The weather seemed to be bad everywhere but Windy did show a gap of hope somewhere in the middle of Craigieburns. I put the last-minute trip up to Mt Cloudsley (2107 m) for which 4 brave CTC souls signed up. From the Castle Hill Village, we took Hogs Back Track first and then, when meeting the base of Long Spur, we started going up along this long and gentle ridge. On the way up, we found a dog with a collar with a phone number on it. She looked pretty lost so I called the number on the collar. The call went straight to voicemail so hopefully, the farmer returned my voicemail and found the dog later on!
Access to Mt Cloudsley via Long Spur is very straightforward – as long as you’re going up, you’re going the right way. The low angle makes it a great slope for beginners on snow. We met about 3 other parties on the way up but we were the only party that summited that day. I guess that the windy conditions and short days played a role. We were also the fastest which seemed to be a good strategy on one of the shortest days of the year. The wind blasted on the top so badly that we only stayed for a couple of minutes before turning back. We didn’t have to use crampons but it was quite close to it. Great trip, easy enough for beginners, challenging enough for moderate trampers too.
Rough stats: 12.2 km, 6 hours, 1400 m ascent
Participants: Michal Klajban (leader, scribe, GPX), Jack O’Connor, Geoffrey Cornelis, Hayley Dauben, Zack Williams
Tramped on 24th June 2022.
Photos
Map
Max elevation: 2115 m
Min elevation: 739 m
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