Pindar's Peak (not)

[naturelover]

I have had one of the best weekends that it is possible for me to imagine. Oh, did you climb a great mountain? No, we tried and failed – our goal had been Pindar’s Peak with La Perouse and The Hippo thrown in, but we did none of these. Did you have beautiful sunshine? No, we were caught in a blizzard with furious winds and driving hail / snow. Did you do lots of exciting things? No, for much of the middle day we were hiding in our tents listening to the rage of the weather outside. Was it nice, easy going, a relaxing walk? No, we climbed a great height and trudged a very long distance and fought strong headwinds and slopped through several kilometres of squelching mud bogs with packs that were heavy with multiple changes of clothing in case of cold, and three days worth of food and fuel inside. Our gear got a bit wet and our hands were sometimes aching and numb with the cold. Sleep was tricky with thunder booming overhead and the wind semi-lifting the tent off the ground in some of the major gusts. The ice missiles could sting quite a bit when they landed a bull’s eye, too. I skipped a meal or two as my stove wouldn’t work with such wind raging around. No, it wasn’t a weekend on which one felt pampered. (My hands were also cut, bleeding and a little infected as I had neglected to wear scrub gloves on the first day, and had also failed to bring Betadine with me). So what on earth made it so great?
Well, to find out and see the pictures, google natureloverswalks.blogspot.com

[naturelover]

Forgot to post one photo as a kind of taster ....

[weetbix456]

good one NL. no good story ever come about from too much creature comfort!! southern ranges look epic under snow. tops

[tibboh]

Great report and beautiful photos. It's funny how a few mind blowing moments in the wilderness can erase the pain of a long weekend of discomfort.

[alex75]

That view of La Perouse and Cockscomb always reminds me of a dragon. I imagine the head and neck with a row of spines!

[Swifty]

Fantastic photos, thanks for posting. I looked at some other posts on your blog - you do get around, I'm jealous!
My attempt at the Southern Ranges in 2007 ended with a snowy and blustery night below Hill 1!

[tigercat]

Great photos, lovely to see it in snow.

[Graham51]

You wouldn't be the first to be beaten by similar conditions down there. Good to see you got out of the tent to get some great photos. I have to admit I barely left my tent when I had conditions like that a few years ago - on Australia Day! As you say, it would be easy to focus on the negatives but isn't it a good feeling to know you can and have done it?

[stepbystep]

Very nice! I like the blog too.

[creeping_moses]

Nice trip. Southern Ranges in those conditions is tough. I had a similar experience: viewtopic.php?f=42&t=7302