by paidal_chalne_vala » Mon 09 Aug, 2021 7:59 pm
You will need a high clearance AWD with All terrain tyres or a proper 4 WD with wheel chains , a snow shovel and a chain saw. You need to be proficient with the chainsaw and have spare bar oil and 2 stroke fuel as well as wedges, a crow bar and a tomahawk for driving the wedge into the larger logs.
. You need to be skilled at unsealed off road driving on a sloping clay roads( sloping across the fall line ) , snow, mud, creek crossings and on ice. If it snows properly then your car could become stuck for quite some time esp. if you park down at the camping area just off and down to the side of the winter seasonal gate.
Once you start up that track then you will have to commit to it because there are very few places to turnaround until you reach the winter gate turning circle.
You could park at the bottom and just hike up the entire Stoney tops track.
Sometimes the creek crossing at the bottom can become a bit too tricky after rain. You will have to get out and walk it to find the right line for your car.
There is an exposed snow camping camp site at the end of the closed section of the 4 WD track before the foot track to Mt. FT starts in earnest.
My friend went up that far as a day trip last year in winter .
One of her friends was driving a Suzuki Vitara or something like that. There could be enough snow to XC ski from the winter gate to the old Helipad. Pick a clear day. The views on a clear day are magnificent. Do not do this is in bad weather. The summit section as you come out of the tree
line will require winter mountaineering gear including an ice axe, snow shoes/ crampons &/or Kahtoola 12 point micro spikes etc.