AAWT winter traverse - Episode 20 (Mount Bogong)

Day 20 - Finally we got lucky with the weather, views and our timing matching up! We had light snowfalls throughout the night so I wasn’t expecting to wake to fine weather although I was really hoping for it. I feel as though we missed out on showcasing much of Victoria’s amazing alpine environments because of the weather. So to wake to mostly clear skies, with clouds in the valleys below us, was awesome. I took hundreds of photos which did mean though that we didn’t leave camp till later than normal and we also spent considerable time filming the final climb up Quartz Ridge. There were quite a few smallish cornices on the ascent and I did manage to get too close to one whilst trying to get the right angle for a shot. Suddenly there was a ‘woomph’ and the snow dropped out from under me. Fortunately I just dropped two metres whilst the main cornice section (about 5m wide) rolled another 10m down the hill. No harm done but a good reminder for me about being too complacent in this environment.
We ascended to the summit of Mt Bogong, Victoria’s highest peak at 1986m, and took the obligatory photos of us and the summit cairn then started our traverse and descent out to Cleve Cole Hut. Conditions were firm but not as icy as the day prior so we made good time there and got some fun turns in just before the hut. This hut is probably the best public hut in Victoria and so we spent way too much time enjoying its comforts. It was after 2pm by the time we departed and we were still keen on achieving another 16km to Mt Wills.
We skied down Long Spur but eventually it got dark and an hour later, after walking off and on snow (in our ski boots) for the last 2km, we made Big River Saddle. Although a few kilometres short of our ambitious goal we were happy to get there and to actually camp off snow for a change.

[@williamgower8376]

Went here as a kid with my dad and i cant wait to take my family here for the snow and a summer hike ❤

[@Simon-Simon-Simon]

LOL best snow ever and walking past all those chutes damnnnnnnnnn

[@MarkOates]

Too true

[@ayjay05]

Really enjoying these Mark. Every morning on my commute to work there is another little chapter reminding me where i'd rather be (or not depending how your day went) . Cheers.

[@MarkOates]

Alex J 😆

[@Findmyself-um8zo]

Well Done guys. What an epic adventures!! I love the pics of sunrise and surrounding. Its really nice to see it in full snow sooo beautiful. Thank you for sharing tge vudeos!

[@RockuHD]

Really enjoying these videos, I hope one day I can do the same! Amazing!

[@OutandAboutwithTrev]

I am heading up onto Mt Bogong later this week for a snow hike. Haven't been up there since 2008 so looking forward getting there....! I don't ski but have hiked up the Long Spur on snowshoes a few times it's a great area. I'm planning to hike the AAWT in 2024 but not on snow...!

[@headwerkn]

Very much enjoying this series! Would be keen to find out more about the gear you and Andy used for the trip, especially the ski gear as I’m looking to get into more backcountry snow travel and skiing. www.packraftingtasmania.com.au doesn’t appear to be functional yet?

[@MarkOates]

Thanks Hedwerkn Once the videos are done I will (eventually) do a decent site with all the info about gear - likely another Exposure page. Lots of people have asked for info and I have replied with PMs but keen to make that info available to all as its gear discussions that have probably engaged people the most. Not sure why my packraftingtasmania site is done but will look into. Thanks for making me aware of this. As I have had to attend a funeral interstate today the next video won’t come out till Saturday morning.

[@anthonycoleman1909]

Nice video. Going up the Staircase to Mt Bogong this weekend. Are there many cornices to be aware of or is the track pretty wide and safe?

[@MarkOates]

There will definitely still be a fair bit of snow around on Bogong however I suspect that the Staircase only has minimal cornices at present. Normally they are really only heavily prominent after big dumps on the final two knolls of the Staircase that are called 'Castor and Pollux'. There is likely to be a decent foot and ski track all the way up and it traverses well under the two knoll, well away from the cornices. From there you are on a large open slope (With a pole line) that can be ascended all the way to the summit. You don't need to go near any cornices on Bogong unlike on Feathertop. The only way you will have issues with cornices up there is if you deliberately seek them out. You can see Castor and Pollux and the minimal cornices on them somewhat in a video that Ben Armstrong posted of his trip up there ten days ago. Check out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q16qmIqBaaimpZI as he ascended and descended via the Staircase. You may though need instep crampons or snowshoes with crampon like bases if you get some clear nights as it can get VERY icy on Bogong. Given the Staircase is on the northern side you will find that you need to walk a fair way to get to skiable snow whereas on the backside into Cairn Gully the snow will go much lower. Have an awesome time up there this weekend!

[@anthonycoleman1909]

@@MarkOates thanks very much for your reply. Great info. Doing this solo so like to be safe as possible.

[@davidlole6155]

On my last ski trip to Bogong (many, many moons ago) instep crampons (even an ice axe would have been helpful!) were mandatory for the last steep haul of the staircase. Even skiing the pole line over to Cleve Cole on blue ice was challenging to say the least. Luckily, the snow was softer once we dropped down towards the tree line. Great hut. Fortune was with us on the same way out. Warmer temperatures gave us some surface grip to stride, even enough give to do some decent telemarking into what I called "the bowl" (on the south side) before the big descent out down the Staircase.

[@Jordan-vr7ip]

Hey mate really like your videos. Have you done Feathertop? If so is it harder than Bogong? I've heard some of the tracks on Feathertop are some of the steepest and hardest, which have actually claimed a few lives in the winter?

[@MarkOates]

Hi Jordan. I love Feathertop and when living in Vic would head out there pretty regularly. Is it harder than Bogong? Good question. My take on it is that it is more dangerous than Bogong but depending on what you do and the conditions at the time it may or may not be harder. My preference is to ski in along the Razorback (typically from the south/Hotham but also from the north if you have a 4WD and ideally a chainsaw). I've only walked up from Harrietville a couple of times via Bungalow Spur - its pretty straightforward and is great in that it delivers you to Federation Hut which offers much more sheltered camping options than up higher. I definitely encourage people to take either instep crampons or full crampons as well as an iceaxe however the latter two items require good knowledge and some training to use them properly. Feathertop is notorious for the large cornices above the eastern face so its super important to stay well away from the edge. I think Feathertop is all about being smart with the conditions that you have. In my experience the skiing has never been as good as on Bogong however the atmosphere is so much more impressive on Feathertop. Anyone who skis or boards out there needs to be comfortable with negotiating and traversing steep icy slopes before they head there as its not a place to learn those skills. Bogong is definitely a better place to learn those skills.

[@Jordan-vr7ip]

@@MarkOates Really appreciate your explanation thanks mate, keep up the quality work!