Yesterday I alluded to a change of plans and that was to come to fruition. The weather forecast was for a fairly severe sort of day. Strengthening wind and that old Alps classic- snow down to 1500 metres! The walk as described goes over the 1700-odd metre peak called Mt McDonald. Having asked several walkers about the route over this peak, it did not sound like one I'd want to undertake in a whiteout, let alone howling winds or settled snow. The decision was an e...

So having spent one of the last couple of days as a rest day, today was the big day that had to happen to catch up. A very solid undertaking of 18km undulating over the last few of the Great Divide's peaks I would wander over. The track left the more popular Bluffs-Howitt area and immediately it was noticeably less travelled. Strolling through open snowgrass plains and snowgum forested slopes I gradually made my way to the first big climb of the day. Mt Clear is ...

As we awoke on Sunday morning, it became apparent that setting off to undertake the most exposed (and spectacular) ridge on the AAWT was not a good idea. Overnight the weather had deteriorated incredibly. We were greeted with very strong winds and driving rain. It was obvious a day in the tent was on the cards for me. I assisted the crew in packing up and cooking brekky, whilst we planned their hasty retreat. They were packed and gone by 9, a solid effort given t...

Written by Sally Hi blog followers! This blog comes after the irritating news that Martie left his solar charger cord in the food drop vehicle. He has only got 20% phone battery left until Thursday hence asking me to write a message for him. Yesterday we met up with Martie about 250metres shy of Mt Speculation summit. This was a significant place for him. For a start it was the site of our friends Nick & Tana's wedding a couple of years ago. Accessible only...

So before I launch into today's utterings, I have to tell you about the walk down the Viking. As I pre-empted in yesterday's blog it was always going to be harder than the way up (and it was tough!). So, setting off from the summit I quickly came across the 'rocky gully' described in the guidebook. This was incredibly steep and in fact soon reached what looked like a dead end. Both sides of the gully were cliffs, and the gully was choked ahead of me with one mas...