October Long Weekend

In NSW this weekend was the Labour Day long weekend, which traditionally marks the end of the ski season. The past few years have seen the season extended past the long weekend while this year Thredbo had pulled the pin prior to reaching this weekend.

On top of that we did not get the usual long weekend fireworks display. Adding to the dismay of many holidaymakers, who already denied their skiing and boarding, also missed out on the Saturday night entertainment.

I started the weekend by joining Richard and Sally on a trip out to North Ramshead. Click here to read about that. We had so much fun that we went out to Kosciuszko on Sunday. The snow was fast and still reasonably firm except for the more north facing slopes. There were a lot people out on the main range, which makes you wonder what state the main range would be in if we didn't have ski resorts. The resorts (when operational) keep most people concentrated in a small area with adequate facilities to cope but without the resorts I suspect there would be thousands camping out all over the place for many days (due the fact that it would take them so long to get there) without toilets, town water, electricity or medical services.

Monday I spent in Merimbula - a sea change for the want of a better term. It was clear and sunny with a strong SE breeze. The locals were wearing jackets and complaining about the cold but I thought it quite warm - different strokes for...

South Ridge Kosciuszko

Looking south over Lake Cootapatamba

Remnants of the cornice

The chutes into Club Lake look very thin

Sally drops in off the Kosi cornice

Richard's line

Top of Kosi looking like a disturbed ant's nest

Kite surfers viewed from Bar Beach - Merimbula

And more...

The Snowy Mountains viewed from the southern Monaro

Warm weather and even warmer winds continue in Thredbo and the snow pack continues to evaporate. There is not much left to thaw and there is very little water in Lake Jindabyne. I fear a very tough year ahead for farmers and towns that rely on water from the SE Australian river system.

2006 has been a winter of drought not warming. Following in the pattern of April, May, June, July and August this year, which were all colder than their counterparts in 2005, September 2006 was also colder than September 2005. The minimum temperature of –9.6C was 2 degrees colder than in 2005 and the maximum temperature of 9.8C was 0.8 degrees colder than last September.

Don’t forget to do your bit to return Kosciuszko Park entry fees back to something reasonable? Click here