usually that annoying sod with too much energy who hikes off ahead of everyone else and walks until after sundown.

This is all when it's under snow. If the snow's melted off, I imagine it'd be substantially easier (though nonetheless a proper climb). But - I've seen snow stay well past "goldilocks thick" up there well into October, and if it is, doing Horseyards/Blairs hut > Diamantina > Feathertop > Razorback >Machinery Spur > Derrick hut is very ambitious.

I'd reverse that loop - push past Bogong Jack hut through to Tawonga Huts on Day one, but then link up with the AAWT to do Derrick hut on night 2. Then hit hotham and go north along razorback on day 3, so if conditions turn, at least you're still descending Diamantina, and if you want, you can rest in Federation hut and hit it the next morning. Otherwise, head down and spent the night in Blairs or Dibbin, then head up onto the plains after that.

[JulianS]

Hi Uncle,

Im no expert on the area (indeed, I’ve never walked the route you describe), but for what it’s worth my own experience doing a circuit around Mt Bogong starting Melb Cup weekend in 2012 was consistent with some of Xplora’s comments; i.e. the ground was more green than white, other than some places on Mt Bogong (pics below). My understanding wrt to whether that's typical for early November is that there is no "typical" (after all, the park notes state that snow can fall at any time of year). Others much more experienced than me would be better to comment. Whether the route you’re planning would have more / less snow, I also don't know.

Sorry that this post is a bit of "saying something without saying anything"...

Mount Bogong

Bogong Circuit 1.jpg (32.72 KiB) Viewed 23068 times

Somewhere near Roper's

Bogong Circuit 2.jpg (14.71 KiB) Viewed 23068 times

On, or on the way to (?), Timm's Spur

Bogong Circuit 3.jpg (35.64 KiB) Viewed 23068 times

[andyszollosi]

I walked the AAWT in spring last year, from Walhalla to Tharwa. I left in early September and arrived in Canberra in mid November.

The photo below happened in mid October, when I was camped near Derreck's Hut.

The blizzard provided some of the coldest conditions I have ever experienced; it would have been close to -20 including wind chill. The snow never got so deep to require snow shoes though. It all melted pretty quickly once the storm passed, but be ready for foul weather at that time of year.

Day 3 of your itinerary... where do you plan to leave from in the morning? Sounds like an epic. Have you done Diamantina Spur before? It'll be a killer with overnight packs...

[paidal_chalne_vala]

I am fascinated by descending the Diamantina spur with overnight packs on. I am looking at doing it in Jan. 2016
It sounds like a nasty piece of torture :-0 .
My route would be Diamantina hut to Fed . hut, day two Fed. hut down Diamantina spur to Blair's hut or Dibbin's hut and day three up Swindler's spur past Derrick's hut to Mt Hotham and back to the cars at Diamantina hut.

[Lophophaps]

I am fascinated by descending the Diamantina spur with overnight packs on. I am looking at doing it in Jan. 2016
It sounds like a nasty piece of torture :-0 .
My route would be Diamantina hut to Fed . hut, day two Fed. hut down Diamantina spur to Blair's hut or Dibbin's hut and day three up Swindler's spur past Derrick's hut to Mt Hotham and back to the cars at Diamantina hut.

Diamantina Spur is not that bad, just steep in places an a tad long. Your first day is not hard, maybe a long morning at most. Descending Diamantina Spur will take a morning, then a few hours to Dibbins. If you have time you could knock off the bottom of Swindlers and go to Derrick Hut, another few hours. Then you get to sleep in for the last day, two hours to Diamantina Hut. You could make it easier on the last day by parking at Mt Loch car park and going over Hotham on the first day. This would get you to Federation Hut in the early arvo. I've done Derrick over Hotham to Federation by lunch time.

[hobbitle]

Hi everyone, I thought I'd ask here instead of a new thread - does anyone have any current reports (I mean as recent as this week just gone) on the snow conditions at Mt Feathertop, especially regards the cornice/s? Cheers

[paidal_chalne_vala]

The cornice on the summit of Mt. FT usually stays put until late October. The rest of the snow cover melts in spring on Mt FT. However it can snow and turn nasty all through spring . Even in Nov. there can be remains of the deep summit cornice when everything else has melted.

[Uncle Rumple]

Hello All

We've just come back from the walk we planned a few months ago. However, Instead of doing a 7day/6night Falls Ck circuit, we decided to do the same duration, but starting and finishing at Mt Buller instead.

For those interested, our itinerary was as follows:

Day 1 (Sat 31 Oct). Drove from Melb to Buller, left the car at the summit and walked down Four Mile Spur to the Howqua River at Gardiners Hut, then east to Six Mile Flat
Day 2. Six Mile Flat to Eight Mile Flat, then up Eight Mile Spur to Refrigerator Gap then up to the Bluff and the Bluff Track to Bluff Hut.
Day 3. Bluff Hut to Lovicks Hut, Picture Point, Mt Magdala, Mt Howitt and then Valejo Gantner Hut
Day 4. From VJ Hut, across the Crosscut Saw to Mt Buggery, Mt Speculation, then down to Spec Road and a long walk across Mustering Flat to Lake Cobbler
Day 5. Lake Cobbler to Mt Cobbler, then back south to the top of Muesli Spur, and west down the spur to King River Hut
Day 6. King River Hut, west along the old King River Rd to Peters Corner, Craig's Hut and then GGS Hut at Mt Stirling
Day 7. (Fri 6 Nov). A short walk from the GGS Hut back to Mt Buller via Howqua Gap

This was a great walk, especially the visit to Mt Cobbler. We had two days of shockingly awful weather, two of beautiful sunny weather and three with cloud but no rain. Oh, and there was no snow anywhere! We will do the Falls Ck circuit next year, hopefully a bit earlier in the season.

If anyone wants more info or a GPX file let me know. Cheers

[neilmny]

Nice walk, any pictures Uncle Rumple?

[Lophophaps]

Nice walk, rubbish weather for a few days. I was camped on Howitt on 30 October, just below the treeline on the left. On Saturday 31 it was very cold and wet, so I decided that a tactical retreat was in order. Instead of going out via The Bluff and Eagles Peaks I went down Howitt Spur, then quickly to Sheepyard Flat, and watched the clag above. By Monday it was clearing and my ride arrived. Until 30 October there was a week of fine sunny days, quite warm at times.

[Uncle Rumple]

Here is a photo I like - cloud in the Terrible Hollow, rising up and spilling over the Crosscut Saw towards the west, on the morning of Mon 2 Nov

[Lophophaps]

Uncle Rumple, nice pic. It would have been good to camp just above the cloud, say at Mac Springs or Spec, and catch the dawn. Were you on Howitt or a nearby Crosscut bump?

[neilmny]

Nice one Uncle, thanks for posting.

[Uncle Rumple]

Uncle Rumple, nice pic. It would have been good to camp just above the cloud, say at Mac Springs or Spec, and catch the dawn. Were you on Howitt or a nearby Crosscut bump?

Hi Lophophaps

The cloud was there when we left Mac Springs around 0745 and persisted as we walked north across the Crosscut Saw to Mt Spec.

It was initially lower down in the Terrible Hollow, but while we walked, it rose up to the point where it spilled over, into the west. That photo was taken looking north from one of the Crosscut Saw 'bumps'. By the time we got to Mt Spec however, all the cloud had gone.

There was a tent set up at a great spot at the top of Spec, with the occupants obviously out for the day. The location had fabulous views down into the Hollow and it would have been a lovely place to wake up at. We couldn't linger though, as we had a long way to go to get to Lake Cobbler.

Cheers

[north-north-west]

There was a tent set up at a great spot at the top of Spec, with the occupants obviously out for the day. The location had fabulous views down into the Hollow and it would have been a lovely place to wake up at.

You mean something like this (from a few years back):

(ps: the fire circle was already there, and I didn't light a fire. Just wish I could stop everyone else from using it, too.)

[neilmny]

They are really great pictures NNW and glad you mentioned the fire circle.
I initially thought "what the???" knowing your thoughts on such things.

[Lophophaps]

Uncle R, thanks. There's another spot down the hill 20 metres north of the Spec summit. It's sheltered by trees and the summit. The view from the tent is not as good as that of NNW, but I like a little shelter from the wind. Thick underwear assists. My camp on Howitt was as high as I dared, and it was quite windy overnight, just above me. The next day the weather bombed out.

Howitt on Mac Springs track

Parks Victoria asked me for a report on the AAWT that I walked on. One point covered removal of higher fireplaces such as at Mt Buggery, and making higher regions FSOA. PV is working on this.

[Uncle Rumple]

Yes, NNW. That's the spot

Beautiful!

[peregrinator]

Uncle R, thanks. There's another spot down the hill 20 metres north of the Spec summit. It's sheltered by trees and the summit. The view from the tent is not as good as that of NNW, but I like a little shelter from the wind. Thick underwear assists. My camp on Howitt was as high as I dared, and it was quite windy overnight, just above me. The next day the weather bombed out.

Howitt camp.JPG

Parks Victoria asked me for a report on the AAWT that I walked on. One point covered removal of higher fireplaces such as at Mt Buggery, and making higher regions FSOA. PV is working on this.

Removal is one thing. Stopping the reinstallation may be another. (But I try my best whenever I find one of these ugly things taking up useful camping space in Fuel Stove Only Areas. Just spelling that out because at first I forgot what the acronym meant. And perhaps some people are not even aware that this restriction exists.)

[paidal_chalne_vala]

Labour day weekend ,March 2015 there were big bonfires being lit by bogan knuckle draggers at Mac Springs right next to the Hut. It was not quite right :that is a FSOA.

[neilmny]

Labour day weekend ,March 2015 there were big bonfires being lit by bogan knuckle draggers at Mac Springs right next to the Hut. It was not quite right :that is a FSOA.

The good??? thing is the penetration of these guys into these areas is limited by how far they can drag an esky.
So the further from a vehicle accessible track you are the less likely you will find them.