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2022 is home to some of the wildest weather. A few major floods, and major landslides on Blue Mountains Line leaving it closed for many months. This leaves snow still present in Snowy Mountains all the way till November, with a few fresh dumps of snow here and there.
Our plan started with a departure on Friday night towards somewhere halfway, camp for a night and continue the next morning, splitting the 6 hours drive into 2 sections. We camped near a place near Michelago on Monaro Hwy, roughly 30 minutes after leaving Canberra. It's a farm which also allows for camping at a small fee, and an added perk for that is the ability to camp next to farm animals. We were woken up to curious goats, one of which even invaded our tents as we were packing them up.
Alpacas and wallabies on the other side of the fence, living their dream life
We continued down an hour of scenic Monaro Hwy towards Cooma. This section on a clear sunny day is possibly the most scenic highway in areas near Sydney. Open fields, rolling mountains as the road curves through the gentle slopes of this high country.
Brief stop at Jindabyne to get our park pass before we started the uphill stretch towards Charlotte Pass. We checked with the rangers at the tourist info centre, and were assured that the conditions up the main range was excellent. Yellow markings soon appear on the road, maintaining visibility in snow conditions.
Hello mini snowman! Our walk started at the carpark along the wide Main Range Walk towards Rawsons Pass, and then Mt Kosciuszko.
With just a bit of snow the ranges are simply stunning. It's a good mix of both worlds, being able to touch a bit of snow, while not having to endure the difficulties of a snow walk. The walk is well signposted with tall poles to be visible when the track is covered in snow.
A bit of alpine swamps and moorlands.
Soon a bridge that crosses Snowy River, still having a few patches of snow.
The only bit of snow walk we needed to do was the short slope just before Seaman's Hut. The slope is gentle and well trafficked, having a lot of footsteps to trace the track.
Seaman's Hut. The most useful feature of this hut on a fine summer day is its public toilet, which sees a short queue during tourist season.
Continuing down the walking track
Rawson Pass- more well known for having Australia's highest public toilet. The public toilet was unfortunately shut. This is where the track from Thredbo meets up, and where the summit to Mt Kosciuszko starts. The summit is still partially covered with snow but nowhere too technical.
Most of the snow on the track has melted, making it an easy walk just like a normal summer day. The summit to Australia's highest mountain is very easy, so easy that toddlers can easily make it through the walk.
Blazing through a bit of snow towards the end
Summit views. The summit itself isn't covered in snow, however. Great views over the alps stretching all the way to Victoria.
After some obligatory pictures it was time to back track the exact track we came from, and return to the car.
Another trip to Kosciuszko Main Range was done in Feb the following year, still in the same summer season. This time all the snow has melted, great timing to do the entire Main Range Walk. The walk started with a steep descent down to Snowy River from Charlotte Pass, then a steep uphill towards Blue Lake.
Skimming through Blue Lake as we headed along the range. Nice alpine wilderness views with rolling mountains.
A few small patches of snow still present following a year of unusual weather. On the track we took a small glimpse of Mt Sentinel along the way.
As we pass through Lake Albina, this is a sign of how close Mt Kosciuszko is to us. Flowers blooming across the slope in this late spring season.
And here we see Mt Kosiuszko, a round-shaped hill right in front of us.
Highest apple in Australia, Mt Kosciuszko summit. This time the highest public toilet in Australia is open, and we had the privilege to visit the insides of it.
From the summit we returned back to the carpark via Main Range walk. Another crossing of the Snowy River on the bridge.
And our Snowy River just before sunset.
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