Last week I was working at Lake St Clair when Kylie came to visit. In typical Kylie fashion she arrived via an Overland Track trail run on what may turn out to be the best snow day of the winter.
Good snow had fallen overnight Friday and intermittent flurries continued through Saturday. By Sunday morning, when Kylie left Waldheim, snow had settled as low as 500 metres above sea level over much of Tasmania during the last 36 hours.
Kylie had picked her weather window perfectly. The high pressure system whose leading edge helped drive the icy, southerly blast was now centring itself over Tasmania ushering in clear skies for much of the day.
Snow on the alpine plateau and cirques around Cradle, through Waterfall Valley and over the windswept Windermere Plains and Pine Forest Moor was no surprise. However, a fluffy, white blanket even on the track’s low point at Frog Flats gave an indication this could be a rare opportunity to enjoy snow all the way – from go to whoa.
At Pelion Gap cloud started rolling in but stayed dutifully above the mountaintops. A snowy carpet through the enchanting forests between Kia Ora and Windy Ridge was a treat before the clouds parted for a late afternoon piece de resistance – sunset silhouetting Geryon, Kylie’s favourite mountain.
After sunset Kylie donned almost every layer of warm gear to be cosy and snug for the last couple of hours to Narcissus. Footprints from some northbound Overland Trackers made for easier passage on this final leg especially as snow had been knocked off the overhanging branches – a luxury not afforded on the whole section from Kia Ora to Windy Ridge.
…and how did Kylie get back to Cradle to retrieve the car?!?
A mere 57 hours after finishing, Kylie was trotting back northwards from Narcissus. Much of the snow had melted but there was a moderate headwind to contend with. Perhaps these factors cancelled each other out. I have a theory on what made Kylie’s ‘uphill’ return run an hour and a half quicker than her downward journey. My theory is that Kylie thrives on multiple long runs in relatively quick succession. Her 50 Mountain Marathons project is a classic case in point but that’s a story for another day.
