30 August Last Snowshoe Tour for the Season

My apologies for taking so long to get around to posting this!

This was our last tour for the 09 season and couldn't have been with a nice group.

The young couple arrived with their Moms to scope out the area for their wedding in 2 years' time, which will be in Dinner Plain.

We had lots of fun despite the weather and found plenty of good spots for wedding photos in amongst the gnarled Australian snow gums.

We would be happy to take the bridal party out for a complementary snowshoe on the big day!

All the best for your wedding guys!

29 August Calorie Burning in the Rain!!!

Guess who had the most fun at Hotham this morning? We did!

Yes though the weather gods definitely were not smiling this morning, three very keen and lovely ladies and good friends, Ruth, Leanne and Fiona, joined Sean and I on a calorie-burning snowshoe sojourn to Dinner Plain. This fearless group refused to be daunted by wind, rain, thunder and lightning and we boarded our trusty troopy intent to get amongst the snowgums for several kms of fitness snowshoeing.

Down Dinner Plain way it was much more sheltered that up at windy Hotham. And really not that bad, though we had to pull our hoods up over our heads occasionally and sought shelter in a cattlemen's hut for a few minutes, it's surprising how little we noticed the weather once we got going, started gasbagging and hit our stride. We did stop a few times, listening to thunder and commenting on some lightning we had sworn we saw; we did speculate as to whether Hotham would close its lifts due to lightning; but apart from that, undaunted we trudged onward and before you could say quantum physics (well that was Sean), we had covered a lazy 6km.

When we returned to Hotham Central, guests were definitely not happy Jan, several having been left below in the valley when the lifts were put on wind and lightning hold and we did think we heard some grumbling about refunds. Which just goes to show: when the weather turns sour and you want to put a smile on your dial, come snowshoeing!!!

Unfortunately we all left our cameras in our packs today so the only pic I have to share is one I snapped on my return. This shows just what the weather was like at Hotham this morning.

Thank you Ruth, Fiona, Leanne and Sean for being such good sports and having such a good spirit this morning!

July 23 JB Plain to Tabletop

Well we've had a cold and windy week, so this morning after checking out the conditions along the Razorback, we decided the cold north westerly wind was blowing too hard and we headed south through the resort for the peace and sheltered tranquility of the Mt Tabletop walking track. Francis and Kym joined us today (here's Kym and Francis - above).

We enjoyed beautiful conditions heading across the snow plains from JB hut . We made it over half way to Mt Tabletop and had lovely views of this remote peak. The track was at times hard to follow but it always stood out, sort of sinking into the depression of the underlying trail.

Later this afternoon Andy filmed a short segment with the Foxtel program "Older, Wiser, Feeling Younger", being interviewed by the lovely Delmae and filmed by Christian.

Check us out on Foxtel this week! Here's the link: http://www.olderwiserfeelingyounger.com.au/

Snowshoe Log 10 July

Today we welcomed a lovely group of eight for a delightful 2.5 hour tour out of Hotham. It was lovely to welcome back Lisa (and her friend Penny). Lisa was our first client when we commenced last year and loyally stuck with us for a week (thanks Lisa!) I hope you enjoyed yourself today Lisa! Here's Liz






Here's Leonie.

It was also great to welcome back Kathleen and Deb. Kathleen has enjoyed three tours with us this week and Deb two. Deb and Kathleen enjoyed a four hour backcountry tour with us along the Razorback on Thursday, and a here's Deb and Kathleen with the Razorback as a backdrop.

Here's Lisa and her friend Penny , two girls who like to have fun!

From Western Australia here's Ann Marie and her son Jake

Here's the group descending from Eagle Ridge. Later in the season a large cornice will form here.

Penny and Deb descending

At the conclusion of the tour we arrived back at a bitter and blowey Loch car park. We estimated the temperature with wind chill factor at minus fifteen degrees! So we hastened our return to a comparatively warm Hotham Central.

Full pictures from this and (and all our tours) can be seen on my Photo Bucket site here http://s482.photobucket.com/albums/rr184/telesoul/

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Snowshoe Log: July 9

Another excellent day for touring around Hotham: crisp cold air keeping the surface firm, and clear air which lets you see for miles.

Today after a few cancellations from sickness - must be something going around Hotham this week ! we welcomed Kate and Jodie on their first snowshoe tour with us.

Here's Jodie and Kate having fun on Maclachans Shoulder. That's Marys Slide in the background.

Bracing, invigorating, just a couple of words to describe the feeling of snowshoeing in this lovely crisp clean cold air.

Snowshoeing in the mountains: a real mountain high!

Today we did an interesting tour around Hotham. After heading out to Loch, we skirted round past The Orchard
and along Spargos access, then ducked off down to Maclachans Shoulder.

After checking out theviews, we headed around to Spargos and One Tree Hill, where we bumped into a couple of telemark skiers: Mark and Dave, who kindly showed us their 'stuff' by skiing down the breakable crust of One Tree Hill.

Leaving One Tree, we headed off track to the top of the hill, from where we could see Derricks Hut as well as views of the Bogong High Plains.

After a quick breather to recuperate, we commenced the return jounrey, enjoying having the place all to ourselves early in the season.

We returned past Keoghs Bash to the top of The Ridge, and had a look at the 'extreme zone': The Ridge, Marys Slide, The Chute and Gotcha Ridge.

Extreme snowshoeing!





Above, Mary's Slide, the heart of Hotham's extreme terrain

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Hotham Central from Machlachans Shoulder.

Snowshoe Log July 8

Dear fellow snowshoers and mountain lovers, conditions have been superb these past three days. Sorry for the superlatives but the snow, the weather, the scenery, not to say the company have all been top shelf.

On Tuesday Roslyn, her son Peter, Tracey and I headed out to Mount loch. 360 degree views.

Here's Mount Bogong, Victoria's highest peak taken from Mt Loch.

We could see:

Mt Howitt, Crosscut Saw, Mt Buggery, Mt Speculation, Mt Cobbler, Mt Buller, Mt Stirling, Dargo High Plains, Mt Buffalo, The Horn, Cathedral Pinnacle, Mt Feathertop, the Fainters, the Jaithmathangs, Mt JIm, Mt cope, Bogong High Plains and Mt Bogong and the list goes on. Not a breath of wind. These could all be seen from the top of Mount Loch, only a short hike out of Hotham.

Next we rejoined the cat track out towards Spargos and headed off track for something special: Maclachlans Shoulder, a gorgeous little spot inside the resort not many know of. Here's the view across to Mary's slide from Maclachlans Shoulder:




This morning Wednesday we headed out along the Rzorback to a little known gem of a knoll off the beaten track.

Here's Deb and Kathleen traversing



More pics to follow in next post.

Check out all we have to offer here: http:www.soulfreeadventures.com.au

Soulfree Hotham Snowshoeing Touring

Well the Soulfree Blog's been down for a couple of days, so my apologies, but we're up and running again! Thanx Nitecruzer for your help.

Weather has been superb for snowshoe touring at Hotham these past couple of days :

Sun 5th July: we ran an afternoon Introductory Tour out along the Razorback to Bon Accord. This tour had a delayed start but worked out better as we had the most brilliant sunset to enjoy. This should have been a Champagne Sunset tour!

Mon 6th July: We ran a Half Day Tour out past The Orchard to Mount Loch, and then continued around to the eastern face of Machinery Spur. Here we had stunning views of Mt Feathertop, the Bogong High Plains, Mt Mackay, Mt Bogong, the Fainters and Jaithmathangs, Buller. We could see for miles! The top pic is of Kathleen yesterday. In the background is Mount Feathertop. This pic was taken from the eastern face of Machinery Spur yesterday morning. As you can see, it was looking in stunning condition!

Here is a pic of Joanna on Saturday as we haded out along the Razorback to Bon Accord.

The tracks coming down the hill in the background are snowboiarders' tracks.

By this stage the snow pack had developed a layer of crust on top and was not good for skiing. Good to see some melt freezes happening now to consolidate the snowpack and firm up conditions for touring.

We have Half Day Tours scheduled for today Tuesday 7th, Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th July We will try and run a could of Introductory Tours over the coming weekend. If this weather continues, we'll be starting up our Champagne Sunset Tours for sure!

Fresh Snowfalls Blanket Hotham!!

Over half a metre of fresh snow has blanketed Mt Hotham in the past 48 hours!



It's still snowing and should snow for at least another 3 days, so the resort and backcountry have been transformed into a winter wonderland.



This is great news for backcountry aficionados : while this snow will start to cover up most of the heath and rocks, we still need to let it form a base before conditions ripen for snowshoeing. Heading out too soon into fresh snow can be hard work as you sink below your knees in the soft snow. Good for skiing but hard work slugging along the ridgelines and snow plains.



Following this first real season dump, we need to wait for a melt freeze cycle to come into play. This will firm the snow up and give us a solid base.



Once we get another 30cm - 50cm on top of this new base we'll be set and heading out to Feathertop will be on!



We have a Feathertop tour booked for Monday but this is on weather hold. I'd also be suspicious of the snow conditions this soon after a dump - so I'll head out along the Razorback over the weekend and check the conditions for you.

Skiers thinking of checking out the backcountry steeps remember, the snowpack hasn't stabilised yet and avalanche danger is high off the Razorback and eastern aspect of Machinery Spur. I'll dig a pit when I get time to check the pack out more closely.

Enjoy your turns everyone and I'll see you out there!

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You can catch up with all our latest offerings on our website: http://soulfreeadventures.com.au/

Hotham Shuttle Service

We are operating a 4WD Shuttle Service servicing Mount Hotham all through the snow season.

Avoid the hassle of chains, dangerous icy snow covered roads a poor visibility by letting us do the snow driving for you!

Fully accredited and insured, we'll safely transport you to Hotham up Australia's most dangerous alpine road. Our experienced river will ensure you arrive safe and warm!

We are flexible and are not locked into a timetable. Competitive prices charged per head.

Simply book your car into a lock up in Harrietville, and give us a call to organise a collection time.

We also do pick ups from Bright, Wangaratta and Albury.

Call Andy on 0488 477 271 for more info

e. andy@soulfree.com.au