weather at overland track (June)

[Julafreak]

What time are you leaving Julian? If you leave early enough, with a bit of luck with the weather, you could skip a hut. Depends on the experience in your group though. I think as long as you get there first you will be fine. The huts sleep much more than 14.

Hi Pzzar,

You must be Jared who works at mt designs? I think Ive got everything I need. I'll be fine. thanks for the heads up and offer tho

Julian

[wilson wh]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful advice. After much consideration, i have decided to attempt the overland track another time. However, i will still be touring around tasmania in a rented car and doing short trips in cradle mountain and lake st claire. One last query, is there any store in sheffield selling gas , similar to camping gaz cv300 type of gas canister.

[geoskid]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful advice. After much consideration, i have decided to attempt the overland track another time. However, i will still be touring around tasmania in a rented car and doing short trips in cradle mountain and lake st claire. One last query, is there any store in sheffield selling gas , similar to camping gaz cv300 type of gas canister.

Hey Wilson , I hope chewing the fat (generel discussion) around your plans helped. Glad you are a member and keep asking questions (we all do).
Gas cannisters in sheffield, yes, but someone more knowledgeable will sort that - there was a recent post about it.
Cheers Geoskid

[corvus]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful advice. After much consideration, i have decided to attempt the overland track another time. However, i will still be touring around tasmania in a rented car and doing short trips in cradle mountain and lake st claire. One last query, is there any store in sheffield selling gas , similar to camping gaz cv300 type of gas canister.

G'day Wilson,
I suspect you will only find this click on/off gas cannister in specialized camping stores and unlikely in Sheffield, which is only a nice wee country Village,enjoy your visit and do come back in the Summer for the OLT.
corvus

[tasadam]

This topic covers a supply store in Sheffield, you could always call them and ask what you're after.
Enjoy your time in Tassie and enjoy the OLT - next time!
Good decision. I did it this time 3 years ago, took me 9 days including a day to do Mt Oakleigh and a day to do Mt Ossa.
But I take lots of photos which slows me down, and I'm not 20 any more.
I struck a school group from Hobart too, there were 4 teachers and 6 grade nine girls.
We thought we had Waterfall Valley Hut to ourselves, but they all arrived an hour or more after dark, they struggled in darkness to come down the very icy, slippery track toward Waterfall valley. One took a fall and got a minor sprain.
Took them longer than expected to come up from Hobart apparently.

[Taurë-rana]

I struck a school group from Hobart too, there were 4 teachers and 6 grade nine girls.
We thought we had Waterfall Valley Hut to ourselves, but they all arrived an hour or more after dark, they struggled in darkness to come down the very icy, slippery track toward Waterfall valley. One took a fall and got a minor sprain.
Took them longer than expected to come up from Hobart apparently.

I don't really understand the thinking behind taking school groups into the Reserve in winter, other than maybe meeting fewer people or specifically training for cold conditions. I would have thought that if you were introducing young people to bushwalking you'd do it at the time of year when it's likely to be most pleasant for them.

[Erica]

I don't really understand the thinking behind taking school groups into the Reserve in winter, other than maybe meeting fewer people or specifically training for cold conditions. I would have thought that if you were introducing young people to bushwalking you'd do it at the time of year when it's likely to be most pleasant for them.

From my school experiences we did most of our walking in the summer month, but did a snow camp up at Cradle in winter, in my opinion a much better idea than trying to do the OLT in horrible conditions. We went through in the Sept holidays with school once, wasn't too nasty at all, but that trip was still a challenge for some of the people, and we were all 16-18, can't imagine doing it with yr9 girls in winter... they much have been pretty hardcore/stupid.

[olblackbilly]

the forecast doesnt look too bad for the couple of days..saturday may be a worry.......nothing wrong with getting snowed in anyway.....good luck wilson wh.. cheers obb..

[olblackbilly]

yr 9 girls ...more of a worry.....i hope the search and rescue helicopter pilot hasnt got the weekend off...there is only one..

[juney]

[quote="Brett"]
be aware that heaters have run out of gas in at least two huts

Re. the above post by Brett, which huts? Once OT huts have run out of gas are they not refilled until the the booked season commences?
If anyone has the current status on the heater and coal situation of any OT tracks I'd be very keen to know.
Many thanks,
Cheers,
Juney

[Julafreak]

be aware that heaters have run out of gas in at least two huts

Re. the above post by Brett, which huts? Once OT huts have run out of gas are they not refilled until the the booked season commences?
If anyone has the current status on the heater and coal situation of any OT tracks I'd be very keen to know.
Many thanks,
Cheers,
Juney

Hi

Just got back 4 days ago. Heater not working at waterfall valley and windermere.

[sthughes]

Lol, it was Pelion and Bert Nichols when we were up there, though it may have been a problem with the Piezo rather than a lack of gas (opinions were dvided).

[Phil]

I Imagine there's a bit of snow in the park at the moment? Anyone been through in the past week or so?

I was going to be taking a friend down to Lake St Clair and attempting Little Hugel/Rufus tomorrow but plans have changed

With the amount of snow that's been sitting on the front of Ben Lomond and even Mt Barrow, I imagine there must be a fair bit sitting on the peaks along the overland; what fantastic winter walking conditions we've had these past 5 days or so ........just need to get out into it

[Ent]

Hi Phil

In the Walls snow was on the ground in full cover at around the 1250 metre level but only in patches under that level. Amazing the coverage at the moment as most areas are clear but a few snow traps are filling up.

Cheers Brett

[wilson wh]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful advice. After much consideration, i have decided to attempt the overland track another time. However, i will still be touring around tasmania in a rented car and doing short trips in cradle mountain and lake st claire. One last query, is there any store in sheffield selling gas , similar to camping gaz cv300 type of gas canister.

I am back from my trip. Did the short walk to waterfall valley hut and back on 24-25 June. The weather was bad. It was raining on both days and the wind was really strong. We could not see any view due to the thick clouds covering all the mountains. On the return trip, i went back the Scott Kilvert Hut route. Did not realise it was longer and the path not as good as the actual overland track. In fact, the rain flooded most of the mud path. However, i get to see a different view. Overall, i think it was a nice experience for both my friend and I.

Amazingly, on the 26 june, the sky cleared up. I decided to drive to dove lake to get a view of cradle mountain before leaving, since we never get the chance to see it during our trek. Woah, the view was spectacular. Almost the whole peak was covered with snow and i recalled how cold it was the past few days. I told my friend we should be back here in summer to attempt the walk again.

After Cradle Mtn, we left for Lake St Claire. We did a day walk up to Mt Rufus. Weather at Lake St Claire was slightly better. Even though we did not complete the overland track this time, we visited other fantastic places like freycinet, port arthur and tasman national park.

Last edited by wilson wh on Fri 30 Jul, 2010 2:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Phil]

Thanks for posting your report wilson. Yes, the place is breath-taking............when you can see it

Please do come back on another occasion; you will be glad you did!

[Candyman]

Hello, this is my first post and a friendly hello to all users. I just wanted to use this thread since it is just about the same thing I need to know.

My name is Andreas from Germany and I worked for 8 months now in Melbourne. I really found my liking into hiking again and I did this year already the Tongario Loop (January) and a coupple of day walks in the Grampiens (Easter). Now I want to visit Tasmania in June (around 15th) and do some hikes. My fitness is about average and my experience too. I'd love to do the Overland track, but I very well understand, that the weather might will be harsh. Also my snow-walking experience is quite limited to a couple of hours with only small back packs etc. For that purpose I have some questions:

1) Is my gear good enough?
Scarpa Nepal full leather hiking boots - feel warm and should be water proof, but haven't been for hours in rain/snow yet.
Hogan Ultralight 1person tent (intend to sleep in the huts anyway, but for emergencys)
Gonna need a new sleeping bag - is one with comfort region to -8°C good enough?
I have two matraces, one is a self inflating one, but only covers half of my legs and one is a cheap isolation matrace (dunno the proper english word for that^^) - would take the 2nd one.
Merino underpants, leggings, shirts and jumper, hiking trousers and a very good waterproof rain jacket and a cheap rain pant. I'm thinking about an extra fleece and I'll get a warm hat and gloves and gaiters. Enough water containers, cheap stove and a big backpack (55+10 l). Also some over stuff, which is hiking utensils.

Did I forget anything important? How about hiking poles?

2) Can I walk the track alone or shouldn't I? I really would love to go with someone else, if he/she insits to. So whenever someone is planing to start around the 15th, please contact me here. I planed to be back in Melbourne around the 24th, latest 26th and haven't booked any flight/ferry yet.

3) Will there be enough space in the huts, or is it very likely, that I have to sleep in tent (I'm not slow, but not fast either - taking fotos, breaks and relaxing)?

4) If the weather is not good (the actual day I want to start and forecast), where can I do nice hikes in the surroundings? Cradle mountain is probably a good idea anyway and if the weather is nice, I continue - depending on the forecast, although I know it might change fast. A tour to Lake St Clair also, what else?

Ok, it's already late and I don't know what else I wanted to ask ^^. Thanks anyway for answering and I hope I'll have a great time in Tassie

Cheers, Andreas.

[Son of a Beach]

Welcome, Candyman. It sounds like you have some decent gear. I'd recommend checking this wiki page for a reasonably comprehensive list of gear that some people would recommend. If you have access to a down jacket (in addition to a fleece jacket), I would highly recommend it. Although having said that, I didn't take a down jacket either of the two times I did the OT in winter.

There will be plenty of room in the huts at that time of year. You may even get the hut entirely to yourself on one or two nights.

Plenty of people walk the OT alone, and it is generally OK to do so. However, if the weather is bad (eg, deep snow, plus ongoing blizzard) you should not walk alone and should either delay starting the walk, or stay in the hut where you are for an extra day or two (take extra food!). It is possible for there to be so much snow that even the tall track marker poles are completely obscured, and the track can be difficult to find. Not the kind of conditions you want to get lost in. We had a friend come to meet us on our last night on the OT last August, and she wandered off the track alone in a near-blizzard (I had told her not to walk if the weather was bad). She was lucky, and managed to find the track again soon afterwards - it was just about getting dark at that point.

Enjoy your time in Tasmania - it's a very special place.

[Nuts]

4) If the weather is not good (the actual day I want to start and forecast), where can I do nice hikes in the surroundings? Cradle mountain is probably a good idea anyway and if the weather is nice, I continue - depending on the forecast, although I know it might change fast. A tour to Lake St Clair also, what else?


Cheers, Andreas.

The four day forecast gives a good 'general' idea. With this in mind you could get to the start from just about anywhere in time for better weather (ie, hang out on the east or (sunny) north coast, one of the citiess, D'port, Launceston, Hobart (if you had too)... All the best

[north-north-west]

There's no reason you can't start alone and maybe tag along with other walkers when/if you meet them.
It's also possible to walk south to north, thus finishing at Cradle Mtn, which is much better (in my opinion), 'cause you get the best of it at the end. Although there is a very good set of sidewalks from Narcissus and Pine Valley.

[Candyman]

Hey guys, that makes me a little more optimistic than what I thought of. I will definetly see how the weather is like and decide to start the walk or not. Thanks for your impressions and if there are any more advises feel free to tell me. I hope I will enjoy my time in Tassie and the weather won't be toooo bad

[Son of a Beach]

It's also possible to walk south to north, thus finishing at Cradle Mtn, which is much better (in my opinion), 'cause you get the best of it at the end. Although there is a very good set of sidewalks from Narcissus and Pine Valley.

I generally agree with this (and it's the way I've always done it in winter), but you do have to be aware that the Cradle end is more exposed in the bad weather. So it's worth considering doing that bit at the beginning if you know the weather is going to be good at the beginning (much harder to predict what the weather will be doing at the end). But like I said, I've never followed my own advice on that one.

[north-north-west]

Yeah. I've always had more bad weather at the southern end than the north. Walked out from Waterfall Valley via the Horse Track in a miniature blizzard the first time. All the way to the campground because this was before the buses and no-one would stop and give me a lift the miserable so-and-sos.
Weather finally broke in the evening and after a freezing cold clear night the ice crystals 'grew' out of the wet ground at least four inches in places. Awesome.

[bushwalker zane]

oh dear

Hahahaha. Gosh, this was funny.

I'm doing the OT sometime around this time with school. Fun times!

[fairhills3]

Bah humbug,-if you are fit well prepared-full alpine kit-30inch s,shoes and have the sence to allow for 2 to 3 extra days on track go for it.
The nay sayers tryed to put me off a loop of the bogong high plains last september mountain creek moncrieefs track to bogong saddle grey hills track skio kope track to warby cnr,past johnsons hut,cross big river and over top of Mt bogong.
4 nights 5 days 60klms-heaps of fall and gain but fun,
As for loosing track,vic alps or o/land track-non issue full mapping gps you follow the line dont matter if track 5 foot under,very very accurate,-mag explorist 610-magic.
In fact i tested the accuracy the whole way,-no foot print the whole way,and yes if i wanted to the gps would have guided me all the way - i tested it and it was spot on.
Had my map and compass as well,-but as the yanks say,in future the primary hiking nav aid will be the gps, compass map as the secondary.
The point is check the forecast dont set off if it is a howler,let it pass and scope it out.
And have a look at the winter footage of the battle for starlingrad,those germans were in rags and many had make shift boots,marching in full exposed blizzards that make bogong or tassie seem like a cake walk,-but they did it for weeks and weeks,-the will to live,?-get it.
With our modern winter gear and sence,it should not me any thing like those ww2 condidions.
I rest my case.