kunanyi / Mt Wellington Snow Run

Last Friday, with snow falling to low levels and a few spare hours, there was an obvious choice for a run: kunanyi / Mt Wellington.

Last time I did a snow run I added the summit as a side trip on my regular back yard loop.  I was after a shorter run this time so I drove 5 minutes to the trail head at the end of Lenah Valley Rd.  At this point the Lenah Valley Track heads uphill.  When combined with Old Hobartians, the top section of Hunters and Panorama Tracks along with a couple of sections of Pinnacle Road this makes the most direct route to the summit from close to home.

Snowing heavily at Panorama Track.  The road was ploughed clear only five minutes earlier.  That's more than a "flurry" falling!

In February Kylie and I tackled the summit run via this route and, for a change, ran separately to see how we would go.  At 2:04:37 it was my fastest trip up and back by far.  At the summit (half way by distance) I was approximately one kilometre or five minutes ahead of Kylie.  However, as her finishing time of 2:05:18 proves, she a fast descender.  In the last kilometre I passed a couple of walkers.  Much to my surprise a few seconds later I heard Kylie greet the same walkers.  She had no idea I was just in front.  I was therefore able to so a cheeky sprint to the line and maintain my 41 second 'winning' margin.  (Not that it was a race!)

Anyway, back to last week's run...
With deep, fresh snow on the ground and heavy snow still falling I figured this would not be a record breaking run but I was very interested to see just how much slower it would be.

Settled snow below sandstone cliffs on Old Hobartians Track

I hit the track at 1:40pm and struck falling snow only one kilometre up the track.  In the second kilometre I crossed the North-South Track and encountered my first settled snow just before reaching the sandstone overhangs.  By the time I reached The Chalet it was snowing heavily.  A snow plough headed past and only 5 minutes later the black road surface revealed in its wake was once again blanketed white.

Scree field below The Chalet

After negotiating the Panorama Track I decided to make a dash for the summit without adding any extra layers.  It was bearable until arriving at the car park.  Wind driven snow was howling unabated from the south.  Snow could not settle in those conditions.  Instead the road surface was a solid layer of ice.  On the short path to the pinnacle waist deep drifts lay in the lee of shrubs.  It was clear no one else had gone this way today.

Beard icicles and a pony tail anenometer

At the summit the obligatory selfie revealed I had developed beard icicles in the brief time it took me to negotiate the car park and pinnacle path.  It also revealed my hair made an effective anenometer which clearly indicated the winds were easily gale force.

Panorama Track

In no time I was back in the relative shelter of the Panorama Track.  Deep fresh powder made it possible to descend in leaps and bounds knowing the soft drifts made for safe, cushioned and forgiving landings.

Falling snow followed me all the way back to the car in Lenah Valley.  When I got home my son, Henry, concurred after seeing snow fall on the windscreen of his school bus as it trundled along Augusta Road at the same time.  Later in the afternoon I discovered Kylie had woken that morning to a dusting of snow on the tents of her Three Capes school trip at Cape Raoul.  At Tasmania's moderate latitude low level snow has always been and will continue to be a novelty!

"Partly sunny with flurries"!!!

Back Yard Rain & Snow

Up and down tracks of my Pearl Izumis
(...and the 4WD tracks of a techo working on the TV towers)

A couple of runs to report in the past week.  Last Sunday some rain had switched on the New Town Rivulet at the Clapper Bridge.  This was a pleasant contrast from last week when we found the stream unseasonably dry. Puddles, light rainfall, wet forest smells and soft ground underfoot were all welcome on a lively loop.  Not our quickest time but not slowest either.

Clapper Bridge with water this week

On Wednesday fresh snow bedecked kunanyi / Mount Wellington making a spectacular sight from our back yard.  Late morning I headed out on the usual back yard loop.  After crossing the Clapper I turned right and headed uphill.  Light sleet greeted me just after the sandstone outcrops on Old Hobartians and a full-on snow flurry greeted me at The Chalet marking 1,000 metres above sea level.

Snow falling at the 1,000 metre level

From there on settled snow ensured I would have the road legs either side of the Panorama Track to myself.  A couple of winters ago a huge dump of snow famously hit Hobart.  On that occasion snow drifts were over 3 metres deep when Kylie and I followed the deep swathe freshly cut by the snow plough.  Back then there was no way Panorama could be an option.  In contrast this week's run was barely ankle deep at the most and Panorama was eminently 'followable.'

Panorama Track

At the summit I paid the obligatory visit to the trig point and, in the complete absence of other people, I also jogged out to each of the lookout points.  With a keen breeze blowing over the top and the mercury hovering around -2°C it was not time to linger so I scooted back down and completed the remainder of the back yard loop followed with the usual warm-down stroll up the hill to home.

Summit view to the north-east

Summit view to the south-east

Some vital statistics for the backyard loop with summit side trip:

Duration 3:24:38

Distance 22.4km

Avg pace 9:09 min/km

Ascent 1,096m

Descent 1,122m

Summit selfie