Mt Skene Snow Trip 2019
Mt Skene Snow Trip – 12th – 14th July 2019
Trip Leader: Warren and Shez Tedford
Participants: Tim Neville, Danni and Damien Miller, Adam and Sally Vallance, Matthew and Leah Taylor, Richard Brown and Amy OberliMark Mensch, Geoff Davey, Bruce Whitten, Lachie Hill, Jimmy Halikias, Levi Brocks, Daniel Murdoch, Cam Hamann, Oakli Bird, Allie Hamann, Dave Hamann, Jake Cook, Rylan Bird and Ebony.
“The hut looked amazing with the deep snow all around” - Shez
Friday 12th
We arrived at the Jamieson Caravan Park on Friday lunchtime. Once everyone was unpacked, we went for what should have been a quick trip to fill in the afternoon, up one of the tracks above Jamieson.
We had a few trees to clear off the track. One section of the track was a bit steep and rutted making for a bit of fun driving. We managed to get our cruiser a bit crossed up and needed a second go to get up. The track came out on the Licola Jamieson road and although it was a steep and quite slippery decent, everyone made it safely down.
Rylan had a problem with his front tail shaft and Cam bought a spare up with him on Friday night.
We got the campfire started and after a BBQ dinner everyone mingled around the campfire.
Saturday 13th
We began our day by cooking a big breakfast for everyone. Bacon, eggs and baked beans were on the menu to fill and warm.
Our convoy was 15, therefore we needed two permits for our trip up onto Mt Skene. With the convoy split into 2 groups we headed up the Jamieson/Licola Road towards Mount Skene. We had not gone far before we had our first tree down, the first of many. At approximately 700 metres above seal level and well before the summit we began seeing our first glimpses of snow.
We had a stop at Mount Sunday Road where there was plenty of room for all our vehicles to pull safely and legally off the road. Everyone enjoyed some snowball throwing and a chance to play in quite deep snow. I have not seen snow down that low before on any of our previous trips, it was amazing.
We still had many trees to clear before we arrived at the summit. The conditions were not very kind to us. There was plenty of snow, however the weather was almost blizzard and very cold, 1558 metres above sea level. We did not stay up there long. We continued across the mountain and stopped at the campground near the South Road intersection for lunch. The weather was even more unkind on this side of the mountain, with snow falling heavily in blizzard conditions. Our plan had been to continue from here across South Road, to Mt Selma and back to the Caravan park via Woods Point. We had made good time coming over the summit and so we decided to make the most of our permits and head back across the way we had come. Snow was falling heavier, and it was impressive to see how much more snow had fallen in the short time we were gone.
Cam had problems with his brakes and needed a roadside repair to get back to camp. The fire was lit, and we prepared a BBQ dinner for the group. Again, we all sat round the fire and had an enjoyable evening.
Sunday 14th
We began our day again with a hearty cooked breakfast before getting packed and ready to head towards Geelong.
We headed out of Jamieson on the Jamieson Eildon road and soon turned off onto Mt Terrible Track. With everyone aired down we began our climb up to the summit of Mount Terrible. There was plenty of snow making for some interesting driving as we neared the top. We had one large log across the track just before the summit that had been cut, barely wide enough for a vehicle. We needed to spot each vehicle to get them through without damage.
We arrived at the summit of Mt Terrible to find metres of deep, fresh and powdery snow. The hut looked amazing with the deep snow all around. I have been to this hut many times and this was the first time I had seen it with so much snow. A few of our group had not been here before so it was great for them to see the hut. Unfortunately, the summit lived up to its name and we were deprived of the magnificent views this place can offer on a clear day. We continued, with the thought of having lunch at Ryan’s Spur Hut, (a little over an hour further down Mt Terrible Track).
We were not prepared for the amount and depth of snow on the track. Rain and fresh snow also made the track very slippery. It was a challenge to get through with some vehicles needing to be assisted down the steep sections. There was more snow here than up on Mt Skene. It took us well over 2 hours to get down to Ryan’s Spur Hut for lunch. From here we turned onto the Camberville logging road and headed down onto Big River Road. We aired up and took the Big River Road back up onto the Marysville /Woods Point road and then headed for Geelong.
It was another successful snow trip weekend. There was a bit of everything this year. We were in snow for nearly all the weekend, which was awesome.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for this weekend, making it so enjoyable.
Shez and Warren