Frenchmans Cap June Long Weekend

[Mickeymoo]

Gday all, I managed to get a few days off around the long weekend last weekend and headed to Frenchmans Cap on the Thursday, the trip up was a bit slow with a good amount of snow on the roads up around Lake St Clair and King William Saddle, unfortunately the weather was not the best to be getting the camera out for the first couple of days but I managed to get a few ok photos when we made an attempt on the summit and the day back down to Vera Hut, were I ran into forum member Steve and his mate who had done a day walk from Vera up to near the summit and cruised past Tahune Hut at around 8am when we were all just starting to stir!! Even though we didn't make the summit it was still a fantastic trip and very enjoyable.

Michael.

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[tasadam]

Fantastic stuff Michael.

[tazz]

Wow some excellent captures there.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Wow, absolutely beautiful as usual Micheal.

I LOVE the green forest shot with the snow capped Frenchman standing behind.

[Mickeymoo]

Thanks guys Yeah I had to sit and wait a few mins for the peak to pop out of the mist just long enough to get a couple of photos!

[abowen]

Superb Michael,
Was there much snow on the track lower down? I imagine that the Lodden would still be wet and muddy and perhaps icy. The shot of the ice crystals definitely gives you an appreciation of the temperatures up there.
Cheers
Andrew

[Mickeymoo]

Thanks Andrew. The snow didn't really start until about 2/3rds of the way up to Barron Pass, and it was patchy until near Pine Knob where there was a solid covering. It may have gone a little lower the two days we were at Tahune as it was snowing but not really sure. Yeah the Loddens were pretty sodden on the way in, but I actually prefer them being fairly wet rather than when they dry out a bit, as the mud gets very slippery and claggy! Plus your boots don't fill up with mud as easily as its diluted with water It actually wasn't that cold up there, when we arrived at Tahune Hut the thermometer read 2 Deg and we put a watch outside which only went to about 0 deg, but I would imagine a bit higher up where its a bit more exposed would have been cooler though.

[donktec]

Hi,
Great photos!
Wanted to ask a question on the topic of Frenchman's and this seemed a good place to ask, rather than start a new thread. Can someone tell me if Tahune and Vera huts have mattresses on the bunks? Or is bringing a therm-a-rest recommended?
Thank you.

[tastrax]

No mattresses at any PWS huts so its advisable to bring something to soften the plywood bases!

[Walk_fat boy_walk]

No mattresses at any PWS huts so its advisable to bring something to soften the plywood bases!

actually, i thought there were mattresses at vera and tahune (certainly as of a few months ago)?? the ones that are there aren't the warmest underneath tho... they are lined with that vinyl (?) stuff. i'd probably take a thermarest anyway at this time of year

[Mickeymoo]

Thanks Donktec. Yes there are mattresses at both Vera and Tahune huts, they are rather thin and don't soften the hard plywood base of the bunks much, but if you were lucky enough to have the hut to yourself or to be sharing with only a couple of other people you can grab several of the mattresses and stack them on top of one another which is quite comfortable! It also depends when you are planning to go, during summer it is quite possible that the hut could be full and that you would need to use a tent, and even during winter there could be a few people, so it would be recommended to carry a Therm-a-rest anyway.

[donktec]

Ok, thank you for the info! We are going in July so don't expect a lot of company. Something to think about, maybe save some weight...

[Steve]

Great shots as always Michael! Didn't really get to have a chat with you with that crowded hut and all the commotion of everyone cooking up, I ended up having a pretty early night anyway. I can't believe how much ice was up around the summit that weekend, I never thought that it would be impassable. We're planning on tackling it again sometime, though next time we'll be sure to take the proper gear. Hope we didn't make too much noise when we left in the morning.

[Steve]

Can someone tell me if Tahune and Vera huts have mattresses on the bunks? Or is bringing a therm-a-rest recommended?

Vera's mattresses are much the same.

[Mickeymoo]

Thanks Steve, yeah it was a bit dissappointing not making the summit, it would have been pretty spectacular to get to the top and see the surrounding area covered in snow, if the clouds cleared at the righ time of course! Good excuse to go back anyway. Yeah it was pretty busy there for a bit with everyone cooking. I think I woke up for a few mins as you guys were leaving, but you were moving around pretty quietly!

[stepbystep]

Great work Michael, 1, 6, 7 and 10 do it for me, fantasic!!!

[bushbasherbrad]

Awesome pics mate waht type of camera ypu using???

[ILUVSWTAS]

He could have a 20 year old camera and still get results like this. Pretty rare i've seen a bad photo from Mickeymoo

[Mickeymoo]

Thanks very much guys. Haha I have my fair share of photos that didn't work out so well hidden away Brad the camera is the Canon 5D with the 17-40mm lens.

[PTCB]

This is what I like about this site, Great photo's. Man have I got to do this walk!!

[Andrew P]

Wow! Some super shots there. I'm sure you had a tripod too...
Those 5Ds just let so much light in.

[Mickeymoo]

Thanks guys. Yeah the 5D is an amazing camera and well worth the extra weight to lug around! A tripod was used on all the stream ones but mostly hand held with the rest.

[donktec]

Hi all,
We had a really good trip, though not as much snow as in the posted photos. This made the climb to the summit a little easier since we could see the cairns under the snow and pick the path fairly well. The ice-axe proved to be a very useful implement for hanging onto rocks on the steeper sections, the ice wasn't thick enough.
Huts were very comfortable (we doubled over the mattresses) and there was no one else on the track for the 5 days we were there. However Vera was out of coal! There was a bin with small bags of briquettes on the far side of the Franklin river. I grabbed a bag, my companions declined the additional weight, though i shared the heat.
So later we spent some time sifting through the remaining coal dust in the bins for the larger chips. These burn quite well (the fine dust just chokes the fire). Later, as we were walking out, crossing the Loddons a helicopter flew overhead towards Vera carrying a heavy load...
cheers,
andy