Mt Murchison

[PeterJ]

Mt.Murchison - Walk Notes
Maps Selena Tullah Last updated Sunday, 13 January 2008
Commences from a few metres south of a track sign on Anthony Rd. near pole D15 and follows up the ridge
through forest, including tall tea trees and then emerges into the open with head high bushes gradually diminishing in size to waist level before turning north westerly and ascends cross slope. It involves several scrambles up rocks. Eventually steepness lessens before a clamber over a small rocky crest to reveal the central bowl of Mt Murchison and the final short climb on the sloping rock face to the summit.
The track is in good condition and takes 2:15 to 2:00 hours up and about 2 hours on return


Lake Sandra
A side trip to Lake Sandra start from pole D55 on Anthony Road. It can also be done as circuit in conjunction with Mt Murchison, but needs a car at both ends and a long road walk is involved.
This track when last walked was well cut through forest and scrub at start, but was not well defined over upper sections.


For photos of the Mt Murchison walk http://picasaweb.google.com/PeterJFrank ... geTasmania

[TassieMargie]

Thanks Peter for the info. For a beginner type walker would you recommend this walk? and are there any special things we need to know before doing the walk?

Love the pix. While looking at the images I noticed a few tarns. Can people walk to them as well?

[tastrekker]

For a beginner type walker would you recommend this walk? and are there any special things we need to know before doing the walk?

The track up Mt Murchison would be ok for a beginner as long as they are fully aware of some safety issues. It is well marked but after a change in the weather that brought reduced temperature or visibility, it could be quite hazardous.

As for all walks in western Tas, the weather can change very quickly without much warning so the layering principle is essential. One minute you can be quite hot and sweaty from the climb and the next minute you can feel as if the cold wind is going to freeze the sweat to your brow. You need to be able to adjust your clothing layers accordingly.

Another 'feature' of this walk is that it climbs from the east. This can be a blessing and a curse. It means it is largely sheltered from the prevailing weather. However, it also means you get very little warning of dodgy weather approaching from the western horizon.

Finally, as climbs go, it is fairly relentless. The altitude gain is nearly 700 metres over only 2.5km of horizontal distance. That's a fair slog!

[TassieMargie]

Thanks for the info tastrekker.

[PeterJ]

"TassieMargie" Thanks Peter for the info. For a beginner type walker would you recommend this walk? and are there any special things we need to know before doing the walk?
Love the pix. While looking at the images I noticed a few tarns. Can people walk to them as well?

Sorry to have been slow to reply. The comment from Tastrecker is accurate. It is always hard to answer questions of this nature without knowing how fit a person is and also how well they cope with a bit of roughish and steep country. So for a fit person I would recommend the walk, but be aware it takes a bit of effort to get there and you would also best avoid other than fine weather.

It would be quite possible to walk down to the lakes, but I haven't done so myself. I didn't see any evidence of a pad down.

[TassieMargie]

No problem Peter Thanks for your input.

[corvus]

Got to love this site ask a question and you can almost be sure of a good compehensive answer and this is a plus with really good pics, many thanks may get to do it this Summer

[Haydynb]

Hi all. Thinking bout doing this walk but bits and pieces i have read lead me to believe there are so bits that a height fobic person might struggle with...is that correct? For reference i found the walk up solomons throne challenging with that exposure on the left as you climb...but did make it up...

Thoughts and info appreciated
Thx

[Rai]

From memory Mt Murchison is a bit more áiry' than Solomon's Throne, especially near the hanging tarn and the final ascent towards the summit trig. I have attached a few photos that might give some indication. Nevertheless, as others have pointed out, it is among the best day walks in Tassie when the weather is good.

[Haydynb]

Thsnks Rai. That first pic...where do you walk to and from?

[Rai]

I have attached a new pic which probably shows the track better as it passes over the tarn just before the spot where the first picture was taken. The picture is taken looking back and downhill. The track then emerges on the lower middle shelf that you can see in the first picture and steps on to the the higher ledge on the right hand side. It then curves slightly (outside the picture) back to a ledge from where the first picture was taken. The first picture is also taken looking back and downhill. Hope this makes sense

[PeterJ]

Hi all. Thinking bout doing this walk but bits and pieces i have read lead me to believe there are so bits that a height fobic person might struggle with...is that correct? For reference i found the walk up solomons throne challenging with that exposure on the left as you climb...but did make it up...

It is not too bad really. The last bit where the trig is situated is on a slope but is not hard to negotiate and there is no feeling of a drop near you. In any case it is only a short distance so you don't have to go up those few metres to appreciate the place.

[Haydynb]

Thx. I think i could manage but certainly couldnt go out on the triangle rock...

[north-north-west]

You don't go onto that triangle rock. The worst exposure is when you cross the ridge and that's not bad. The circuit is also worth doing if you have the time.

[eggs]

The climb up Murchison follows a bench on a medium slope that leads to a crux point where the route climbs over the ridge to the other [western] side.
This picture is of the guys who have crossed back over and are starting to follow the bench back down - to the right of their heads is where you would climb down, so you can avoid the very edge where one of them is standing.

Crux point - I believe the route is the roll of the ridgeline at head height to the guys.

The final slope to the top trig is shown in this shot.
There are a few long cracks and edges that work their way up and assist the climbing.

Summit slope

[Haydynb]

Wow! Great shots that show well the exposure! Thx