Walhalla - Mt St Gwinear (AAWT) in sept?

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Walhalla - Mt St Gwinear (AAWT) in sept?

Postby drakkar » Tue 30 Jun, 2020 3:01 pm

Starting to work towards ticking off a couple of more adventures. Introducing myself to overnight/all day snow on foot. and starting project of the AAWT as (mostly) long weekenders.

My current window around kids, family and work is early September.

Current plan. It's big days, which I'm comfortable with in spring and autumn. Is it too ambitious for this time of year?

Day1 Early start from Walhalla - camp at mushroom rocks. ~22km and 1200m climbing
Day2 Mushroom rocks to WhitelawHut ~18kmkm and 650m climbing ---- Backout plan if snow/weather is bad is turn back by Mt Erica.
Day 3 WhitelawHut - Stronachs 11km and 161m climbing and 500m descending.

Can anyone confirm the road condition at this time of year? It doesn't appear to be shut on parks website.
Has anyone experience with snow depths at this time of year? And will snow shoes be ok?

I have camped out a 4wd with my hiking kit in snow multiple times and smaller day trips on foot, I'm reasonably confident. Just making sure I haven't missed too much as I'm starting to second guess myself.

Bit of an Edit: I've now got a couple of others coming with me. So have shortened it up considerably.
Walhalla - Osheas
Osheas - Talbot Ruins
Talbot Ruins - Mt St Gwinear.
Last edited by drakkar on Fri 03 Jul, 2020 8:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Walhalla - Stronachs (AAWT) in sept?

Postby Rlgm12 » Tue 30 Jun, 2020 3:32 pm

I have had trouble driving up to Mt Erica Car Park around this time. Though it was after a 15mm storm which yielded a lot of snow.

Just watch the weather conditions leading up.


Currently the walk from Walhalla up to Mushroom has been altered. The bridge over the Thompson (?) has been closed for repair.

This forces you down into the valley. Therein increasing your total climb
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Re: Walhalla - Stronachs (AAWT) in sept?

Postby keithy » Thu 02 Jul, 2020 11:14 pm

I've also experienced quite a bit of snow on Mt Erica Road in the last weeks of August and first weeks of September there.

The lowest I saw the snow there recently was the third week of August in 2017. The snow started around 800m elevation, just around the point where the AAWT meets Mt Erica Road. I hadn't seen it down that low before. Previous trips in late August and early September there was only snow at about 1100m-1200m, maybe a kilometre or so before the car park.

This is what it was like then. The xtrail didn't have its winter tyres on. But that's rare event for me anyway. I'm planning to head up that way around end of August.
IMG-20170822-WA0000-01.jpeg

IMG-20170822-WA0002.jpg
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Re: Walhalla - Stronachs (AAWT) in sept?

Postby drakkar » Fri 03 Jul, 2020 8:35 am

Rlgm12 wrote:The bridge over the Thompson (?) has been closed for repair.


Thanks, good info seems it's still underway. Can do a short detour to Rawson-walhalla road.

keithy wrote:I'm planning to head up that way around end of August.


kind of what I was expecting which is nice, If you somehow manage to remember an update here would be appreciated.
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Re: Walhalla - Mt St Gwinear (AAWT) in sept?

Postby paidal_chalne_vala » Sun 16 Aug, 2020 7:37 pm

The Baw Baw N.P. is at present closed AFAIK due to the plague restrictions. Last year in Sept. we had some of the best XC ski touring I have ever had up that way. I took my ski off on the descent from the Mt. St. Phillack summit area and sank up to my waist on one leg :-0.
The ski went back on and side stepped down that narrow track grabbing onto trees to slow myself down.
This year we have had a stinker of XC ski season so if you get up there somehow you won't have to be sinking into snow that deep.
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Re: Walhalla - Mt St Gwinear (AAWT) in sept?

Postby Heremeahappy1 » Sat 22 Aug, 2020 1:42 pm

The biggest issue on Mt Erica road in winter is after a big dump of snow = acacias down over the road every 5m many quite large. It's painful to stop, get the saw out, cut, move, drive a few metres repeat ad nauseum. Second biggest issue is ill prepared drivers sliding into the embankments, getting bogged and generally inconsiderately ruining other people's days.
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Re: Walhalla - Mt St Gwinear (AAWT) in sept?

Postby drakkar » Mon 12 Apr, 2021 6:09 pm

OK, revisiting this now life is a little more livable and hopefully the worst of covid has passed.

Walhalla - Osheas 13km + 360m up - 4 hrs
Osheas - Talbot Ruins 11.7km and 1120m up - 4.5
Talbot Ruins - Mt St Gwinear 7.3km + 300m up?

This also lets me do a baw baw drop off for 'stage 2' of the walk.

Is the bridge over the thompson river open yet?
And I know we are quickly approaching snow season. I've got 2 capable 4x4's and drivers coming along. Will we need to carry snow shoes? or am I ok in saying most should only be a couple of centimetres and be gone in a day or so? (and mud and slush will be a bigger issue)
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Re: Walhalla - Mt St Gwinear (AAWT) in sept?

Postby paidal_chalne_vala » Mon 12 Apr, 2021 6:36 pm

In September I have XC skied some of the best cover I have seen at The Baw Baw N.P. It varies from year to year.
I mean in 2019 it was still waist deep at Mt. St. Phillack!!. I clicked out of my ski and sank down to my waist . That meant I was sticking with side stepping and gripping onto trees to descend to the Rock Shelter in such deep snow on such a very narrow track.
If you were to encounter such a deep spring snow pack then snow camping gear with snow pegs , snow shovel etc. etc. would not be optional and either snow shoes or BC XC skis would also be not optional either.

AFAIK the bridge at Poverty Point is still shut.
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