Five months after leaving Antarctica, it was time for a reunion with the team from Bunger Hills. In true polar style, we decided the reunion should be a snow weekend in Kosciuszko. Five of us were able to make it: Raph, Steph (both marine biologists), Caleb (geologist), his partner Madeleine, and myself. I was collected by Raph and Steph on Thursday morning from Sydney airport, and we drove straight down to Jindabyne, arriving later that night.

It’s about a 5 or 6 hour drive down to the Snowies from Sydney. We reached Cooma by 5:30 and, thankfully the rental stores there are open at all hours. Most of us were snow-shoeing, so we had to find some snowshoes to rent. The first place we tried was sold out, having just rented 80 pairs to some guiding groups. This made us a bit nervous knowing such large groups were out this weekend, but we were able to find snow shoes elsewhere. We had a parmie dinner at the Banjo Patterson in Jindabyne, then headed towards Island bend to camp for the night.

Mont Hypermid, with no floor..

I was to share a tent with Raph, and it was then I found out we would be carrying a tent with no floor. We were using the Mont Hypermid - an ultralight trekking pole pyramid tent - without the inner. The tent was surprisingly sturdy, and had enough of a microclimate to keep the frost at bay.

Leaving Guthega power station on friday morning.

This was my first time in the Snowies, and the first time snow-shoeing for most of us. We set of from Guthega power station around 11am the next morning and began the walk towards Horse camp hut. Weather was good, and we reached horse camp hut by 1:30 where we stopped for lunch.

Lunch at Horse Camp hut.

A couple of hours later we reached White’s river hut. We could see in the distance a small group of people who had already begun to set up camp around the hut.

Arriving at White’s River hut

We set up our hypermid tent in the snow. We were unsure how the tent would hold up in the wind, as this was our second time setting it up, so the plan was to build a small snow wall to protect from the easterly winds coming up the valley. The pyramid style of the tent was tricky to get right, but after a few rounds of adjustments and some improvisation to make up for a minor peg shortage, we were happy with the set up.

Dinner for our first night was sausages and potatoes, cooked in the hut fireplace. Raph, who was skiing rather than snowshoeing, had generously (foolishly?) decided to tow a small sled with food and wood so that we could enjoy this luxury dinner. Walking into the hut with a kilo of potatoes and a dozen sausages was obviously an odd sight for the other hut-inhabitants, drawing a few comments and turning some heads. An older man who was clearly a veteran old-school backcountry goer sat next to the fireplace. He looked disapprovingly at our choice of dinner and the interruption it required of his prime location in front of the fire, but his tune quickly changed after trying a couple of roast spuds.

Raph cooking spuds and sausages in the fireplace

Building our snow wall and checking our guy lines after dinner

The next day our plan was to head off into the mountains and navigate along the ridgeline to Schlink’s hut, following a rough route planned out on avenza. Icicles glistened on the tops of barren trees, making me wonder how (or why) anything lived up there. I guess the summer reprieve is enough to make it worth it.

Raph passing through an icy gateway as we head up to the mountain ridge on Saturday morning, aiming to travel along the ridgeline to Schlink’s hut

On top of the ridge it was windy and cloudy, making visibility low, so we aimed for the lee side of the ridge for shelter. This was a good opportunity though to practice our navigation in less than ideal conditions.

Walking the ridge with Raph ahead, followed by Steph, Caleb, and Madeleine

Navigating along the ridge, we reached a point where we could see Schlink’s hut in the valley below. We descended, keen to get out of the wind and have our lunch.

A winding river embedded in the snow, beyond which Schlink’s hut lies.

The hut was large and cozy, with some beds and a dining table for us to eat around. We rewarded ourselves with a beer over lunch, which we had been saving for a summit. It was a quick walk back to White’s river from Schlink’s.

Enjoying our summit beers at Schlink’s hut (having gone around the summits instead)

Upon returning to White’s river we found a small city had been assembled, with a large guiding group having just arrived. Thinking that the hut would be a bit too cozy tonight, we decided to make an igloo to be our outdoor kitchen for the night.

We dug a trench with bench seating around the edge and a sunken foot well in the middle. Around the outside we build a wall with snow bricks to block out the wind. It was surprisingly warm and cozy inside our snow-kitchen, and a few people came by to take photos!

We took it slow the next morning, packed, and began the walk home. Given that we had eaten our spuds and sausages, we now had an empty sled begging to be used…

It took a couple of runs to get the technique right, as this small flimsy sled wasn’t designed to by ridden. Eventually though, with Raph carrying my pack, I was able to ride the sled down the hills at the cost of only a few scratches and bruises.

Sledding back home, next stop: Winter Olympics

None of us were ready to go home by the end of it, which is the sign of a great trip. For most of us it was a first time show-shoeing, first time igloo building, and the first time in mountain environments, and we all agreed to make this a yearly occurrence (at minimum).