Paralyser / Familiar Lines

Well, another week, and another few runs out on the Paralyser enjoying the spring conditions.

We were treated to a small amount of fresh snow. Ryan and I dropped off the back of Mt Perisher scoring some nice fresh down to the creek.



Ryan is making the transition form snowboarding to telemark skiing with hilarious and sometimes dangerous results. He survived the first pitch and we began the hike up to the Paralyser.







After a brief rest I dropped in. The snow was light dry wind blown powder, only around 5cm deep but great.











Skinning back to the resort I tried to nail the elusive snow gum photo. Striking trees with their gnarled branches and multicolour skin, even burnt out they are beautiful. Photos never seem to do them justice.





Out on the Paralyser I eyed off the next mountain. Although there is a trig station at its peak, it doesn’t seem to have a name.



The view out to the main range was spectacular









The snow had softened but I still had a nice run down to Farm Creek.











I have recently jumped onto the Dynafit bandwagon and I have to say they have been a bit of a revelation. It was so nice touring without having to carry my heel piece with me. I love the tech involved as well, its so cool how everything works so perfectly together.

Europe 2011: UK Moments

The impetus for our Europe trip was the wedding of Holly’s brother Jonathon to his wonderful partner Jenna. Travelling so far we had to make the most of it. In addition to the Nordic countries, Devon and Italy (blog post to come!), we did some great day trips from our base in Chichester. Here are just some of the hundreds of photos I took as we absorbed the busyness and civility of the place.

Salisbury Cathedral









Exploring London and Notting Hill, this café serves the best coffee I tried in the UK.


















Where Holly and I met for our first date!



The reason for our trip, the big wedding.









I also managed a bit of trout fishing at Arundel. There are heaps of fish in the stocked ponds.



A big thankyou to Holly’s parents Chris and Louise for having us and making us feel so welcome. Hopefully we can get back over soon :)

A night out on Mount Wheatley

I have wanted to spend a night out camping in the snow all season, the logical progression in my continuing backcountry development. I have been scouring the internet over the last year for killer gear deals and have finally got enough kit to spend a night out safely. I was at a bit of a loose end last weekend and thought it would be a good opportunity to spend my first night snow camping testing out my gear.

Packing at home I couldn’t find my sleeping bag anywhere. Turns out some friends who were visiting last week had accidently taken it to Sydney! Not to worry, I had my girlfriends bag. My 35L pack only just fit everything in it.

Spring has come early to the Australian mountains so I wasn’t too fussed about the skiing. I was more excited to build my campsite and settle in for the night. There is a nice little mountain adjacent to Perisher called Mt Wheatley. It is relatively close to civilisation so is a great place for baby back country steps.

I left the resort at 5:00pm, very late but I was only going a few km with a vertical climb of around 200m. The local hills put on a beautiful light show for me as I claimed some vertical.









I found a great spot looking over the resort tucked into a gully out of the wind. After I made camp I hiked the final 50m or so of vertical to the top of the mountain to check out the view. I spent some time taking photos of the village and the night skiing going on in the resort. I had to prop my camera up on stumps, rocks and my gloves, I really should bring a tripod.







Once back in camp I made my standard tuna pasta with chilli and settled in to the latest issue of Time. By around 9 I was ready to climb into my sleeping bag and crash. My girlfriend’s bag was nice and warm although it was a little short and I couldn’t quite get the hood over. I got a bit cold around 4am and had to put my down jacket on, otherwise, it was a good nights sleep.

I watched the sunrise through my tent door. The burnt out snow gums created a beautiful silhouette.









I had a leisurely breakfast and cup of tea then began packing up camp. The soft snow from the previous night had frozen solid making it difficult to retrieve my tent pegs. Eventually I was ready and skied back to Perisher.

It was an awesome experience camping out. Other than using my gf’s sleeping bag my only complaint was the size of my pack. I think i'll have to start looking for one around the 60L mark. I can’t wait to get back out there.