The weekend had arrived and in typical fashion, mother nature had sent a small front through dropping some more snow.
Today’s peak was Mt Somers (1688m) one that I have spent a lot of time at throughout the degree.
The route I had planned out was to come up the south facing ridge. This is a route I had never been up so I was looking forward to new terrain.
Pulling up to the Sharlands carpark I managed to get the last parking spot!? I was scratching my head as to why so many people where out then remembered………………..school holidays.
I started the walk in some nice beech forest, this was a pleasant change in scenery. It then soon after became open scrub.
The freezing level overnight was 1000m so before I knew it I was walking through snow and frozen branches. I knew I was in for a mission when I had 700 vertical meters remaining!
It was an hour in to the walk where the track junction peeled off into what was best described as a winter wonderland.
Snow covering everything!
The climb was just stunning. I spent half my time talking photos and just looking around at the landscape.
Conditions had obviously been bloody cold as all the DOC route markers had a solid sheet of ice that had been manipulated by the prevailing wind.
It wasn’t long until I hit the main ridge leading to the summit. This ridge was just as fun to walk along due to its exposure, nothing sketchy but enough to ensure you focused on your footing.
The plateau summit was stunning, with the peak covered in snow and all the surrounding ranges just as spectacular.
After a tasty lunch and all the mandatory photos it was time to meander back down the hill.
The journey down was just as beautiful with only a few sit downs thanks to the snowy conditions. What made a short section eerie was when the cloud came in and visability dropped to less than 50 meters.
Job done.
#14 Mt Somers – 1,688m, 10.88km, 4 Hours 30 Min
Next week may be my last shot for a few weeks as I lead into the Phoenix Enduro which will take up most my time orgainsing.
Fingers crossed for some good weather to bag another!
Cam.