[SUBW-A] Trip report: Skiing, 10-11th August

[Mitchell Isaacs]

The Party: Andrew Hunter & Mitchell Isaacs

The drive down to the Berridale Hilton on Friday night was problem-free, 
probably because we took Andrew's car (see previous trip report).

The weather was fine & clear the next day, and very warm as well (true 
T-shirt weather!)

Arriving at Munyang to a FULL CARPARK!!, we set off with about 5000 
other skiiers to enjoy the snow. However, we took the trip up 
Disappointment Spur and saw just one other person all day.

The snow was decidedly on the firm side, and as we neared the tops, the 
wind picked up to a fairly strong gale (we later found out that the NPWS 
  from later that day issued a warning against backcountry travel due to 
the exceptional winds).

After passing Gungartan, we began the trip to Tin Hut, only to be 
hampered by a treacherous, heavily eroded, steep, sastrugi ice slope. 
The eroded ditches & gullies were up to a couple of feet deep, and made 
travel very difficult, especially in the high winds. Eventually, we 
decided the easiest way was to remove our skis and walk down (which 
still wasn't easy). We got to Tin Hut with plenty of time to collect 
water & admire the sunset.

After an evening with Leunig, we set out the next morning in very 
blustery conditions. It was a fairly straightforward ski back to Munyang 
via Schlink Pass & the aqueduct track, finding a couple of spots to 
play. We found out that a group of Scouts had been planning on spending 
the previous night at Tin Hut, luckily they never made it (though 
hopefully they made it somewhere)(or at least survived the night).

By this stage, the weather was starting to close in, but this was not 
deterring a few more large parties we ran into setting out.

A good trip in great country, and no rain until we were safely on our 
way back to Sydney.