Tarn shelf freeze?

[bluewombat]

Hi all, has anyone been up on the tarn shelf lately. If so have the tarn shelf lakes frozen yet? Anyone tried XC skiing them yet. It is probably a little early in the season but I thought given the heavy snowfalls and low temps that I would ask
cheers
bw

[Azza]

Dunno about tarn shelf, but I went out to Mt King William yesterday and (tried) to ski off the summit.
The backcountry possibilities are amazing at the moment.
I was on the ski's skinning up the 4wd track from the bottom.
Ended up having to climb the last section to the summit in crampons, it was good to get out and practice my long lost mountaineering skills.

I guess it'll melt away soon if we don't get some more snow.

I reckon all of my field would be pretty good at the moment.
The webcam up there on the Mawson tow is pretty useful for getting an idea what its like.

Side of KW I

Back Country Lines off Milligans - unfortunately I didn't have enough time to get over there. Looks amazing for Tassie.

Route up KW 1 - climb up on the left with crampons, it was a mixture of crusty ice and soft but consolidated snow...
skiied err. fell down the right, it was at least a black run and my skiing is now where as good as my snowboarding.
But that doesn't stop me from having a crack... At least I got to practice self arresting.

[bluewombat]

Awesome work Azza. Watch out for those avalanches, another dump on top of this might give some pretty unstable conditions.
bw

[stepbystep]

Lovely stuff Az, great pics.

[Taurë-rana]

Wow!

Don't know about Tarn Shelf but Pine Lake was frozen solid on Friday, and Great Lake had a layer of ice in places.

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[Taurë-rana]

It was the most perfect day up there.

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[weetbix456]

was up there today as far as the old rodway tow..pretty magic atm! dobson and eagle tarn were frozen solid

[flyfisher]

A group of us walked from Newdegate today ,back along the tarn shelf and all tarns were frozen solid.

They all had ski and boot marks on them, including ours.

Some of the snow in the more exposed parts such as Newdegate pass was quite frozen in parts making travel a bit treacherous, even in yowies.

FF

[dee_legg]

Azza, did you happen to get a photo of Mt Rufus from the King Wills?

[Azza]

Rufus and Mt Gell were looking amazing. I did a ski trip up Mt Rufus last year and it was a bit patchy but I had an awesome time.
The Rufus Canal Rd is closed at the moment, looked like at least 20cm on road. Although it looked like someone got in or tried yesterday.

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[Nuts]

Yep, as FF says, froze. It was pretty icey on saturday, nicer traveling today. Until you get out past the tows, Cradle is peaceful by comparison though...

[alliecat]

I was up there yesterday with others from the Pandani club. (Bumped into the BWT Strollers - great to meet them in person!) The whole tarn shelf was frozen over. We walked along the Rodway range and then descended just past Johnsons Tarn by the slightly unorthodox method of sliding down one of the steeper ski lines on our bums! We walked across the three frozen tarns on the way back to the Rodway shelter without any problems. There were many ski tracks and footprints across the tarns.

I've never seen so much snow or so many people up there. It seemed like every person in Hobart who owned, begged, borrowed, or rented skis, snowboards, or snowshoes was up there. It was a great day on the snow.

Cheers,
Alliecat

[beltas]

Great Pics! I'm inspired! wohoo!

[Nuts]

Hi Alliecat, good to meet up, no hiding now, your a tom! That would have been a fast ride down any seat left, friction burns?

[alliecat]

Oh yeah, I'd forgotten that my gender was in doubt on BWT

The slide down to Johnsons Tarn was pretty exhillarating! Luckily the snow was nice and soft up on top so you could kick nice deep holes right to the edge then sit down and with a gentle push go straight over. The slope had a nice upwards curve to it and was pretty clear of rocks and trees so there was no real danger. The biggest problem was persuading ourselves to do it as you couldn't really see the slope from the top, but Graham had done it before and was sure it was safe. Those of us with WP overpants on had the best slides - one person had a plastic shapping bag and that worked okay as a makeshift sled too. There were no torn pants or friction burns - I think the sun had melted the surface enoough that it was a really thin crust. It was a great way to get down to the shelf - saved a lot of time!

Cheers,
Alliecat (definitely male...)


I'll dig out a photo of the slope when I get home and post it.

[Stibb]

What's the road conditions like up there? Is it possible/advisable to drive up with a regular 2WD?

[Nuts]

They were still using chains yesterday, i doubt they will be needed by now?

[alliecat]

HI Stibb,

It was definitely 4WD or 2WD+chains over the weekend, but who knows by now? I'd suggest calling the visitor's centre and asking.

Here's a couple of pics.

Looking down on Johnsons Tarn just before we go over the edge - see the little people down there?

Looking back up at our bum-tracks. It looked much steeper from the top!

[Azza]

I wouldn't try it in a 2wd without carrying chains.
Its not worth the stress and inconvenience to yourself and everyone else if you end up getting stuck and potentially block the road.

I bet the standard reply from parks is likely to be chains must be carried.

Saying that often you can get up there okay in a 2wd... but sometimes the car park can be a bit of a challenge depending on how much they've cleared it.

With some of these cold nights the road is likely to get a bit icy too. A set of chains isn't a bad investment.
I'm not sure what prices are likely now but I bought a set for a small/medium 2wd from Autobarn for ~ $80 a few years ago.
It was less than half the price that a certain ski shop in the city was charging.

[Stibb]

Thanks. Have to get some chains I guess. Never used them before.

Great pictures!! Would love to get up there and play in the snow

[flyfisher]

On saturday chains were definitely needed and there was enough ice on the road below Lake Fenton on sunday at 1.30-2pm to stop a 2wd .

What seems to happen is that cars drive up on a bit of ice till they get stuck and then try to fit their chains in the middle/on the side of the road.
Due to their lack of grip and their lack of consideration they can make it hard for others to get past.

Please fit chains on 2wd as soon as you get to ice, not after and PLEASE get over as far as possible.

ff

[Nuts]

Yer, fair enough, my last 2wd was a v8 with a limited slip diff.. as expected, i stand corrected

[telopea truncata]

awesome photos!!