Another death on Overland Track

[Lophophaps]

I really surprised me a couple of years ago to see people walking to the summit of Kosciusko in early summer dressed little differently as to how they would to walk down a suburban mall in mid-summer.

I've seen this as well. Scary stuff.

I was caught out the first time I camped up on the Main Range (just under the Abbotts, on the Wilkinson Ck side) - Christmas morning I woke up to strong winds, thick cloud and heavy snow. By the time I crossed the creek the stuff was six inches deep. By the time I reached Rawson Pass, more than half the walkway was hidden by a foot of snow; much deeper in places. It was snowing on and off all day, even in Thredbo, but even while I was walking out and down, there were people going up on the chairlifts in shorts and t shirts.

My first trip on the Main Range was at Easter, extended a few days to Anzac Day. Going up from Dead Horse Gap on the first day was okay, but the snow that night was not. Nearly all the group was wiped - badly. Easter this year is equally late. There may yet be a headline "Skidoo search for lost walker on Bogong High Plains/Main Range."

After all, it was summer. And you wear shorts and t shirts and no jackets in summer, don't you. Never mind the actual conditions . .

What a brilliant choice of words. I've been in Thredbo, lovely and warm, a few clouds at the top of the main chair. This is manageable until visitors go on the chair in T-shirts and shorts, approaching hypothermic at the top, worse if the lift stops.

[whynotwalk]

A quick update on this. It looks like Tas PWS has been listening. Someone who works there tells me that ideas similar to Chris's (below) are being incorporated in this season's Overland Track booking system.

It seems we're not just a pretty face. ... or some of us, at least

cheers

Peter

How about when you pick up your walking pass you sign a brief simple form that says something like:

" I recognise that people have DIED from walking this track poorly equipped and confirm that I am carrying:

- a waterproof jacket
- a warm jumper not made of cotton
- a warm hat
- leg coverings other than shorts or jeans."

They tick the items and sign. No inspection.

When you sign your name to something it makes you confront the issue. If you lie, well that was your choice but you had the information and considered it. It would make people realise that this is a serious requirement. The cost would be minimal.

Chris

[RichB]

and future requirements to walk the overland or any other track :

A personal locator beacon
A GPS
Flares
Sattelite phone
Personal liability insurance

This will be only the start and it will go on and on for requirements to molly coddle ones self..and wrap ones self in cotton wool..

[wayno]

and future requirements to walk the overland or any other track :

A personal locator beacon
A GPS
Flares
Sattelite phone
Personal liability insurance

This will be only the start and it will go on and on for requirements to molly coddle ones self..and wrap ones self in cotton wool..

most ultra mountain and adventure races have a compulsory list of clothing items you have to take, missing a single item will have you disqualified... inspections can take place for everyone along the race courses.. adventure races, gps trackers are often compulsory as well.
i get sick of seeing people on the geat walks, wearing cotton from head to toe, jeans, carrying their sleeping bags with no waterproof cover, i ask if they have waterproof clothes, usually no waterproof pants. they have a jacket which often is not waterproof... there must be countless people who scrape through their walks in bad weather, in the early stages of hypothermia. doesnt make the news so its never raised as an issue... i spoke to DOC.. they say legally their hands are tied. people think they are going for a walk in a theme park, and don't understand mountains have their own weather systems completely different from surrounding lowland weather, its like going to a completely different country with far more severe weather. but transport delivers people quickly from their warm towns and accommodation into a place where the weather can be russian roulette for the ill equipped.

[Lophophaps]

i get sick of seeing people on the geat walks, wearing cotton from head to toe, jeans, carrying their sleeping bags with no waterproof cover, i ask if they have waterproof clothes, usually no waterproof pants. they have a jacket which often is not waterproof... there must be countless people who scrape through their walks in bad weather, in the early stages of hypothermia. doesnt make the news so its never raised as an issue... i spoke to DOC.. they say legally their hands are tied. people think they are going for a walk in a theme park, and don't understand mountains have their own weather systems completely different from surrounding lowland weather, its like going to a completely different country with far more severe weather. but transport delivers people quickly from their warm towns and accommodation into a place where the weather can be russian roulette for the ill equipped.

Wow! I've seen a few people ill-equipped for popular walks, drawn in by publicity but who have missed out on the section that detailed adequate gear. One stands out. At Cynthia Bay in Cradle Mountain Lake StClair NP in Tassie a group was leaving for ... somewhere. Probably Pine Valley. They had all manner of gear lashed on the outside of their very inadequate packs, including sleeping bags. The weather was fine but we had copped a blast a few days earlier. The prospect of bad weather had not occurred to them. Summer, hence fine, warm, sunny. Sure. If you believe that clap your hands. I helped them repack some of the more crucial gear inside their packs.

I wonder how many near misses there are on walks like the OLT, Routeburn and Milford Track.

If DOC and like agencies have their hands tied, give them powers to act. A lot depends on the judgement of the staff. As I believe may have been mentioned above, an experienced walker with a small light pack can be safer than a novice walker with a heavy pack. The ends of the "safe-unsafe" spectrum are easy to assess. It's the middle that will be quite hard.

[Kainas]

[color=#000000]

I really surprised me a couple of years ago to see people walking to the summit of Kosciusko in early summer dressed little differently as to how they would to walk down a suburban mall in mid-summer.

I've seen this as well. Scary stuff.

My aunt (late 50s) was telling me that her and my uncle caught a chairlift and wanted to walk to the top of Mt Kosciuskoin the afternoon. My uncle got very tired and wanted to turn back so they did (which is good), but she initially intended to go on alone, she tells me there was only 6km to go.

Now I have never done this walk and have no idea about the features, but the story struck home how naive people can be about these things. Surely 6km toward a summit, in the afternoon, when you are in your late 50s and not regular bushwalkers, is not a very clever thing to do.

[bailz66]

My best ill equiped story for the Overland was watching two 18 year old girls rock up on dusk at the first camp site on the Overland carrying not back packs but two big garbage bags (Big black bag) full of clothes and what I assume was a tent. They then trecked through a swampy/long grass area and were about to start setting up their gear in a bog....

One of the tour guides brought them in with their group for the night and sent them back to Cradle the next day but how people could think that a garbage bag would do to carry all their clothes I will never have any idea!

[Lophophaps]

My best ill equiped story for the Overland was watching two 18 year old girls rock up on dusk at the first camp site on the Overland carrying not back packs but two big garbage bags (Big black bag) full of clothes and what I assume was a tent. They then trecked through a swampy/long grass area and were about to start setting up their gear in a bog....

One of the tour guides brought them in with their group for the night and sent them back to Cradle the next day but how people could think that a garbage bag would do to carry all their clothes I will never have any idea!

This illustrates the upside of popular walks: there's usually someone who can advise and assist those who are ill-equipped or who have inadequate fitness. Even so, the garbag travellers seem to have set some sort of record.

My aunt (late 50s) was telling me that her and my uncle caught a chairlift and wanted to walk to the top of Mt Kosciuszko in the afternoon. My uncle got very tired and wanted to turn back so they did (which is good), but she initially intended to go on alone, she tells me there was only 6km to go.

Now I have never done this walk and have no idea about the features, but the story struck home how naive people can be about these things. Surely 6km toward a summit, in the afternoon, when you are in your late 50s and not regular bushwalkers, is not a very clever thing to do.

The walk is quite straightforward, gentle ups and downs. For a long time there has been a steel boardwalk and well graded track, so navigation is not usually a problem. However, if a bumbly walker leaves the track in poor visibility, he or she may not find it again while alive. I don't have a map with me but six kilometre to go sounds close to the top of the chairlift. Or is six kilometre the return distance from where they were?

The time to set out is when the lift opens, as one can maintain a leisurely pace to the summit, lunch nearby, back at the top station by maybe 3 pm, then Earl Grey and cake in Thredbo.

These sort of people simply do not know of the power of nature and how quickly the weather can turn. Age is not that important. Older people with experience, fitness and judgement can manage quite nicely.