Lowest Temperatures and Conditions at Altitude

[Jellybean]

Yeh i'd really like to know how the tarptents perform in Tassie conditions at altitude??

At "altitude" in Tassie? Are you serious, or is this a tongue in cheek comment!?

Admin Note: This topic has been split off from the topic Hilleberg Akto versus Tarptent Scarp.

[corvus]

You being cheeky JB.??
Hight and size dont matter down here come and try it if you have not done so allready
corvus

[ILUVSWTAS]

Too right Corvus! Obviously thats coming from someone who knows not what they say

[north-north-west]

At "altitude" in Tassie? Are you serious, or is this a tongue in cheek comment!?

Altitude doesn't matter if you have enough attitude.
And Tassie highlands have plenty of the latter, thank you. Far more of a gear test than anything the Mainland can offer.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Exactly!! Comment must have been tongue in cheek or they have not camped at altitude in Tassie!!

[Lizzy]

Fiesty you Taswegians- never want to hear that Tassie is not the harshest, coldest, hardest, highest, scrubbiest..... place in Australia, if not the world do you!

[ILUVSWTAS]

not the world, just Australia.

On average it'd have to be up there with the coldest, and the fact that STS say over 80% of their gaiter returns come from Tassie pretty well backs up the claims.

[north-north-west]

It's not the highest, Lizzie.
It just acts like it is.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Hehehe thats a very nicely put response NNW

Not that i've done much walking on the big dry island....

[Tony]

not the world, just Australia.

On average it'd have to be up there with the coldest, and the fact that STS say over 80% of their gaiter returns come from Tassie pretty well backs up the claims.

Coldest temperature ever recorded in Tasmania -13C at Shannon, Tarraleah and Butlers Gorge in June 1983

Coldest temperature ever recorded in Australia -23C, at Charlotte Pass, New South Wales on 29th June 1994

The coldest capital city, is Canberra, since it is inland and at an altitude of approximately 550 metres. It recorded -10ºC (14ºF) on 11th July 1971.

The lowest temperature recorded in the world is minus 89.6°C, at the Vostok Scientific Station in Antarctica on 21 July 1983

[ILUVSWTAS]

Yer on average on average..... taking in the whole state... -13? nah it's been colder than that surely!! We've had -8 at our house!!!

[north-north-west]

There aren't a lot of met stations up in our mountains.

Hell, I've seen colder than -13 on the thermometer at the old Windy Fridge Hut.

[ILUVSWTAS]

yer -13 is quite mild im sure

It's a good point though, it'd get twice as cold as that in some places im positive.

[Tony]

Yer on average on average..... taking in the whole state... -13? nah it's been colder than that surely!! We've had -8 at our house!!!

You might be right but from what I can find -13C is the official lowest temp.

It probably gets colder than -23C in the Australian Alps too, one morning in the snow our thermometer read -20C and that was in a tent.

Tony

[north-north-west]

You might be right but from what I can find -13C is the official lowest temp.

As the old saying goes "Lies, damned lies, and statistics."

Of course it gets colder than -23 on the mainland, same as it gets colder than -13 in Tassie. I'm just betting that Charlotte Pass is a lot closer to the coldest parts of the Snowies than Shannon, Tarraleah and Butler's Gorge are to the coldest bits of the Central Highlands.
And we haven't even started on wind-chill factors yet, either.

[Lizzy]

knew that would get you all going.... don't get me wrong- I love Tassie and do agree it can produce some of our harshest conditions. But the big dry land up here can also produce some interesting, yet different conditions- like travelling at less than 1km/hour thru the jungle of TNQ cutting thru wait-a-while and the like with secateurs and getting clothes ripped and destroyed. Some of our offtrack here in NSW can also be pretty rugged too... don't worry not trying to suggest you guys don't have a wonderful rugged playground down there which I can't wait to visit again- but there are plenty of other beautiful and ruggeed playgrounds up here -just not as conveniently close together- but I guess this contributes to their diversity.
Cheers
Lizzy

[ILUVSWTAS]

Yeh I know. As someone said tho, dont get Tasweigans going about our lovely little island here, we like to say its harsh tough cold, keeps all you mainlanders away...

Im not so sure i'd like walking in brown snake country too much anyway. Give me tigers ANY day

[Jellybean]

I'm coming down to Tassie for work next week, I'll be sure to pack my expedition weight gear from Nepal (took me to just over 6000m so I should just make it through the "harsh Tassie winter"!!! ). Is there anywhere I can get a attitude protection jacket or should I just take industry standard ear plugs!!??

Cheers,

JB

[ILUVSWTAS]

Depends where your going to be working,
You will probably be fine without it, but you never know, Rumour has it the Great Lake has frozen over completely in the past......

[alliecat]

I don't know about Great Lake freezing over, but I have seen large ice floes floating on Lake Augusta, just west of Great Lake. There used to be a training centre near Lake Augusta for use by the Antarctic Division. I think that's a pretty good indicator of conditions in the central highlands!

[Tony]

As the old saying goes "Lies, damned lies, and statistics."

Sometimes the line between facts and myths can get blurred.

I don't know about Great Lake freezing over, but I have seen large ice floes floating on Lake Augusta, just west of Great Lake. There used to be a training centre near Lake Augusta for use by the Antarctic Division. I think that's a pretty good indicator of conditions in the central highlands!

The Antarctic Division training centre near Lake Augusta would probably have temperatures records and I am sure BOM would be aware of them.

[alliecat]

Sadly, the BoM don't like collecting or using other agency's data. That attitude might be slowly changing, but historically, they have been very reluctant to have anything to do with data they didn't collect themselves.

I've asked a friend at the Antarctic Division about the old training facility and she'll let me know if there is any temperature data from there.

Hydro has a bunch of weather monitoring sites around Tas too. As far as I can tell, the site at Liaweenee Canal offtake (it gets fed from Lake Augusta so it's in the same area) only has data back to 1993. The lowest air temp recorded in that period was -12.3 C on 5/7/2003. That doesn't allow for wind chill though... I can't find any wind speed or humidity data for the same area unfortunately, so I can't estimate the "apparent" temperature. I'll have a hunt around and see if I can find a site with a lower temp than that!

[ILUVSWTAS]

Good work AC. It would be interesting to know if nothing else!!

[Tony]

Sadly, the BoM don't like collecting or using other agency's data. That attitude might be slowly changing, but historically, they have been very reluctant to have anything to do with data they didn't collect themselves.

I've asked a friend at the Antarctic Division about the old training facility and she'll let me know if there is any temperature data from there.

Hydro has a bunch of weather monitoring sites around Tas too. As far as I can tell, the site at Liaweenee Canal offtake (it gets fed from Lake Augusta so it's in the same area) only has data back to 1993. The lowest air temp recorded in that period was -12.3 C on 5/7/2003. That doesn't allow for wind chill though... I can't find any wind speed or humidity data for the same area unfortunately, so I can't estimate the "apparent" temperature. I'll have a hunt around and see if I can find a site with a lower temp than that!

It would be good to know for sure, the -23C at Charlotte Pass would be still air temperature, but I can assure you the wind can blow very strong in the Australian Alps too, 100k+ winds are not that unusual.

Tony

[ILUVSWTAS]

I think we can all agree the Australian Alps and SW Tasmania are often mentioned and referred to in similar ways. IE Most lightweight gear is not recommended for such places as snow is common in all months.

I note though no-one has responded to the scrub issue... STS admitting 80% of their returns come from Tasmania people......

Also just remembered in Deny Kings book he talks about Melaleuca inlet freezing over or getting large chunks of ice on it. No weather station down there, i'd imagine it'd be colder than -13 to do that!!

[Taurë-rana]

I know I was skiing by moonlight in -10C on Ben Lomond once, it didn't feel that cold either but that may have been something to do with the alcohol...
Wind chill is a huge thing, Snowy South - freezing, Mt Claude, absolutely beautiful and I reckon the still air temperature was pretty much the same on both walks.

[Drifting]

We had -12 at the base of Mt Buffalo once- and it was way colder on the heights. IMH experience Victoria is way colder than Tassie.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Funny thing is, they would never admit it!!

[Tony]

I think we can all agree the Australian Alps and SW Tasmania are often mentioned and referred to in similar ways. IE Most lightweight gear is not recommended for such places as snow is common in all months.

Also just remembered in Deny Kings book he talks about Melaleuca inlet freezing over or getting large chunks of ice on it. No weather station down there, i'd imagine it'd be colder than -13 to do that!!

Clear proof that Tasmania gets colder that -13C would be good way to prove your point. In the Australian Alps I have seen water in lakes freeze at above -13C

I note though no-one has responded to the scrub issue... STS admitting 80% of their returns come from Tasmania people......

This debate is about coldest temperature and the topic has been hijacked once, and besides I have no argument that Tasmania has the thickest scrub. But do not for one minute think that all of the scrub on the mainland is easy walking.

Tony

[north-north-west]

Rumour has it the Great Lake has frozen over completely in the past......

That isn't a rumour, I've seen it frozen from shore to shore a couple of times as a kid. Ice may not have been very deep, but it went right across.

All I know is I've done winter to summer in both the Snowies and Tassie and I know which produces the hardest conditions for me to cope with.
And as far as wind goes, have any of you mainlanders ever heard of the Roaring Forties? Go look at a map, and see where Tassie sits with regard to them. Only place I've ever been with winds as cold as Tassie's is Mount Gambier, and I suspect that totally subjective comparison has something to do with getting into frozen wetsuits in wide open unsheltered sheep paddocks.