Driving back to Thredbo I was getting bored and started a text conversation with a friend in the village (Don't text and drive kiddies it's very illegal and dangerous). Turns out a Kosci hike was in order if the weather was good.
Tuesday
Awoke to poor visibility, by 8am the fog was burning off to reveal bluebird in all it's glory. Before 8:30 my phone buzzed with text alerts setting a meeting time of 9:30am at the chairlift.
I gee'd up Chucky and he was keen to give his new snow shoes a trial - being a virgin Mt Kosci hiker I'm sure there was some excitement at walking to the highest peak on this Island (not continent). At 9:06 my phone rang, I was madly trying to get myself together (strapping my ankle, my knee, getting camera's organised, reading BW posts), the call was from Lisa (Avalache chef) who was buzzing at the prospect of her first Mt Kosciuszko Hike, she was standing in the village square peering into my apartment, she came up and gave us the rush on.
We now had 2 virgins!
By 10:07 we we're leaving the highest lifted point in Australia and had decided to hike my preferred line.
Here I am at the top of the first hill, going back to see how far behind chucky was.
Chucky had fallen behind getting his snowshoes on. He kept pace well and didn't fall that far behind all day (though I heard plenty of groaning and a bit of swearing).
The first view we had of The Summit. Tons of cloud was rolling through (Kosci is slightly left of centre and is shrouded in cloud). Of all the trips I've made out there this was the poorest visibility I've had. But the best snow cover.
Grizzly Brad. Who had made the trip last week and after 3 years living in Thredbo is leaving this weekend. He is a real "off the cusp" type of person and one of my comrades. Me in the BG (blue BW hoodie). These are all Brads photo's. (I'll include some of mine and maybe some video when I find time)
Kosci Cornice featuring the rock drop I want to mark off my bucket list (centre left).
Also check out the icicles on the grass in the FG.
Lisa following me, she later finds out this is not such a great idea!
Brad again trying for a new fb profile.
You can see the sort of separation a party on this hike can create. Lisa and I close together behind Brad, followed by chucky by about the same distance back again.
This is approaching our drop-in line to Seamans Hut (Ethel Ridge(?) a mountain peak across from Kosci).
It's a pity I was fighting the pain in my knee and ankle as I saw some aspects of Kosci that really put in perspective how it does dominate the other peaks around it. Because of the pain I rarely got my camera out. A moment through the mist when the summit was visible.
(I'm blaming lisa)
Somehow I took 3 sets of flat batteries for my headcam, in the rush to leave the apartment I grabbed the wrong packet.
This situation should never have occurred as flat batteries go straight in the charger!
I did manage to get those flat batteries to capture about 20mins of footage;
Vid of the drop-in to Seamans Hut.
Looking out of the snowcave we found near the hut.
Room for 3
thanks for sharing
