[Updated 8 July]
The forecast is for a lot of snow between now and this trip on 19/20 July. This is great news and means we can probably plan for a more sheltered campsite below the tree line.
With that in mind I am suggesting an alternative itinerary, which would have us departing from the Guthega Power Station on Saturday morning and climbing up to Horse Camp Hut. We will set up camp at the hut, and then have the rest of the day, and much of the following day, to explore the skiable terrain above the hut.
For those who are super keen, you might be interested in travelling up to the hut on the Friday morning and camping for two nights - there is at least one participant looking to do this.
Final plans will be decided in the few days prior once we have a better idea of the forecast and discussed at the pretrip on Wednesday at the gear store.
[Updated 1 July]
I have brought the date of this trip forward by a week due to a scheduling conflict. If the weather is unfavourable we will postpone to the weekend of 2/3 August.
[Original trip description]
Towards the goal of developing active club members to have the confidence and skills to lead future skiing trips, we have a couple of places available on an introductory snow camping trip on the Main Range.
The location would likely be 1-2 hours' travel beyond the Thredbo ski lifts, finding a sheltered spot near the North Ramshead. From there, we can drop our heavy packs and ski around the area.
As the goal is developing future leaders, a focus would be on locating a good campsite, setting things up, and getting the group organised - imagining that you in future might be leading beginners.
On the Sunday, we would leave camp very early with just day things, weather permitting to ski out as far as magnificent Mt Townsend. Again dependent on weather, we might be able to ski the all-time classic 'Racecourse' down to frozen Lake Albina. This is great skiing, but also gives you a good sense of the topography of the Main Range, letting you plan your own trips in this beautiful region.
As with all Alpine Touring trips, you need to be able to ski alpine ('downhill') on blue runs in a ski resort. However for this trip, the key is that you have general outdoor experience such as non-skiing trips with ANUMC, or outdoor activities elsewhere involving overnight bushwalks with a full pack.
Signups will be turned off until two weeks prior because we can’t tell what conditions will be like far in advance. Once signups are on, please indicate your experience both with skiing (including any backcountry skiing) and in overnight bushwalking.