OZ Drift

After yesterdays' disappointment on the Blue Rag, all we wanted to do was ski. Ski something, ski anything. Fortunately, there was still a hefty base up high and a fresh dusting coating all of the brown snow white down low. We'd thought we might head to the Cobberas to explore after a couple of lines up high, however the Delica's fuel lines had frozen leaving us stuck in Dinner Plain. This has been a recurrent theme this year, with various fuel additives and even alpine diesel letting us down at times. I guess it means that things have been cold. No mechanic has yet been able to adequately explain to me this year how they cope in Europe where a majority of vehicles are diesel and the temperatures substantially lower.

Whilst waiting for the RACV, I went for a jog down to Carmichael Falls which was as pretty as always under a fresh dusting. Then up to The Cross where we made our way over to Australia Drift and a few lines down the couloirs, cliffs and chutes, all corned up beautifully.

There were a lot of avalanche debris and damage down low. Many mature old snow gums had been completely ripped from their roots. Something I have learned in recent years is that if any area in Oz has been christened in the past by old-timers with the word 'avalanche', then avalanche it will. I have seen big slides in this area, particularly down from the cornice of Harris's Horror, which was still 20 feet high.

We spent the late afternoon gliding down glorious firmed up corn, before our legs, tired from yesterday's long ride, started to complain. But it was great to be getting up to 300m of vertical at Hotham  in October, making our decision not to head on up to the Main Range all right after all.