Cursed Ascent

An Alpine Adventure

This year I completed a solo Mount Feathertop Winter Ascent and snow-shoe hike across the Razorback. Hoping to improve my considerable lack of experience in alpine travel and snow camping I did this the best way I know how: jumping in the deep-end!

I planned a four day adventure hike taking in Mount Feathertop Summit and the Razorback with two classic spurs providing ingress and egress: Bungalow Spur and Bon Accord Spur. This meant spending three nights camped above the snow-line and hiking in snow-shoes with a full-complement of winter survival gear.

A daunting prospect for my first multi-day hike, and first snow-camping experience!

Mount Feathertop is Victoria’s second highest peak at 1922m. Although humble by global standards, it is considered Australia’s most technical mountain (this does not say much for Australian Mountaineering!). Unlike other Australian peaks, Mt Feathertop develops a classic snow-cap: steep and pointed with prominent cornices.

The Razorback is an exposed rocky spine joining the Mount Feathertop to Mount Hotham at close to summit height. It’s 11km are largely above the tree-line. The Razorback is severe as it is beautiful.

Preparing for a Mount Feathertop Winter Hike

As I was not taking any climbing equipment on this adventure I decided I would suffer the weight-penalty to cook all fresh-food. While eating only dehydrated meal pouches for 4 days and carrying my excrement in a container up a 300m rock wall, I discovered intimately that “back-country cuisine” makes your sh*t smell like “back-country cuisine”… Needless to say I no longer reach for the dehydrated meal pouches as my first choice of sustenance…

Fresh food is an interesting and bad trade-off: For 4 main meals I increase weight by about 4.2kg, but I will use 1 litre less of water. This is an insignificant change in fuel requirements particular if I am already melting snow for drinking. On the other hand it reduces the total amount of water I need to carry on a day-to-day basis, and the time taken locating springs or melting snow.

My fresh meals are around 1kg each once cooked (probably a bit less due to evaporation) and also provide lunch the next day; whereas the dehydrated meals will be only around 320g providing minimal sustenance and no lunch.

Overall dehydrated is much more efficient if you can stomach it – for me I’ll save this distinct pleasure for when it’s really necessary. Besides the added weight will only benefit my training.

I prepared the following, ready to cook:

• Pizza dough with a pouch of chopped pizza toppings
• Butter chicken in marinade with coconut-rice pouch
• Seasoned taco filling
• Fresh naans, English muffins and tortillas
• Ham, bacon, eggs, cheese and butter.
• Tomatoes and avocado,
• Chai tea and fresh ground coffee

To offset my gourmet feast, I decided to swap my two-man hiking tent for a Bivy bag and ultralight tarp – the same system I used on the Ozymandias approach.

I now had my base-weight down to 15.4kg including about 620ml of liquid fuel. Add to that 5kg of food, 1.7 kg of water, a camera and some other miscellaneous crap and I was looking at a 24kg total.

As comrade Dyatlov would say “Not great, not terrible”…

My main concern was condensation on the inside of the bivy sack reducing the insulation of my down winter sleeping bag. Hopefully with enough ventilation, the only condensation will be on the outside of the bivy sack or under the tarp.

As it turned out, basic overnight warmth would be my biggest problem.

Dangers of Mount Feathertop Winter Ascent

Cornices on Mt Feathertop and the Razorback have contributed to numerous accidents over the decades. Hellfire and Avalanche gullies are so named for a reason!

Tom Kneen, a Melbourne University Mountaineering Club member, died on the Mount in 1985. He and two companions had unwittingly strayed over the cornice in white-out conditions when it gave way beneath them. Being closest to the edge, Tom was lost under the avalanche debris. The others suffered only a fall.

By chance I met one of the three companions in a local outdoors shop the day before my hike. He was by no means the first to tell me of the insidious Mount Feathertop cornice, but hearing the story first-hand became a vivid warning.

The trail from MUMC hut to the base of the summit is named after Tom Kneen.

The interior circumference of the MUMC hut contains the names of members who have perished in Mountains around the world, several on Mount Feathertop.

Day 1 – Bungalow Spur Ascent Hike

Bungalow Spur is a well defined trail leading from Harrietville to Federation Hut and the Mt Feathertop summit. Far less technical than my South-Side approach to Ozymandias, I underestimated the difficulty of a long and sustained climb. It is considered a grade 3 hike and rises 1400 metres over 12.5 kilometres. In winter perhaps half will be under snow.

I wake at 0600 and depart by 0730. Another road trip on the now familiar Great Alpine Road, this time with snow chains ready! I set up altimeter and temperature monitors on my car tablet and observe the elevation gain and concomitant temperature drop with intrigue.

At 1350 metres I see my first glimpses of snow, and I can’t wipe the childish grin from my face. This snow-line observation may help orientation on the hike back up.

I drive cautiously through the Hotham Alpine Resort. 2WD: must fit chains, AWD: chains recommended. I decide to hit it raw and the Subaru did not disappoint. The greatest risk was the swathe of wayward skiers and boarders criss-crossing the village. I descend to Harrietville down the steep twisty road.

I arrive at the Bungalow Spur trail head at 1230 and fill out the intentions book. There is a school group ahead of me staying for a night at Federation Hut.

Initially I move fast on well-graded terrain, but the grade soon steepens. Within a kilometer I encounter my first challenge: heat and moisture management.

I strip down to my wool under-shirt and roll up my pants. I would hike this way well into the snow-line and sunset. Conscious that any moisture on my clothes will freeze overnight I am forced to unnaturally slow my pace. Difficult when you are excited, with burning quads, and you just want to set up camp already!

Thermal management is a fine balancing act – move too fast and the sweat reaches critical-mass… stop moving for more than a minute and the moisture evaporates, creating a highly efficient air-conditioner in the already plunging alpine temperatures.

As I begin to encounter snow again, my pace slows considerably and overheating is now much less of an issue. I find the path well-beaten (by the preceding school group) and do not have to put on my snow-shoes until I reach Federation Hut later in the evening.

A small spring exists a couple of hundred metres south-east of the trail from the Old-Feathertop Hut Site. Even in the snow, I found the spring flowing abundantly (though no crystal brook!), and filled my Nalgene bottle. Don’t be fooled by the marshy weeping section over the track – listen and continue: you can hear the spring a little further along.

Despite warnings I encountered no complications drinking this water untreated and I enjoyed it immensely! I suspect the fresh snow melt in winter adds to the purity.

The clear Nalgene bottle with marked gradations made it easy to ration water, and see any particles. The wide mouth makes it easy to pack in snow when needed and it can also be used as a hot water bottle. It is heavy but durable, so much so it could possibly serve as a desperate dead-man anchor! I think it is worth the weight over a re-used throw-away.

Dead-man anchor: An object, which lies horizontally, is buried in the snow to serve as an anchor for an attached rope.

I don my pack and push on. It is getting dark now as the sun gets low in the west and clouds move in. I know I am close now as the spring is located near Bungalow Hut ruins, about 2km before Federation hut.

Federation Hut Snow Camping

After 5 hours hiking, I reached Federation Hut at 1730. I acknowledged the school-group, hung my t-shirt in the hut to dry and continued halfway to the saddle, where I could be secluded.

As the sun set, it began raining and I set about building my first camp. It hadn’t occurred to me that rain would be possible at this altitude. This is another challenge of Australian alpine winter. I put on my rain-shells and spent two hours making camp as comfortable and protected as possible. I’d be spending two nights here.

I started by digging a coffin-style pit for my bivouac bag. As I progressed, I discovered I could actually cut out snow-bricks. This was like discovering fire, and I quickly began producing snow-bricks for my other structures. The wet/warm snow made it fast and easy to cut surprisingly square blocks. It was like real-life minecraft and I was really having fun!

I walled up around my coffin-pit at the head and windward side, and embedded my tarp all the way around. I continued the excavation with a smaller trench at a perpendicular angle forming an area both to sit and enter into the bivy. Using more bricks, I created an arm-chair, and a sheltered cooking bench on opposite sides of the smaller trench! By fitting a hiking pole here I could lift the tarp over the cooking-area as well.

I upholstered my makeshift arm-chair with a foil sheet and square of EVA foam. After 8-hours on my feet, finally I could sit and relax in style, with feet up! Definitely worth the effort.

By this stage the snow was so wet and soft that I was even post-holing with my snow shoes if I was not careful.

I decided to cook tacos for dinner. While boiling snow for water, I figured out I could use a fry pan as the lid to steam up my tortillas. I then put my gloves on top of that to dry them out some, and added my snow shoes as additional wind shields!

Efficient utilisation of heat would be important with limited fuel. Also I didn’t want to sit idle in the snow any longer than necessary to perform basic camp logistics. I had enough hot water for tea, and to fill my Nalgene bottle which I threw into my sleeping bag to warm it. This would also prevent my water freezing overnight.

The tacos were absolutely comfort food – I had made much more effort with the sauce than usual. I left a few in a pan in the snow for the next days lunch.

As it was clearing up, I set out for a night-walk to the saddle, traversing across the southern slope between the hut and summit. The snow was still too mushy and I was often sliding. Even with snow-shoes, it seemed too sketchy. I decided to try again tomorrow with ice-axe and day-light.

I set a candle into the wall of my shelter, using a pot lid as a reflector, like a snow-sconce, and pulled the tarp low. Probably psychological but it felt warmer and I could write my journal by the considerable light.

The sky was totally clear now. The stars were so bright I could navigate without my lamp even though it was a new moon. The three marker lights of Hotham Village shone out across the vastness of the valley.

Later I wandered down to the hut to claim my T-shirt. There were a couple of students and a teacher savoring the last few hot coals in the fire. Despite the smouldering coals, walking into the hut felt like entering a sauna. I shared some stories with the group, they were good guys. I think a few times the teacher may have used me as an example to the kids of “what not to do”.

Probably fair enough.

I left for my icy coffin-hole before becoming too comfortable in the hut. The candle-light under my tarp flickered through the barren trees to guide me back to shelter.

My bag was toasty warm and the Nalgene hot-water bottle worked remarkably well rejuvenating my frozen toes. The slightly feet-down slope helped the blood return and I recommend this over a flat lay.

Day 2 – Mount Feathertop Winter Ascent

I wake up very early, well before dawn. An Alpine start! Not exactly… I woke up cold. My hips and butt were going numb where they were digging into the snow beneath me. I was cold enough that I couldn’t sleep but not cold enough to get out of my bag (half-naked) and do anything about it.

Instead I languished for a couple of hours in moderate discomfort, contemplating my plight. I pulled the puffer-jacket which was my makeshift pillow onto me but this did not help. Finally I rose. Apparently my sleeping pad had deflated overnight. My body heat was seeping into the frozen ground.

By now my boots were frozen hard and I had to beat them with my fists before they were compliant enough to get a foot in. My gaiters were also frozen and so were my gloves.

I drank from my still warm hot-water bottle and used the last 200ml to start boiling snow – enough to make coffee and defrost my second insulated bottle with enough left over for the day. I threw the insulated bottle into my bag so it would not refreeze – this became a convenient daily cycle to warm my bag and maintain liquid water.

First breakfast in the snow: Egg and Bacon muffins and fresh coffee. Not bad! It was warm and nourishing. I defrosted and heated my gloves on top of the cooking pot.

Thanks to the clear skies, the temperature is much lower, and the wet snow has frozen solid overnight. It is still early and the surfaces are now hard and icy with good friction. I set out in my hiking boots allowing me to move faster and more efficiently in the hard snow.

Traversing the slopes from last night feels much more secure with the axe in my up-hill hand. The snow is also in better condition.

By 1030 I am setting off from the cross. The cross is a saddle formed between Mt Feathertop summit to the East and little Mt Feathertop to the West. The Razorback joins to the South. Once there was a makeshift crucifix marking the location but this is now lost (or removed…).

The saddle is now guarded alone by a much more fitting sentinel: an ancient, gnarly snow-gum.

Mount Feathertop Summit Climb

I finally began the crux of my Mount Feathertop winter ascent. There was no visible trail up to the summit and I broke my own path. This was a treat. Two sections on the summit climb were significantly steeper than the average grade and required me to cut steps with the axe. Kicking steps would have been an option but in any case the axe is a very desirable insurance policy to arrest falls.

Taking advantage of the clear weather, I used the map and compass to relate some landmarks on the Razorback. I could make out the Molly Hill cairn and Big Knob but these were relatively close.

By the time I began my descent it was about 1230 in the afternoon and the sun had moved sufficiently westward to being softening the slope. The snow had melted just enough to ease kicking steps with my heels on the descent. This added considerably to security. I suspect attempting to ascend in the afternoon would be slippery and warrant snow shoes.

There is an antenna tower on Mount Hotham summit that from a distance is like a pin sticking up. This is a prominent landmark visible due South from Mount Feathertop and for most of the Razorback. Later when I trekked the Razorback I used it as a guide. As it gradually grew larger in the distance I knew I was getting closer to Mt Hotham and Bon Accord Hill.

MUMC Hut Visit

After eating my stale left over tacos I decided that I would snow-shoe to the MUMC hut. Reasoning that I could see the hut from the saddle, and was well oriented to the Summit, I did not bring my map or compass.

Again, no trail was visible. Instead of traversing around the North-West face of the summit, I continued due North down the wrong spur and ended up in a valley facing a creek. At least I could refill my water.

Hopeful I might find a way up another spur across the creek and I found a section narrow enough to cross and began to climb up the other side. The terrain only steepened and closed in. It became clear I was off-route and could not re-join the main spur.

Wishing I had brought the map I retraced my steps to the creek (lesson learned!). I certainly did not want to retrace my steps up the steep, slippery spur all the way to my origin! Thanks to modern technology I was able to bring up the Google maps satellite overlay. Clearly the spur I should be on was just East beyond the creek and gully spilling down from the summit. I remembered the spring marked on the map, 0.5km from the cross, on the western face of the summit. This must be the origin of the creek I had crossed.

Rather than the long walk of shame, I decided to plough directly up the side of the next spur. My calves have never burned so hard after snow-shoeing up the very acute slope, high on my toes on every step.

At the top of the spur the path was obvious, and I could see the little MUMC hut perched high on a rise. I had made it onto Tom Kneen track after a fairly epic detour.

There were magazines and books in the hut. I sat and read one of the MUMC publications. In particular, a trip report on Passport to Insanity – often said to be the best line in Australia or even the universe!

Despite the accolades it is remote and rarely climbed! A giant off-width crack gives way to a splitter hand-crack through a daunting roof, so overhung that it in fact slopes back down from the face! The 8m roof was said to eat-up seven No. 1 cams! Being on the south of the Grampians, you can add to this wild exposure to the severity of southern ocean weather systems.

To complete the final pitch requires a ballsy tyrolean traverse to escape onto the main buttress. Either that or a sketchy and dangerous rappel off a single rusty, possibly now missing, piton. Even less people repeat the final pitch and the original descent. Hmmm…

Back to reality.

I prepared to return to my shelter at the Federation Hut surrounds before sun down. The return path was more straight-forward and I skirted across the western face of the summit, re-joining the summit path to the cross. Cloud was now looming ominously over the Mt Feathertop Summit.

By late afternoon the snow was even softer on the Western face, making progress slow and slippery. Several times I found myself glissading uncontrollably even in my snow-shoes!

Before setting out to MUMC hut I met a middle-aged couple who had hiked up Bungalow Spur for the day. I had warned them the snow was becoming soft on my descent. On my way back I noticed the gentleman had made his ascent and was coming back down. He must’ve had an epic time on the soft melting face in all those clouds!

The nights dinner was going to be pizza pockets. Rolling out dough was tedious but I managed to use a pan lid as a template. Somehow it turned out reasonably well, but the dough was not cooked through.

My toes were now frozen and numb. They felt woody and without feeling. I could not feel myself manipulating them.

I can see the three orange lights of Hotham shining like a beacon. For those late or lost in the back-country it would be a sign of hope. I go to bed early with the idea of climbing the summit for the sunrise before continuing my journey across the Razorback.

Day 3 – The Razorback Snow-Shoe Hike

The Razorback is a grade 3 hike, but being mostly above the tree-line is severely exposed to the unpredictable alpine weather conditions.

No alarm. Cold again. Same story. I woke around 0830. It turned out my phone was underneath the sleeping pad – I don’t know if I didn’t hear it or it froze…

For breakfast I cook another eggs and bacon, this time with left over taco cheese. I drank most of the still warm Nalgene and relaxed. After breakfast I put out my sleeping gear, gloves, socks to defrost and dry in the sun. It is very important to take any opportunity to air out down gear – even in the snow. Especially in the snow.

I started to break down camp. Lesson: do not bury a light tarp in snow like I did. At least not when the snow is wet. My entire snow wall had frozen into an ice fortress. I had to chop the tarp out with the adze of my ice axe. As careful as I was I could not avoid cutting up the frozen stiff tarp in several places. I finally extricated the tarp after an hour of chopping put it out to thaw and dry as well.

There were some new arrivals at Federation Hut. After it quick chat, it turned out their intentions were the same as mine: a Winter Ascent of Mount Feathertop and hike across the Razorback.

I decided to skip a second summit as I had already savored the mount in solitude the day before. This way I could gain a head-start on the Razorback and be relatively alone for the remainder of my hike. I set out from the snow-gum at around 1030.

The beginning of the Razorback trail skirts the West side of Molly Hill through alpine shrubs. The trail is fairly constrained and to my annoyance was littered by deep post-holes. I had to continually pick my steps very carefully to avoid rolling an ankle or worse.

It amazed me how determined these boot-clad gumbies were to carry-on for literally hundreds of metres while post-holing up to their knees! I could see foot-prints in both directions so I anticipated reaching their turn-around point.

Just beyond Molly Hill the post-holes tapered out and the trail opened up. Claustrophobic shrubs gave way to steep icy slopes. Here I encountered a group of skiiers. After discussing the trail condition they decided to traverse the steep, bare eastern aspect of Molly Hill – a very exposed prospect!

Somewhere around High Knob or Twin Knobs, I discovered my Nalgene bottle was no longer on my pack. It must’ve fallen out and slid into oblivion! This cut the days water supply in half.

Unfortunately this meant stopping to boil snow but a chance to enjoy my doughy, under-cooked pizza pockets. Around 1400 I stopped at the lowest point on the Razorback with stunning views of Mount Buffalo to the West.

Unlike Big Grassy, Big Dipper very distressingly lives up to it’s name. After passing a small dip and rise you wonder what the big deal is. Well the joke’s on you – that was only Little Dipper! As you rise above a crest, you see it and despair. Climbing out of the Big Dipper is a very steep and strenuous ordeal. Perhaps more strenuous than the Mount Feathertop summit itself, though I did not have my 20+kg pack at that stage.

I finally reach the intersection to Bon Accord Spur just before sunset. If I wanted to find any semblance of shelter I knew I would need to get off the exposed ridge line.

Camp 2: Bon Accord Spur Old Hut Site

I began to hike down the Bon Accord Spur until I hit the treeline and decided to stop at the first flat piece of ground.

It was not much but according to my best guess was near the location of the “Old Hut Site” (not to be confused with the “Bon Accord Hut” ruins). Night was closing in. I almost continued to search for a larger area but it is lucky I didn’t. The next day would prove no decent flat area for perhaps a kilometre of vague trail.

The flat spot was just big enough for a single person to lie, and I had to shore up the edge with packed snow to gain a little more shoulder space. I created a much more temporary shelter this time as I planned only for one night. Somehow my cut-up tarp held and I guyed it out tight and low.

Since I lost my Nalgene bottle, I had been forced to melt snow twice as often and would need to do so the next day too. My fuel supply was now dwindling and I was concerned I would run out that night. After days of wearing frozen boots, my toes were very numb.

I always avoid building frivolous campfires; however under these circumstances I believe a fire was justified. Being below the treeline, wood was now much more abundant and I was situated on a less popular and poorly maintained trail. I used fallen dead wood and kept the fire as small and as short-lived as possible. After I had cooked, I scraped up and removed the coals, scattering them in thick undergrowth, and covered it over with snow.

While the fire burned hot, I melted ample snow for several cups of tea and filled my remaining bottle. I cooked the now 5-day marinated butter chicken over the coals and toasted my naan breads. The smoke imparted from the coals added to the wonderful flavors and this was my best meal yet!

As I ate I rested my boots above the coals, until they finally extinguished. Through the black silhouettes of trees, I could again see the high-pressure sodium glow from Hotham Village. My candle gave the comforting illusion of warmth and a light by which to write my journal.

Day 4 – Bon Accord Spur Descent Hike

Bon Accord Spur is a grade 4 hike, very steep, overgrown and largely unmaintained between The Razorback and Ovens River (the majority). It was the original (and at the time only) access to Mount Hotham in the days long before the Great Alpine Road was constructed. In these early days skiiers and gold prospectors would make the steep hike with assistance of pack horses. I had no such luck and packed my own gear but I guess they didn’t have ultralight technical materials back then either!

The trail from the snow line is so overgrown it is essentially a corridor of large gumtrees densely packed with smaller gumtrees. All you can do is thrash your way through climbing over or under the frequent fallen branch or trunk.

As I was beating through the scrub I was eagerly searching for the Bon Accord Hut ruins. Only a chimney remains and the map stated it is easy to miss.

Eventually I came to a clearing choked with bulldozed trees and rough cut logs. In typical Parks Victoria Fashion there was an ugly metal sign planted directly in front of the historic stone chimney, ruining the feeling of the place. I’d rather have searched and not found the chimney than run into this stupid junk sign ruining the sense of mystery and wild.

By this time I was working up a thirst and I was glad I had a full bottle of water from last nights snow-melting efforts. I thought I will ration it out as I will not be able to refill until reaching Washington Creek / Ovens River. I took several big gulps and nearly spat it out! The water tasted like campfire ash. Disgusting, but it was all I had for the next 5 kilometres.

Bon Accord spur offered sporadic glimpses of the Razorback, Mt Feathertop and the Bungalow Spur. Only then did the full scale of the landscape become apparent. I enjoyed it every time as a strong sense of accomplishment overcame me.

Needless to say arriving at the river was a great relief. Tipping out the remaining water I filled my bottle fresh from the rapidly flowing creek and drank a litre on the spot. I could see where the Washington Creek had risen high around the start of the little bridge but there were no issues today.

I’ve read that in past floods, the bridge had been torn clean off. I could see some remains deposited one hundred metres downstream. I paused to take some photos and thought about the destructive power of water and how high it must’ve been to tear the bridge away from its foundations.

The remainder of the trail West of the river was well graded and well-maintained. It snaked through long tracts of rain forest and remnants of the areas gold-mining history were apparent. Several sluice run-offs crossed the path and were made abundantly apparent by the brief, isolated and unnecessary Parks Victoria hand-railings.

I made a fast pace and was determined not to stop for lunch. By early afternoon I reached the Bon Accord Trail Head and began the 1.5km walk of shame through the small town of Harrietville back to the Bungalow Spur Trail Head.

Conclusion: The drive back to Hotham

It was a strange feeling sitting back in my car. I felt a strong sense of relief and at the same time some primal power. I had so much energy under my control. It was barely 30 minutes by the time I had driven back to Mount Hotham summit (perhaps a days hike).

I couldn’t help but compare the awesome power of my internal combustion engine to my grandfathers humble shellite stove which had slowly but dependably provided most of my drinking water for the past 4 days.

As I drove through Hotham Village, I found Frank Zappa’s Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar on the car stereo and spaced out for the final leg of this Alpine Adventure.

I hope you enjoyed this article and found it inspiring for your next adventure in the Australian Alps.

What would you like to learn more about in a follow up post? Please leave a comment, and don’t forget to subscribe below for more cursed ascents!

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