Snow on the Overland

[Fizzygood]

Hi everyone...

I am waiting for a decent dump of snow in the highlands before heading out for 3 or 4 days to do the track...

Any reports of how much snow is on the peaks in the park? North and south?

Cheers, Erin

[tasadam]

This page http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/tas/launc ... ices.shtml
has the phone number for the BOM office in Hobart.
The forecasters might be able to give you an idea as to what you are looking for.
If you are armed with this http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/wrap_fwo.pl?IDT13100.html when you ring them, you will have a feel for what's coming and they might be able to elaborate on about how much they are expecting, also whether it is going to be sustained / cold enough for it to stay there for any period.
Hope that helps.

Don't forget my weather page http://www.tasadam.com/weather/ and let me know if you find any links that you thing should be added to the list.
Cheers!

[luke_vic]

On the topic of snow on the overland, I was wondering which of the following side trips are worth considering given the current snow levels:

- Cradle Mountain
- Barn Bluff
- Mt Oakleigh
- Mt Ossa
- Acropolis
- Labyrinth

Has anyone been to any of these spot in the last month or so? Any that are off limits this time of year without crampons / ice axe ? Looking to head there in a weeks time, and will have access to Yowies but not sure how useful they will be climbing any of the peaks.

Any info would be appreciated.

Cheers
Luke

[sthughes]

On the topic of snow on the overland, I was wondering which of the following side trips are worth considering given the current snow levels:

- Cradle Mountain
- Barn Bluff
- Mt Oakleigh
- Mt Ossa
- Acropolis
- Labyrinth

Has anyone been to any of these spot in the last month or so? Any that are off limits this time of year without crampons / ice axe ? Looking to head there in a weeks time, and will have access to Yowies but not sure how useful they will be climbing any of the peaks.

Any info would be appreciated.

Cheers
Luke

Haven't attempted any of those in snow/ice but have heard the big scree fields aren't a lot of fun on ice. It will depend a lot on the weather of the day and days leading up to your trip. If it's warmer and wet a lot of snow and Ice will be washed away. Of course if it's cold ..... you get the picture
Mt Oakleigh should be fine regardless of snow (could be deep on top for short distance) and Ice, however crossing the Lake Ayr outlet and associated area might be fun and games at the moment, due to all the recent rain.

[the_camera_poser]

On Monday we helped with a sort-of rescue of three OT hikers who had gotten stuck at Kitchen Hut without snowshoes- they were in pretty bad shape when they got down. Also, we saw three different groups fail to make it onto Cradle Plateau due to deep snow.

There's a lot less snow than there was on Monday, but I think you'd need to be pretty aware of the dangers involved, and have some snowshoes. I'd call the park and ask to speak to a Ranger.

[Nuts]

On the topic of snow on the overland, I was wondering which of the following side trips are worth considering given the current snow levels:

- Cradle Mountain
- Barn Bluff
- Mt Oakleigh
- Mt Ossa
- Acropolis
- Labyrinth

Has anyone been to any of these spot in the last month or so? Any that are off limits this time of year without crampons / ice axe ? Looking to head there in a weeks time, and will have access to Yowies but not sure how useful they will be climbing any of the peaks.

Any info would be appreciated.

Cheers
Luke

Hi Luke, it changes by the day (so any info on (even recent) conditions is not going to be much help)
I've been up them in a range of conditions. If you do Need the Yowies for the approaches then just watch out for snow filled boulder gaps and cracks towards the summit of the Acrop/Ossa/B.Bluff/Cradle I also wouldnt proceed if you start to encounter anything icing over (especially if you may be late getting down). No problems just going for a look though (so long as you err to caution to decide to turn back).

Labyrinth would be ok (mostly) and what StH said about Oakleigh..

[Clownfish]

I'm taking my boys on the OT in two and a half weeks, and I've been wondering the same re: snowshoes.

Good idea to hire some, you think?

[Nuts]

I'm taking my boys on the OT in two and a half weeks, and I've been wondering the same re: snowshoes.

Good idea to hire some, you think?

Personally I would be flexible enough to wait out anything too heavy (unless it was laying when you leave (Or forecast (especially in the first couple of days)) If you decide you do want/need to hire some, shoot me a pm (if you like)..

[Fizzygood]

Hi Guys,

On Tuesday Pelion Gap was almost impassable by myself. In a bigger group it would have been easier but chest high snow turned me back!

More pics to follow when I thaw....

Cheers, Erin

[kramster]

Ooooo.... Arm River and Pelion Gap look good.
Am currently planning on heading up that way next weekend (yes, complete with snowshoes if required).
Wonder if we can get up Ossa (might be a bit tricky if the Gap looks like that!)
So saying the next couple of days of sun could change levels a bit...

[Steve]

I was up Cradle yesterday, most perfect weather I've ever experienced up there. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, barely a breeze and it didn't seem cold on the plateau at all. Some serious snow up there, nearly over the posts. I did take note of whether the snow was melting much and I'd say a full day in the sun did near nothing.

[luke_vic]

On Tuesday Pelion Gap was almost impassable by myself. In a bigger group it would have been easier but chest high snow turned me back!

Wow, was that with snowshoes?

[Fizzygood]

No snowshoes!... this is why the snow was chest high!

[luke_vic]

Fair enough, sounds like an adventure Erin! How do you think you would have gone with snowshoes?

Any advice for those attempting an overland crossing in the coming days?

[Ent]

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[Fizzygood]

Snow shoes would certainly have helped on the more level deeper sections... visibility was pretty good so it was really only the sheer depth of the snow that made things difficult... Part of solo walking in winter for me is the endurance/difficulty factor so I don't walk with snowshoes... not opposed to them, I just like to slog it out between me and the snow!

All of the usual advice/warnings/cautions etc. etc. apply when doing the OT this time of year but essential is knowing your own limits... I imagine that things may have improved slightly due to rainfall, moderately higher temps and more people traffic clearing a path for you... on Wednesday a group of 10 went through Pelion Gap!

Erin

[Fizzygood]

More Pics!

The first is the track up the gap and the other is the view at Pelion gap!

[luke_vic]

Some serious snow up there, nearly over the posts.

Are there posts the whole way? Thanks for all the info everyone

[Steve]

Some serious snow up there, nearly over the posts.

Are there posts the whole way? Thanks for all the info everyone

Yeah, all the way to Kitchen Hut at least.

I strongly do no suggest the Face Track, especially at night.

[corvus]

Some serious snow up there, nearly over the posts.

Are there posts the whole way? Thanks for all the info everyone

luke_vic,
Post all the way NO !! snow up to the top of the posts mainly occurs on the Cradle Plateau owing to drift pattern so where there are posts elsewhere you should be able to see them ( at least one third ) and I might add unless you are in a party of a minimum of three (to alternate ground breaker) even with snow shoes this can be almost impossible if you encounter soft stuff .
It may all change of course and the worst you can expect is slush and mud
Enjoy your walk.
Cheers
c

[Clownfish]

Well, folks, a Higher Power has intervened, and the Overland is off for us, this year.

The Higher Power of which I speak was the unfortunate incident of me being carted off to the LGH on Friday morning

Seems that horrible flu I had back in June didn't entirely go away; I had noticed that I was quite wheezy and easily puffed for a few weeks afterwards, but I thought it had passed. Not so.

Seems it had been lurking away in my lungs, and a simple cold last week was the straw that broke the camel's back, and packed me off for an overnighter in the LGH, complete with breathing mask! Now I'm on a regime of medicines (including steroids! ) and under a stern medical and marital injuction not to even think of attempting the Overland this year.

(Shakes fist at sky) Damn you, stupid asthmatic bronchospasm!

[corvus]

What a bad blow clownfish good thing is the OLT will be there next year.
c

[frank_in_oz]

Thanks for the current info. Heading off on Friday for a 7 nighter on the OT in a party of 4. Will have Yowies and microspikes with a loose timetable so feeling vaguely confident.

[Ent]

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[Clownfish]

I'll be the big green one wearing nothing but a pair of ragged pants.

[Steve]

Thanks for the current info. Heading off on Friday for a 7 nighter on the OT in a party of 4. Will have Yowies and microspikes with a loose timetable so feeling vaguely confident.

Good luck! Will be interesting to hear your report.

[Hasford]

Can anyone tell me what amount of snow we can expect at the beginning of Oktober (starting the track the 9th of Oktober). Will we need snowshoes?

kind regards,
Thomas

[Nuts]

You can expect either none, some or heaps... (At anytime but moreso in spring)
If you get heaps, you will either need snowshoes or time (perhaps a day, perhaps a few) to wait until enough melts or enough people who either have snowshoes (or dont have time) have left that day before you, beaten a track and at least shown you where not to go... Having said that most of the huts are achieveble in heavy snow without snowshoes, but you can end up having an exhausting 'epic' each day, dawn till dusk ... Hope this helps...

[mikethepike]

I'm really glad to read posts reporting heavy snow cover on the OT in winter. The first year a small group of us walked it with snowshoes, there were two guys from La Trobe University a few days ahead of us though I don't recall us seeing their tracks (trench?) due to new snowfall. They didn't wear anything on their boots and in the log books told of very long hard days in the snow. With snowshoes, some of our days were also hard but never as long as theirs. What interests me now was that I looked up Kitchen Hut on the Kiandra Huts site (and which I only became aware of last night though this site) and according to that, Kitchen Hut started life as a two story hut. Is this correct? If it is, it seems incredible to think how deep the snow must have been when we saw the hut (August 1971) with only the very top of its roof out of snow. I always suspected that the hut was in a kind of snow-attracting hollow. I am most interested to hear from anyone with information or views on this.
Thanks
Mike

[frank_in_oz]

Hi Mike,
It is still a two story hut. As you can see from the image there is a door AND shovel at the second floor level so you can dig your way in when the snow is deep.

This picture was taken in May a couple of years ago. We went through there in September last year and you could easily get in the ground floor.

I am sure someone around here will have a pic of it in deep snow.