Avalanche!

For a Saturday treat I packed the kite and headed west. The winds, which had been blowing at a constant 30-35kph earlier in the morning, seemed somewhat stronger as I climbed out towards North Ramshead.

My attempts to take advantage of a good snow covered slope and ideal wind direction were frustrated by wind strengths beyond what my kite had been designed. This meant that there would be no free tow up the slopes for me today. I later found out the winds rose to 60kph after midday.

As the winds got stronger the wind chill continued to drop and the blue sky day was becoming a little uncomfortable. The snow cover was mostly firm beneath the 3cm soft surface. The dust from last week’s dust storm was however having a slowing effect.

Long continuous runs are getting harder to find as the thaw opens up more streams and patches of vegetation. Still it was all good exercise.

A huge chunk of the Kosi cornice broke away during the last 48hours

A block of ice probably the size of a small house and weighing tonnes

The long climb up onto North Ramshead

Dirty snow meant slow turns back down

Looking south from North Ramshead

Shane and friends had a busy time on Signature Hill

Snowfalls have been forecast down to 1500m for Wednesday and Thursday. Murphy’s Law strikes once again, as I won’t be in Thredbo on Friday or the weekend to take advantage of any new snow.