Temptation in the Garden

The winds were up and this kept flies at bay and the temperatures on the mountain cool enough to need a jacket on Saturday and long sleeves on Sunday.

The main events in the village were the Cross Country races while the reopening of the Kosciuszko Express meant easy access once again to the main range.

Saturday was reconnaissance day, There was not much snow to be seen but the big event for us was probably the snake (I think it was a tiger), not quite 2 metres in length, which crossed the metal walking path only a couple of metres in front of us. The snake showed no fear of us and we let it proceed to the next frog banquet undisturbed.

Sunday, Lynne had us ready by 9:30 for a ski. I had given up the thought of any further skiing this year but the opportunity to do a few turns in December was a delightful thought. It was only a short walk out across the bridge to Summer Drift. The most turns I could get in a single run was 21, while I probably averaged 15 turns over each of my 8 runs. The snow was surprisingly firm, fast and heavily pitted by the recent rains and we didn't leave much of a track with our turns. Lynne discovered that the storage wax on her skis was not conducive to many fast turns and tried a few turns without her skis - not easy on the uneven surface.

Cross country bike races with some serious up sections

Crackenback and new snow making works above Tower 10

Signature Hill

Mt. Kosciuszko and Club Lake chutes

Alpine Flora in abundance

Alpine Fauna - I wasn't fast enough to get a photo of this chap crossing the walking path in front of me

With Ray's new knee only 8 days old, he didn't join Lynne and Acacia for a ski

Yes, we had a ski on Summer Drift - Lynne's argument was impressive

There were many places you shouldn't ski - washouts from recent torrential rains

The colours of the high alpine are subtle and yet beautiful

The clouds have rolled back in and the forecast is for thunderstorms this evening.

Lynne wants to go back next weekend for another ski - we will wait and see how much rain falls in the interim.