Day Trip to the Craggs

12 October 2002

Description

Seeing as the road was open to Charlottes Pass, my injured back was on the mend, a good weather forecast and some great spring snow on offer, how could I refuse.

Parked the car just before Charlottes Pass turn off and a few metres up the road, I was able to put the skis on. This was fairly short lived, as there was no snow on the track down the the Snowy River.

Crossing the Snowy River is one of those rights of passage for those of us that are itching to get onto the slopes on the Main Range. Luckily, the river level wasn't as high as normal and was able to be negotiated without the feet turning blue.

There was plenty of snow on the other side of the river, so we decided to head up to the Craggs via Hedley Tarn and Blue Lake.

The progress was quite quick due to the sticky nature of the snow/dust mix. Soon we were passing Blue Lake with the surface just starting to break up. About an hour and half later, we were at the top of the Craggs.

The snow cover on the Craggs was excellent and there were ski runs on every face. I'd never been right to the end of the ridge before, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

From the end of the Craggs (before it drops steeply to the Geehi River), you get great views into Lady Northcote Canyon and I could even see the faint outline of Lady Northcote Falls.

Coming back, most of the parties all seemed to be converging on Carruthers Peak for the long ski back down the ridge to the river. The snow was perfect and everyone was making some great tracks all the way back to the river.

Judging by most people at the end of the day, it looked like they all had a great time.