This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
, e airived at the roadend late-ish and promptly disembarked and made our way to Triplex Lodge. We had prior bookings so the Mediums very graciously stayed in the cheap rooms-while we took the luxury rooms.
Sunrise. soon arrived but we - lolled in our pits, waitirig for our trusty leader to bring us cups of tea and coffee. When it became obvious that this wasn’t going to happen, we eventually surfaced to watch the - entertainment of the morning the Mediums getting ready to go, and Chris struggling to put the snowfoam on the outside of "an already well-packed pack. Soon after they departed, with their trusty leader operating from Base Camp while the troops went to Camp One, our leader gave us the orders for the day - Sunrise or collapse in the sun. As the snow looked so inviting and the scenery so spectacular, we headed for Sunrise. ,
The Mediums arrived shortly before us.and there was soon a raging snowball fight amongst the tussock and snowdrifts. The Mediums finally beat a hasty retreat towards Camp One while the Easys gobbled down lunch then started to meander down. to Triplex Lodge, -with— mist coming and going in swirls.
Kate, Rob, and I meandered down slowly, admiring the views as much as we did on the way up. We rounded a corner
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_ By Sue Walsh . and thought we spotted a gnome on a toadstool, but it turned out to be Ross, lurking on the side of the track. I can’t quite recall how it started now, but very soon there were snowballs flying through the air. As the track zigzags, we all had ample opportunity for some good shots, and good misses. Ross soon perfected the technique of throwing the snowballs at trees and branches above us so we would get a good shower of snow, but retaliation was good and revenge sweet. Kate spotted a good photo opportunity so got Rob to stand on a fallen tree trunk covered in snow. Ross was meant to stand next to him while I went at the end, but Ross somehow found a particularly deep snowdrift and did a classic faceplant, literally. He claimed I was trying to push him further into the snow and doesn’t believe my story that I was concerned for his welfare. I’m looking forward to seeing the photo!
Dinner that night was a Woody special - chicken with a Thai satay sauce, with the heat turned ever so slightly down! The lodge wasn’t quite spacious enough to fit everybody in so —there-was-constant-movement— as people circulated then eventually crashed.
Sunday slowly dawned, and the hardy few who had slept in the cheap rooms woke to find that the overnight rain had frozen solid, turning the side of the fly into a large sheet of ice. We waited in vain for our trusty leader to bring us breakfast in bed, but we should have learnt our lesson from Saturday. Breakfast was a casual affair, with the punters eagerly taking photos of the hills with fresh snow on them. The plan for the day was to go back along the track to the junction on the saddle, then head down to the river for lunch. The bulk of the group set off, but a couple of us remained behind to laze in the sun - awfully decadent, but very nice!
The group got back around 2:00pm and after packing, waited in the sun for the Mediums to come back from Camp One and collect their leader. With their arrival we headed back to the Duchess. One of the highlights coming home was when we overtook a farmer’s ute (this really did happen; there are about half a dozen punters who will vouch for this). The scene in the cab was rather amusing as Allan, Kate and I urged the Duchess to go faster and faster. Murphy’s Law had to dictate that the ute would turn in the opposite direction at an intersection only a short way up the road, but we -had-our-moment-of-glory——
Thanks to Woody and Jo for organising the weekend. The punters are too numerous to mention, but you all know who you are!