Shout Out to Snowy Mountains Backcountry Tours

It was an early start to the morning in order to make the most of the snow conditions. Temperatures had dropped overnight re-freezing the snow however the forecast of a warmer day meant the snow would deteriorate quickly by early afternoon.

Having received rain the previous night, we were greeted by open gates on the Guthega dam with lots of water tumbling into the river below. A sight we hadn't seen before. Skiing down to the dam wall was a little treacherous with the icy hard snow but I survived without incident.

After walking across the dam, it was time to put our new found knowledge into practice. The skins were easy to attach to our skis and we were quickly on our way up.

We snaked our way up to the top of Guthega Trig. The skins were absolutely amazing and we soon found ourselves at the top with some blue sky!

Time for a break and snack at the trig while chatting away. From here we skied down a beautiful slope into Falls Creek. The snow was deep and soft thankfully as I stacked trying to negotiate turning in these natural non-groomed conditions! It was very cool to see our own tracks carved into the hillside. A quick transition at the bottom meant we were climbing back up to the trig. We practiced our V-A-V turns and then our kick turns. Cath won the trophy for most flexible!

   

At the top after another transition (we were getting good as these!), we skied dropping slightly lower into Falls Creek through the snow gums. The terrain got a bit too steep and tricky for us here - we were all out of our comfort zone. However we scooted a longer traverse across the slope and eventually made it into the creek where we stopped for lunch.







Feeling refreshed, we made the final climb out of Falls Creek over the ridge of Guthega Trig. With the skins pack away once again in our backpacks, it was a very long traverse back to the dam wall. The sun was warming the snow up, turning it into slush and combined with the tiredness creeping in we struggled at times during this part of our journey. Glad to have reached the dam wall we had one final climb up to the carpark to complete our tour.

Our introductory tour to backcountry skiing, was fantastic. We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The seed of backcountry touring has been planted. Perhaps it's time for us to  investigate the purchase of new ski gear which will allow us to do another trip next winter....