Perisher to Charlotte Pass Tour

22nd July, 2007

We met, as per usual, at the National Parks building in Perisher. At first it was confusing trying to work out who else was on the tour as NSW Nordic was out in force and the building was packed. A bunch of cross country skiers assembled in the same space all look like the same creature, without much variation between the NSW and ACT sub-species, though the NSW Nordic people were well rugged up while the Canberra people were bouncing around in t-shirts talking about how warm it was. Skiing through a month of blizzards will have this affect on cross-country skiers.

Our intrepid leader, John Ridley, called us into a huddle before we set off. Laying the map on a table, he pointed out the route and the game plan. “We ski up the road to Charlotte Pass and meet at the bar at the Chalet, drink lots of beer, and make a name for the Canberra Cross Country Ski Club!” With a rousing cheer the assembled group poured out of the National Parks building, happy with our objective of showing the Charlotte Pass downhill skiers and snow boarders a thing or two about partying.

Eight of us started on the climb up the road to Perisher Gap, with four more to catch up with us later. Some story about keys and Jindabyne and we have to go back and we’ll see you up there. The day was absolutely glorious, with only the lightest of breezes and not a cloud to be seen. I’ll have to remember to take a baseball cap with me to wear on these types of days, as a beanie is overkill and offers little sun protection.

The group re-assembled at Perisher Gap, with a head count to make sure no-one had been taken out by one of the Perisher Blue skidoo drivers who seemed intent on killing themselves or anyone who was in their way. We then worked our way down the road to Betts Camp, where we took a break for a cuppa and a look around. A few of us had a couple of runs down one of the small hills there, and were quite surprised to find the snow fluffy and powdery in spite of the previous cold clear nights.

Spencers Creek bridge

We then headed to the Spencers Creek bridge, where the picnic tables were buried in snow almost up to the table tops. Leaving the road, we followed the snow pole line into Charlotte Pass without much drama and commandeered a couple of the picnic tables in front of The Chalet. John checked the time and declared we had accomplished the trip, albeit at an easy pace, in two hours and ten minutes.

Some of the group bought lunch at The Chalet, some had brought their own, and a few ales were sampled from the very convenient bar. Sitting out in the sun, with the uncrowded, civilised atmosphere of Charlotte Pass, and a beer or two, had us all agreeing that this was the way to do a ski tour. To cap it off, it was discovered that the poma was free to use, no lift pass required, so Margaret, Karl, Steve and I made use of the facilities for around half an hour. By this time the laggers of the group arrived, amid much cheering from the advance party. We were now a group of twelve. After an easy lunch the decision was made to travel back to Perisher via the Porcupine Rocks route. Steve Warild and I stayed behind at The Pass for another half an hour, taking advantage of the poma.

Lunch at The Chalet, Charlotte Pass

After eight or ten runs down the sparsely populated slopes, Steve and I headed off to catch up with the group. I had to work quite a bit harder than Steve, who had light skinny skis with no pattern on the base. My telemarking skis had no-where near the glide that Steve was getting out of his slippery gear. We caught up with the group on the ridge to the south of Betts Camp and as a group worked our way to the top of the hill near Mount Wheatley. From there it was only three kilometres back into Perisher and mostly downhill. There were a few thrills and spills on the way down, with leader John breaking one of his stocks on the way. The consensus seemed to be that John was quite happy about the situation as he was able to use for the repair job the gaffer tape that he had been carrying around in his pack for the last three years. We all made it back to the Perisher National Parks building at about 4.30pm, with most of us quite relieved to have finished after such a long day, and emanating that tired glow of a quite reasonable achievement. For most of us the real battle was about to begin – the Sunday night ski traffic drive back to Canberra! Thanks again to John Ridley for a great day.