Alan's Cross Country Skiing Photographs

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING IN THE AUSTRALIAN ALPS

The Snowy Mountains of NSW, situated in Kosciuszko National Park, provide an excellent venue for cross-country skiing in Australia. There is skiable snow from June until November/December in most years. The terrain is a mixture of treeless plains, rolling hills, deep valleys, snowgum and eucalypt forest, and the glacial lakes and steeper slopes of the Main Range near Mt Kosciuszko. There are many old mountain huts scattered throughout the mountains which provide interesting destinations to ski to, and there is a large network of groomed cross-country ski trails at a few locations, including Perisher Valley and Cabramurra. In a typical snow season I like to ski in many areas of Kosciuszko National Park, visiting huts, leading some club ski tours, going in a few citizen ski races and doing the occasional snow camp. My favourite times are when skiing through snow covered forests immediately after a blizzard, and up on the Main Range in spring when there are long, warm days, excellent spring snow and fantastic slopes and views. I have put together a list of suggestions for single day ski tours for the Snowy Mountains area.

The Victorian Alps also provide a great venue for cross-country skiing, and offer a different skiing experience to the Snowy Mountains. The main cross-country skiing areas include Falls Creek, the Bogong High Plains, Mt Hotham, Dinner Plain, Mt Buffalo, Mt Stirling, Lake Mountain and Mt Baw Baw. There is a large network of groomed cross-country ski trails available at some of the resorts, many old cattlemen's and skiing huts to visit, and a variety of terrain and vegetation in which to ski. I have been going to Falls Creek for the Kangaroo Hoppet ski race for the last 16 years with people from the Canberra Cross Country Ski Club. As well as competing in the race I have also taken the time to go ski touring in some of the other parts of the Victorian Alps, mostly in the northern areas.

Below are a selection of my photographs taken on various ski tours in NSW, VIC & the ACT over the last 19 years, mainly with people from the Canberra Cross Country Ski Club. Click on the thumbnails to see larger images:

Alan Levy


	Broken Dam Hut - Aug 95. The hut location is about 12 km southeast of Mt Selwyn ski resort in the northern part of Kosciuszko National Park. This is my favourite ski touring area due to the variety of the terrain, the area's history and the surrounding views. The hut was situated close to Tabletop Mountain, but sadly, it was burnt down in Nov 98.

	Skiing on the south ridge of Mt Kosciuszko in Dec 94. Immediately below us to our left is Lake Cootapatamba. Beyond is Victoria. This ridge always holds snow till the very end of the season.

	Group on the summit of Tantangara Mountain - Sept 00. This peak near Kiandra offers easy skiing and good views of the surrounding plains.

	Club ski tour near The Porcupine on the trail to Charlotte Pass - Jun 94.

	Waterfall on the Snowy River below Mt Clarke - Oct 00. During the spring snowmelt the streams are full of icy water which makes for painful river crossings.

	Skiing across Rocky Valley Dam wall at Falls Creek - Aug 99. Falls Creek has a large network of cross country ski trails and is the venue for the Kangaroo Hoppet ski race held on the last weekend in August.

	Skiing on the Brindle Bull plateau - Aug 01. This area is close to Dead Horse Gap and contains many old snowgums and good views of the Main Range and into Victoria.

	Snow camp in Wilkinson's Valley late in the season - Oct 94. This valley is situated between Mt Kosciuszko and Mt Townsend. From this campsite it is only a short ski to Mt Townsend, Abbot Range or Mueller's Peak, and there is a great ski run down Wilkinson's Valley into a small gorge.

	Lunchstop near Strezlecki Creek and The Sentinel - Oct 94. The western faces of the Main Range provide excellent slopes and views of the Geehi Valley and into Victoria.

	Skiing along the cross country ski trail near The Horn - Aug 00. Mt Buffalo has a small network of cross country ski trails and offers fantastic skiing along small open valleys amongst huge granite boulders, and provides great views of the surrounding Victorian Alps.

	Skiing at Bull's Head in the Brindabella Range in the ACT, not far from Canberra - Jul 94. This area provides good skiing when there is enough snow, mostly along the roads and on some of the peaks, such as Mt Franklin, Mt Gingera and Mt Ginini.

	Main Range near Guthega - Jun 95. Looking across the Snowy River valley from The Paralyser towards Mt Anderson.

	Friendly baby wombat on White's River fire trail - Jul 95. We did a ski tour from Munyang to White's River Hut and The Rolling Grounds. On the return trip down the road we came across two wombats. The baby wombat came up to us of its own accord and wandered around us and sat momentarily on the ski, while it's mother watched nearby.

	Wallaces Hut - Aug 98. This historic cattleman's hut built in 1889 is an easy ski tour from Falls Creek. There are many other old huts on the Bogong High Plains which offer good skiing destinations.

	Camping at Three Mile Dam - Sept 01. This area is close to Mt Selwyn resort and provides easy skiing on mostly flat terrain.

	Skiing on the old downhill ski slopes at Mt Franklin in the Brindabellas - Jul 95. In the distance is Mt Ginini and Mt Gingera. Mt Jagungal is just visible on the right hand side of the photograph.

	Skiiing on the slopes at Leatherbarrel Creek - Oct 92. Beyond is Victoria. This area has excellent slopes, some very steep.

	View from Carruthers Peak towards the Sentinel & Watson's Crags - Jan 96. Once the snow melts and the skiing stops, there are good walks on the Main Range to look at the summer flowers.

	Skiing near Mt Loch - Aug 99. The ski trail from Mt Hotham to Mt Loch goes along a narrow ridge and provides great views of Mt Feathertop and The Razorback. This is one of the most spectacular ski tours I have done.

	Tree on top of Tabletop Mountain in northern Kosciuszko National Park - Aug 95. Lake Eucembene is in the distance. This peak offers great views of the park, especially towards Mt Jagungal.

	Skiing on the Disappointment Spur fire trail after a heavy snowfall - Jul 96. This trail provides a more interesting and sheltered route from Munyang towards Schlink Pass than the road which goes up the middle of the valley.

	Skiing along a road near Cabramurra - Aug 91. Just above this road is a small plateau containing the Cabramurra cross-country ski trails, which provide easy skiing amongst snowgums and contain good views towards the Jagungal area.

	Anthony Evans doing a high speed turn in a cross-country ski race at Perisher Valley - Aug 94. Many races are held on the Perisher trails.

	At the start of the Hotham to Dinner Plain trail - Aug 00. The 11km ski trail between Dinner Plain and Mt Hotham goes through beautiful snow gum forest and open plains and provides alot of variety.

	Group on top of The Paralyser enjoying the view towards Guthega - Jul 00. This trig point provides great views of the Main Range and the Perisher Range and is a good alternative to the trails in the valleys below.

	Club members night skiing near Leatherbarrel Creek - Sept 01. One of the benefits of snowcamping under a full moon is the opportunity to go skiing at night, as the snow covered landscape is brightly lit by the moon and makes navigation easy.

	View from Alice Rawson Peak - Oct 94. This peak is located close to Mt Townsend and has the best views in the mountains as it overlooks Lady Northcote Canyon and the deep Geehi Valley.

	The summit of Mt Kosciuszko - Nov 91. The long snowdrifts that remain after winter usually allow skiing into December.

	Kosciusko Tour competitors - Sept 00. The Kosciusko Tour is an 18 km cross country ski race organised by the Canberra Cross Country Ski Club that goes from the top of Thredbo to Perisher, via Charlotte Pass. This is a fun race which also has a fancy dress category.

	Skiing on the cross country trails near Mt Selwyn - Aug 96. The snowgums and views are very good in this area. Close by are a few old mountain huts worth visiting.

	Skiers at The Chalet at Charlotte Pass at the finish of the KAC Martini Cross Country Ski Race - Aug 93. The race goes 9 km from Perisher to Charlotte Pass and attracts hundreds of skiers.

	Spion Kopje - Aug 00. This ridge on the Bogong High Plains near Mt Nelse overlooks the Falls Creek resort.

	Skiing on the top of Bob's Ridge - Jun 00. Bob's Ridge is located near Dead Horse Gap and offers good views south to The Pilot and into Victoria. From here there is a good descent through trees towards Cascade Hut.

	A snowgum on the trail between Perisher and Blue Cow - Jul 96.

	Skiers overlooking Leatherbarrel Creek - Oct 92. Leatherbarrel Creek is south of Mt Kosciuszko and provides very steep terrain for the experts (not me).

	Skiers on Watson's Crags - Oct 97. This ridge provides excellent views into the Geehi Valley and towards Victoria.

	Skiers having lunch at Pryors Hut - Jul 00. This hut is situated below Mt Gingera in The Brindabellas and is a good ski destination through beautiful snowgum forest.

	Looking towards Lake Jindabyne - Sept 92. From Dainers Gap there is a short easy ski along the Thompson's Plain trail and out to the edge of the plateau that provides a great view of the Crackenback Valley and Lake Jindabyne.

	View of Mt Buffalo plateau from The Horn - Aug 94. An easy ski up the Horn Road and a short climb to the summit provides great views north towards The Hump and The Cathedral. Most of the cross country ski trails are in the small valleys between The Horn and the Cresta downhill resort.

	Skiers crossing a snowbridge over the Snowy River below Charlotte Pass - Nov 92. Once the snow bridges disappear the only alternative is an icy river crossing to reach the slopes leading up onto the Main Range.

	Toilet at Broken Dam Hut after a week of snowfalls - Aug 95. Most of it is buried under about 2 metres of snow.

	Crossing Farm Creek by flying fox - Oct 96. Skiers who go up the Snowy River valley from Guthega have to undergo this ordeal, otherwise it's a cold river crossing.

	The summit of Mt Kosciuszko in mid winter - Jun 93. The summit obelisk is covered in about 8 feet of rime. The rime occurs when supercooled cloud droplets driven by the wind hit a solid object.

	Looking north from the summit of Mt Townsend, Australia's second highest peak, towards Alice Rawson Peak and Mt Jagungal - Nov 97. This same view was painted by Eugene Von Guerard in the 1860's and a copy of this painting is also shown for comparison purposes.