Peak Bagging Victoria

[Explorer_Sam]

G'day,

For a while now I've been thinking about making a peak bagging list of Victoria similar to those of Tasmania with a point-scoring system. For example higher points may be awarded for peaks depending on difficulty, remoteness, accessibility etc.
Would anyone be interested in putting one together with different sections for different parts of Vic? Like Central Highlands, East Gippsland etc. for example.

Sam.

[walkinTas]

I think its a great idea. I won't be any help because I don't know anything about the peaks and walks in Victoria. Is there lists of the taller, or more desirable, peaks somewhere? If you'd like to eventually put your lists on the wiki like the Tasmania List, then that bit I can help with

[Explorer_Sam]

I think its a great idea. I won't be any help because I don't know anything about the peaks and walks in Victoria. Is there lists of the taller, or more desirable, peaks somewhere? If you'd like to eventually put your lists on the wiki like the Tasmania List, then that bit I can help with

What do you mean by lists of the taller or more desirable peaks? I'm hoping that a fellow Victorian that knows more about other parts of Victoria can help me. I could put together a list with scores about the Central Highlands and the Grampians, but I wouldn't be much good when it comes to Victoria's Alpine areas. I've noticed that there's not much information about Victorian places on the wiki, but if all goes well and we end up with a peak-bagging checklist to Victoria, you can definitely help me put it on the wiki

Sam.

[Explorer_Sam]

I have decided that I want to put the list together in a similar fashion to that of the Tasmania List, so the information required is NAME, ALTITUDE, RANGE/AREA, MAP, POINTS (Which we of course we will decide), LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE.

[walkinTas]

What do you mean by lists of the taller or more desirable peaks?

I simply meant do you have a list (and need help assigning points) or are you asking for help to develop a list of peak first. ....but you've answered that question anyway. As for info on the wiki, that's up to members. Whatever you wish to contribute can be added to the wiki. I'm happy to help with the adding to the wiki bit.

[Explorer_Sam]

Oh, I understand now. I need help developing a list of peaks first, and then I might need suggestions from people who have climbed these peaks as to how many points they should be worth. Alright, once it's finished I'll PM you and you can add it to the wiki for me. Might be a while yet though

[Kinsayder]

If assigning a points system, you might need to consider the difficult of different routes; the Razorback to Feathertop is not the same as the North West Spur. They differ according to season too! Not an easy task but a great idea! Good luck!!!

[Explorer_Sam]

Hi Kinsayder,

I'll make sure I take these things into account when assigning points to peaks.
You seem to know the Alpine area pretty well, do you think you could help with that part of Victoria?

Sam.

[Explorer_Sam]

I need someone to come up with a criteria of sorts to determine how many points a peak is worth.

[walkinTas]

There is a bit of discussion over here too.

[Explorer_Sam]

Ah, yes I have seen that thread before, I think it's fantastic. I have voted

[paidal_chalne_vala]

Mt Bogong is my next Victorian summit. It will be scaled by me in Nov. 2012.

[Kinsayder]

Hi Kinsayder,

I'll make sure I take these things into account when assigning points to peaks.
You seem to know the Alpine area pretty well, do you think you could help with that part of Victoria?

Sam.

I'd love to help, Sam. Truthfully though my knowledge is very Feathertop/Bogong orientated and would be humbled by the encyclopaedic minds of some on this board here. Still I'm happy to provide information on the spurs and summits that I do know. Let me know when you create some guidelines for your point system and I'll see what I can come up with!

[Explorer_Sam]

Hi Kinsayder,

I'll make sure I take these things into account when assigning points to peaks.
You seem to know the Alpine area pretty well, do you think you could help with that part of Victoria?

Sam.

I'd love to help, Sam. Truthfully though my knowledge is very Feathertop/Bogong orientated and would be humbled by the encyclopaedic minds of some on this board here. Still I'm happy to provide information on the spurs and summits that I do know. Let me know when you create some guidelines for your point system and I'll see what I can come up with!

Okay Kinsayder, sounds fantastic! Once I come up with a points system, I'll let you know. That would be really helpful

[north-north-west]

I can probably help a bit, although I'm better at answering specific questions than sitting down and making lists. Most of my walking is in the Alps, and I kind of like to vary routes as much as possible.
But there are a lot of lumpy bits up there.

[Explorer_Sam]

I can probably help a bit, although I'm better at answering specific questions than sitting down and making lists. Most of my walking is in the Alps, and I kind of like to vary routes as much as possible.
But there are a lot of lumpy bits up there.

That would be fantastic. I will need as much help as I can get to assign points to peaks.

[Explorer_Sam]

Okay, I have a criteria:

Points are assigned from 0 to 10 with 0 being a stroll up a hill and 10 being a hard, gruelling multi-day walk up one of the states most challenging peaks.

Notability (famous)
Accessibility/Remoteness- Is the peak easily accessed by road or is there a walk just to get to the peak?
Height/Altitude/Elevation
Time and Distance- How many hours/days does it take to climb the peak?
Terrain

For Kinsayder, north-north-west and anyone else that knows or have climbed these peaks, here is a list of peaks in the Alpine area we can start trying to assign points to:

Mount Bogong
Mount Feathertop
Mount Howitt
Mount Buller
Mount Baw Baw
Mount Buffalo
Mount Buggery
Mount Donna Buang
Mount Hotham
Lake Mountain
Mount McKay
Mount Gibbo
Mount Dom Dom
Mount St Gwinear
Mount Selma
Mount Stirling
Mount Terrible
Mount Torbreck
Mount Useful
Mount Speculation

Thanks, Sam.

[walkinTas]

The first and longest job is to sit down and make the lists. It will take a few months and you'll need to be committed.

In Tasmania we could use places like theLIST and tasmaps to identify the peaks and to confirm heights when drawing up the List of High-Places and not-so-high places. MJD did most of the heavy lifting on those lists with a bit of help from a few of us. In Victoria to get started I would visit http://services.land.vic.gov.au/vicnames/place.html and then go to the maps (if possible) or try other lists and seek help finishing. You just need two or three keen people to do the research and others can look it over and help finish. We used a spreadsheet and email to get the initial lists sorted.

The second part then is to get a ranking system happening. That's where you need people who are a bit familiar with the peaks how to access them.

Good luck with it!

[Explorer_Sam]

Thanks for the advice, what I can use to help make a list of high places is this website, "Highest Mountains and Hills in Victoria," it lists the top 50.

http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=f&sc=h&st=2 ... 724&cmd=sp

[Snowzone]

Hey Sam,

Good on you for getting things started. I'll help out if I can.

I was thinking about the peaks I have done in Victoria and was trying to decide what cannot be done as a day walk. Granted some of those daywalks such as Bogong would be a long day and IMHO are always more enjoyable as multi day walks but can still be done in a day.

So what peaks in Victoria cannot be done as a daywalk?

[Earwig]

Razor and Viking?

[Explorer_Sam]

That's a very good point. Of course Bogong and lots of other peaks could be done as a long day, but I only considered how most people do it. I can't think of any that can't be done as a daywalk.

[Kinsayder]

I'm not sure how you ascribe the points. I mean if K2 or some such was a 10 or even a 9 then all of these would be in the 1 to 3 range I suspect. But putting them more in a relative sense with 10 within reach (as opposed to completely unattainable) and as a starting time of Spring or Autumn with no unspeakable storms or hazards,then I'd start with (and I'm open to correction);

Mount Bogong: Staircase Spur 7; Eskdale Spur 7
Mount Feathertop; Bungalow Spur 7; North West Spur 8; Razorback 4
Mount Howitt
Mount Buller
Mount Baw Baw
Mount Buffalo: I wasn't sure there was a way up aside from the road.
Mount Buggery
Mount Donna Buang: 7 (extra point for losing count of leeches on my legs at around 30)
Mount Hotham
Lake Mountain
Mount McKay
Mount Gibbo
Mount Dom Dom
Mount St Gwinear
Mount Selma
Mount Stirling: 4
Mount Terrible
Mount Torbreck
Mount Useful
Mount Speculation

If can add to the list;
Mt Difficult: 6 (extra point because scrambling downhill is harder over those rocks)
The Bluff: 7; via Bluff Link Road 4

I seem to recall doing a couple more of these but cannot recall if they were hard or not. I hope this is a help, maybe if, as a collaborative effort, others could add a couple here or there then you'd start to cobble a list together.

[Explorer_Sam]

That is exactly what I am looking for! That's a huge help and a fantastic start! Thanks Kinsayder.
I need people that have climbed these mountains and have a clear memory of the climb, to add points. The reason I'm asking people to do points for mountains in the Alpine region is because I haven't done much walking there if any. I have small lists of peaks in the Central Highlands and Grampians etc. which I will put up soon to assign points to.
Before I do that I will add points to those I can from my own experiences on mountains such as Langi Ghiran, Ben Nevis, Mount Beckworth, Mount Zero and a few others.

Let's be honest, if we were comparing mountains to K2, it would make Tasmania's Federation Peak look like a 1 or a 2. As Federation Peak is said to be the "hardest climb in Australia", I think that we should compare all of our peaks to it. To answer your question about the season and the weather, lets say it's perfect weather and there are no other troubles but accessing the mountain and the climb itself.

I have added the points to Bogong, Donna Buang, Stirling, Difficult and the Bluff. I haven't yet added Mount Feathertop as I don't know whether to rate it from Bungalo Spur, North West Spur or Razorback. I am thinking Razorback as it's by far the most popular route up the mountain. I'll leave it up to you to decide on that one Kinsayder because you suggested the points for each route. I know, I know, my point system is a bit dodgy, hey?

Thanks for getting this off to a great start!

[north-north-west]

If you compare those peaks (actually, just about any Victorian peaks) to the Tasmanian ones, you couldn't justify those sort of points. There are very few mountains in the Australian Alps that require anything more than a bit of walking. Sure, some of the walking is steeper and/or longer, but there's seldom even any proper scrambling. Even Cradle and Barn Bluff are harder work than anything I've seen in the Australian Alps, in terms of climbing. Ditto the Grampians.
You can make some of them harder, but that's about having fun, not a necessity to reach the summit.

Stapylton needs a bit of a head for mild exposure, and a short scramble. There are short awkward scrambles to the summits of Cobberas One and Cleft, with Cobberas Two a bit easier. One or two bits of the climb onto the Major Mitchell from Jimmy's Creek/Mafeking require handholds, but that's about it. Gar is a doddle, you don't need your hands on any of it.

I've been thinking about this ever since I saw the full Tasmanian Peak Bagging list and, in comparison to the Tassie peaks I know, I'd be hard put to give any of the mainland summits I've done more than 2 points. Maybe 3 for getting up onto Dicky Cooper's summit rock with a full pack . . .
Of course, there is much more demanding stuff in the Blue Mountains/Wollemi/Kanangra country, and in the Budawangs and Border Ranges etc . . .

[Snowzone]

I would think not comparing to other places would be easier and just developing a stand alone list for Victoria. What would be Victoria's hardest peak to get to the top of?
Bogong is a tough day out but then again so is the Crinoline and I'm yet to make the top of the Fortress.

[Explorer_Sam]

Rightio then, we shall compare all walks to the states highest, Mount Bogong, which we will say is a 7, so a peak harder may be an 8 or a 9 and most in Victoria would be around the 3 or 4 mark. To north-north-west, now that the points system is clearer, are there any peaks on that list above that you could assign points to? That would be a big help.

[Snowzone]

Razor and Viking?

Yes I wondered that but wasn't sure if they could be accessed via Speculation Track as an out and back day walk?

[Explorer_Sam]

Some more peaks I can add from all over Victoria for people to assign points to:
Nothing in the Alpine area this time.

Mount Cole
Mount Buangor
Mount William
Mount Stapylton
Mount Arapiles (walking)
Mount Macedon
Mount Buninyong
Hanging Rock
Mount Alexander
Mount Dandenong

[north-north-west]

Razor and Viking?

Yes I wondered that but wasn't sure if they could be accessed via Speculation Track as an out and back day walk?

I know of people who have done it, but it's a long day.

Rightio then, we shall compare all walks to the states highest, Mount Bogong, which we will say is a 7, so a peak harder may be an 8 or a 9 and most in Victoria would be around the 3 or 4 mark. To north-north-west, now that the points system is clearer, are there any peaks on that list the list above that you could assign points to? That would be a big help.

I wouldn't even give Bogong 7. It's just an uphill walk, and can be done there and back in a day. Howit via Howitt Spur is harder, although it's easier (if a bit longer) via Magdala - unless you start from the river and go up Helicopter.
See, that's another part of the problem - which route? Do we assign points on the basis of the easiest route, or a different set for each major route? Buggery via the Crosscut is a different matter to Buggery from the Howqua River via Queens Spur, or from Speculation. Speculation from the Speculation Road is 1 point. From the Howitt carpark via the Crosscut and Buggery it'd be 3, maybe 4, because there are a couple of nice little scrambly bits, although the track over the Crosscut has been upgraded and some of the trickier rocky bits avoided (party poopers!)

I'm not trying to be difficult, but this is a more complicated matter than it appears at first thought.