This walk was organised and led by me as an irregular CBC Tuesday walk:

Tuesday 5 August – Mt Orroral and Prairie Dog Creek – L/R,X. Mt Orroral via the Granite Tops Walking Track, then NW along the ridge to examine all the wonderful granite. Follow Prairie Dog Creek down to join the AAWT. A site or two of interest in the Orroral Valley on the way back. Around 16km and 800m total climb. Strenuous walking for a fit and experienced party. Maps: Rendezvous Creek and Corin Dam 1:25000. Limit of 8. Leader: John Evans – jevans@pcug.org.au, (h) 6288 7235. Transport: ~$10. Further details at http://jevans.pcug.org.au.

4 of us met at Kambah Shops at 6am and motored to the Orroral Tracking Station site car park. It was certainly a mite cool, with the Orroral Valley well frosted.

Probably a bit ambitious if there is snow lying around. But if it happens, it will have to be an early start because if I'm not back by a certain time, my life will not be worth living. 5.9km off-track. on 21 Nov 06 it took 4hrs to get to the saddle in the Orroral Ridge on a mid 30°C day. There was significant regrowth along the top, taking 40mins to go 380m from Mt Orroral to the rabbit-ear rocks and 25mins to go 380m from the rocks to the saddle.

So estimated times: Start to Orroral Ridge saddle 4hrs; Lunch 0.5hrs; Saddle to top of Prairie Dog Creek 2hrs; Down PD CK 2hrs; Return along AAWT 1hr = 9.5hrs, with 30mins up the sleeve = 10hrs. Looks like we leave town at 6am.

Maybe if we aren't doing well we come off the NW end of the ridge, down to the top of PD Ck, then from there back to the bend in the GTWT, the reverse of the way we go to Rock Flats.

Civil twilight: 0628 - 1751

Walk

As it turned out, it was a bit of an ambitious walk and a wet, cold, snowy and rainy one too. But a great experience!

We were walking before 7am and the Granite Tors Walking Track crunched under our boots. A steady pace up to the top, although I was suffering from yesterday. A look around for first time visitors and returning ones. Nice view down to a frosty Orroral Vally (see pic 1) with an occasional break in the clouds to assure us that the sun was up there. I hadn't noticed the inscribed plaque on the pipe(?) next to the Geodetic Observatory:

Harry Granger Surveyor National Mapping 25-6-28 21-6-77

Next a B-line to Mt Orroral. We soon hit patches of snow. Arrived at the top tors to the NW of the top. It was difficult to find the usual way up in the snow, so we dropped down a terrace and forced our way through the regrowth until we could get back up to the level just below the marker. The little scramble was iced and the walk around slippery snow covered, so we didn't try for the top marker.

The sunny patches were beginning to desert us and although the regrowth was more iced than wet, my first layer was pretty wet from forcing the way through the regrowth. We next headed to the rabbit ear rocks with the laser reflector, a slow and cautious 370m in 35mins, as the snow was lying thicker. Magnificent blocks of granite - pity the door between them is off the hinge (see pic 2). Time to take in a little sustenance whilst we shivered.

With continuous glances behind at the weather worsening, we continued our route NW along the ridge. Magnificent views from the open slabs (see pic 3); cruel iced vegetation on my exposed knees as the way was forced. Pretty slow going on this leg at less than 1kn/hr, particularly as significant snow started falling, we got wetter and we steeplechased over fallen Alpine Ash saplings. We were all pretty wet and cold and could only put our shells on after we'd forced through the worst of the tearing/poking regrowth. My wind-stopper gloves were certainly not suitable for the day.

By the time we were off the NW end of the ridge and heading towards the top of Prairie Dog Creek I didn't feel like pushing on down the creek in further unknown territory. I thought it was best to get down below the snow as quickly as possible. Once we reached the top of the creek I just headed towards the closest edge in the gloom. Good thought, bloody poor execution. I headed off on 30°M, which took us 2.4km down to the Cotter Hut Road. 65°M would have taken us 1.4km to the corner of the Granite Tors Walking Track and back to the car a lot quicker. 20/20 vision with hindsight, but I was certainly not 100% in control at the time. Party members graciously said it was fun; we did pass some magnificent granite at GR74283-56165 (MGA94) Corin Dam which deserves a revisit (approaching on a different route and season!).

The walk back to the car began to thaw us and we sat in the car with the heater blasting and had lunch. Home to a long, hot shower.

Timings
 

An excellent early morning, deteriorating into a testing late morning and early afternoon. But quite an (for me - learning) experience. Great company and support from Henry, Karen and Tony.

Distance: 12.6km  Climb: 750m.  Time: 6.55am - 1.55pm (7hrs), with 15mins of stops.
Grading: L/R,X; H(13)

KMZ file for Google Earth/Maps: Mt Orroral Ridge