2005 Trip Note

Pack Carry: 2 December 2005 - Mt Bogong

Contributor: Jerry Grandage

Source: "The News", February 2006

Photogallery:

Melbourne sweltered in a temperature of 34 degrees on the Thursday before Rod’s Bogong trip and we were prepared for hot weather among other options that the weather Gods might have in store for us. We were a group of eight. One of our number had never been to Bogong’s summit before while another had first been there 40 years previously and on many occasions in the intervening years. Victoria’s highest hill is like that – it demands its pound of flesh whichever approach is used but it offers rewards that encourage multiple visits. We used the well-used track up the Staircase Spur and the equally well-used track down the Eskdale Spur. We camped at the beautiful Cleve Cole Hut. This hut is a unique institution among the huts of the Victorian high country. It is a substantial structure built in 1937 from the local stone and is loaded with character. Cleve Cole died in an epic tragedy in the winter of 1936 after he and two others were trapped on the ‘wrong side’ of Bogong in a diabolical snowstorm that lasted about two weeks. The hut was built in his memory and has become an important refuge and focal point for walkers and cross-country skiers over nearly seventy years.
The weather was in transition mode during the drive up to Mountain Creek on Friday and we wondered what the next day would bring. Soon after we started up the Staircase Spur on Saturday morning our suspicions were confirmed as the weather began to deteriorate in earnest. On reaching the tree-line we were in cloud, the wind hit us with full force and the rain approached us horizontally. We encountered a family group with some decidedly unhappy looking young children who were descending. Our leader persuaded most of the group to don over-trousers as well as jackets and parkas and the like. The remaining climb up to the top and the on-going traverse to Cleve Cole was ‘character-building’. The wind was very strong, visibility was minimal and we were thankful for the well-defined track and snow-poles. We were more thankful to find on arrival at the hut that a fire was going. Three congenial souls were in residence and we were able to dry out and warm up. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent enjoying the ambience and camaraderie of the hut and its occupants.
Sunday morning dawned fine but just as windy as the previous day, and these conditions continued during our return and descent down the Eskdale Spur. The absence of rain and the better visibility encouraged us to linger briefly on the summit. Then we carefully negotiated our way onto the top of the spur and continued downwards, having lunch at the new Michell Hut on the way. (Howard Michell was one of Cleve Cole’s companions on his fatal trip).
Given the conditions, the trip was satisfying if not exactly enjoyable all the time. It reminded us of what the high country can be like in adverse weather and it was rewarding to find that our skill and equipment enabled us to handle the conditions with safety and not too much discomfort. Thankyou Rod. The group consisted of Rod Novak, Trish Elmore, Claire Luxford, Max Casley, Paul Beers, Bob Oxlade, Bill Donald, and Jerry Grandage.