Photos of DEEP snow on Mt Wellington/kunanyi!

[andyszollosi]

With apparent temperatures down to -20C (due to windchill), combined with significant precipitation, there was some seriously deep powder on Mt Wellington yesterday. On the summit plateau, some of the drifts were a metre in depth; beautiful, dry powder. When I was up there, the wind was gusting at 80km/h and the temperature was -2C so it was a hoods up-wear everything affair!

I was astonished at how the snow transformed what is a familiar place to me into an alien, frozen landscape.

As quickly as it came, the snow melted. Only 24 hours later, there were only patches left!

Luckily I snapped a few good ones when the snow was at its deepest. See photos below.

Does anyone have other photos to share?

What's the most snow any of you have ever seen up there?

The overhanging branches made for slow progress.

Dolerite icicles.

Twin boulders with the sun trying to break through the cloud behind.

Spindrift and the radio tower of Wellington.

The mythical tower.

The frozen summit plateau. So much snow!

No footprints, anywhere!

If you liked this post, you can see more photos of snow covered landscapes on my blog: http://mountainsofaustralia.com/gallery/

Happy wonderings!
,

[GPSGuided]

That's crazy! Thanks for sharing these amazing images.

[Scottyk]

great pics, good on you for getting up there in the fresh stuff

[north-north-west]

I've been up there when people were skiing. It doesn't seem to get as much snow these days, or maybe it just doesn't last as long.

[gwynfa]

Kept a watch on the mountain snows now for 40 years and have to say since about the 1990s it seems that the snowfalls have been turned off. The winters of 1976 & 1978 brought very heavy snow at prime time July/August leaving drits 6 to 8m or even more along the Pinnacle to Sth Wellington slopes. A check at the begining of Sept 78 the Ski drift may have even been 10m deep, the snow gums at Sth Wellington Gap were all but buried. The Telephone Directory of 1977-78 has a classic photo of the snowplough deep in snow near the Pinnacle. With the warming climate such conditions may be a thing of the past?

[South_Aussie_Hiker]

Great photos, thanks for sharing.

[Stibb]

Winter 2011. This is the most I've seen. That's the roof of the same hut in one of your pictures.

More pictures in this thread http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7144

I missed out on the latest dump and only found some left-over patches on top

[andyszollosi]

Wow, that's a lot of snow!

[kolah]

Beautiful photos Andy! I love the snow.