Bushwalk Australia

Has anyone been to the Gingerbread Hut in recent times?
It was part of the Mt Rufus Ski Club! Who knew there was such a thing...
I can find a nice old photo of it but I was wondering if it was suitable to overnight in?
Anyone know?

lyndoor

Google gingerbread hut, sounds o.k. Has pics and info.
ff

Did that already, Flyfisher! What would we do without Google?! Only thing was that it doesn't say if it is for public use & is locked/unlocked.
Does anyone know?

Have not heard in years, and could be wrong. But I think it's open to the public??

Yes, its open to the public. The Launceston Walking Club added insulation to the roof, repaired windows, and repainted the hut in 1998, and some photos are here on the Koscuiszko Huts website - http://www.kosciuszkohuts.org.au/Hut%20 ... bread.html If anyone is visiting this hut and can report on its condition, please let us know.

If anyone is visiting this hut and can report on its condition, please let us know.

Up that way yesterday, Tas-man, but we were running short of time to go down to it. We headed up about 11am & didn't get in until nearly 6pm taking lots of pictures along the way. We stayed overnight in "Drumlins" which is the backpaker accommodation at Cynthia Bay. Thoroughly recommend it for a base. Great facilities.

We are planning an overnight camp later in the summer & hope to get down to the Hut then.

Great pics! Like the Mt Gell and hut ones.

A bit off topic - but I went to Rufus about 24 years ago - and I don't remember a cairn like that !! Does anyone know how long it has been there?

That cairn is older than you are, eggs. Either your eyesight was, or your memory is, a little unreliable.

What I don't remember from either of my visits is that sort of a view. Especially the one of Frenchman's.

This one is taken from Rufus on the other side, closer to Hugel. It is Frenchman's looking past Mt. Gell.

Gingerbread was uninhabitable in the early 2000s. Would have had to have a lot of work since then to make good.

north-north-west wrote:What I don't remember from either of my visits is that sort of a view. Especially the one of Frenchman's.

There are two huts on my map. The Gingerbread hut is close to the top of Rufus and the Joe Slater hut is much further down the Gingerbread track.

I haven't been to Gingerbread, but I have to agree with you. The first photo from Lyndoor looks to have Frenchman's very close. Frenchman's looks too big and in too much detail for a photo from Rufus.

I was up there a couple of years ago and it was completely uninhabitable - almost falling down.
Looked like it had been hit by some extremely strong winds.
There were some nice campsites just below it though.

WalkinTas
That view of Frenchman's is just the effect of a big zoom at work.
The hut will be on the side of Rufus - I have not dug up my 30 yr old slides - but that view is how I remember it - just zoomed in a lot.

That's right, Eggs, but I don't know about "big".
It was cropped after taking the shot from a little Lumix DMC-ZR1. It has an 8x optical zoom.

Check out the photo in Board index ‹ Local Track ‹ Tasmania entitled "Thankyou". Much clearer pic! Spooky!

frenchmans looks so close purely from a telephoto lense. 2nd snap is from summit of Rufus.

hi daz and i were up at joe salter hut last winter for a couple of days at the time we had intended to go to gingerbread hut however parks said it was uninhabitable apparently wall had blown away in severe storms. we did not get to see the hut to confirm what parks had said. joe slater hut is in reasonable to good condition and can be used as a base for mt rufus etc in the winter time. It would be great to renovate gingerbread hut if possible as from the photos i've seen it looks really cute, and from a survival point of view it would be very useful. i think both huts are now managed by a ski club???? keep us in the loop if any renovation projects get started would love to help.

Here's a photo taken last Saturday on a Launceston Walking Club ski trip to Mt Rufus that shows the Gingerbread Hut in the recent snow.

Wow, Tas-man, what a great shot.
Makes it all look very appealing but I bet that skier had a long slog up to get that run, huh?

lyndoor

I hiked up there yesterday for a ski, nowhere near as much snow up there - no surprises really but still able to get a few turns in..

The gingerbread hut is in pretty good condition. Door was a bit stuck.
Sign inside said $2 per night payable to Wellington Ski Club. GPO Box something.

Just out of curiosity is this track well defined (snow poled)? Is it any shorter than the regular route?

Anybody been to the hut recently? Is it inhabitable?

Can anyone advise on the state of the track from the Canal Road up Mt Rufus? Also, is camping reasonable at the Gingerbread Hut and is there a water source nearby? Thinking of doing it as an overnight trip with one of my kids who recently made it to Hugel.

I did the walk as a day trip with my boys (8 and 10 yr old) a few weeks ago. The track up to the Gingerbread hut is very good and easy to follow. There seemed to be several leads from Gingerbread Hut up to Rufus which are all fairly steep, scrubby and rocky. The best track is probably towards the left of Gingerbread Hut and then straight up.

You probably could use the hut itself for camping or pitch a tent on the plateau just before the hut (fairly exposed though). I didn't see any sources of water when we were there and even the plateau was very dry (could be different after some rainy days). I assume there is probably some more permanent water towards the east but can't confirm. Further up towards Rufus there is a small pond as you can see on the photo below (right in the horizontal middle towards the left) which is taken from the top of Rufus looking south and you can just make out the faint pad towards the Gingerbread Hut which is below the ridge line...

Any chance of updates on the condition of Gingerbread and Joe Slaters Huts?

wander wrote:Any chance of updates on the condition of Gingerbread and Joe Slaters Huts?

Gingerbread hut has had a bit of work put into it recently, such as insulation lining and repair of some windows etc. Looked quite habitable about a month ago. Also the door is slightly better then before but still not perfect! There is reliable water at the creek just below that runs through the pandani.

Slater's hut is also looking fine, lots of bunks in there but I'm not sure where the closest water is. Last time we skimmed past there didn't seem to be a tank or any streams but logic tells me something would surely be close by.

Both are fine for spending the night in, easily better then pitching a tent in the 100 km/h+ winds that can whip across Rufus!

Hi All
Any updates in the last couple of years on the condition of Gingerbread Hut?

Ta

I went to Gingerbread Hut in Feb 17.
The hut is a basic snug room with side benches and a small table.
There is a ladder with thin vertical wooden slats as rungs - a bit harsh on bare feet.
It leads to an attic for sleeping with insulation materials in various states of disrepair hanging down and some evidence of animal droppings near the window.
The main problem was the door which needed some repair. It had to be opened and closed carefully to minimise any chance of damaging it more. The bottom parts scraped and were coming apart.
We appreciated its shelter after a late wet walk in and light snow during that evening and next morning.
Being intended as a housing for a ski lift, it is situated on a rocky outcrop on some steep slopes. Getting to it can be a little tricky.

waif wrote:Slater's hut is also looking fine, lots of bunks in there but I'm not sure where the closest water is. Last time we skimmed past there didn't seem to be a tank or any streams but logic tells me something would surely be close by.

There is, from memory, a wheelie bin out the back of Slatters set up as an improvised tank with a feed from the gutters to collect water. I've posted a photo somewhere a while back, probably in the game.

Cheers, thanks