18 December 2010 Tidbinbilla Mountain

Map: Tidbinbilla 1:25000

Getting There

This walk was organised and led by Rob and Jenny H as a CBC walk:

Saturday 18 December - Snowy Corner, Mt Tidbinbilla - M/R. This route climbs from the Lyrebird Trail to Snowy Corner, Mt Tidbinbilla then along to a point just short of Tidbinbilla Peak, from where it descends to cut the Camel Hump fire trail and back to start. A spectacular, demanding round. Map: Tidbinbilla 1:25,000 Leaders: Jenny & Rob H. Transport: $32 per car plus entry fee (If applicable ?).

8 of us met at Kambah and we picked up 1 more on the way. Drove to the Mountain Creek car park in Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.

Photographs

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Walk

Track

The weather forecast had changed to 20% chance of rain on the morning, but it was intermittently sunny as we set off along the Lyrebird Trail, redeveloped and realigned since the 2003 fires. So there is no boulder marking the spot to turn off. You can see from the track map that our trusty leader, last in this area pre-fires, soon realised that we'd gone past a suitable turn off spot, so we retraced our steps. We entered a relatively open area and climbed gently to meet an old benched footpad, obviously the old alignment of the Lyrebird Trail. After a couple of hundred metres this began to take us down when we wanted to go up, and other about turn was executed.

At last we were on the famed route up to Snowy Corner and, if I can ever find it again, it will be my preferred and quick route up onto the Tidbinbilla Range. A veritable highway, taped and cairned in places, strikingly different to the going 20-120m down off the crest to the N which we traversed on 2 Nov 10. A stiff climb, rising 490m over 1.6km. It took us 1hr 35mins, including breaks to shelter in our shells from the rain. Lovely views, lovely wildflowers.

We took a break for morning tea at the Snowy Corner cairn, interesting as we arrived to see the different exit we took on 2 Nov 10. The sun was out again, so we could dry off.

From here we followed the well marked footpad to the cairn in the open area at UTM 55H 669858-6075456 (GDA94). A battle with the regrowth is inevitable from this point, as we headed towards Tidbinbilla Mountain. Was it during this leg that it hailed? I know I'd packed a collared shirt to protect me from the sun, but no extra jumper and by the time we made the mountain (approaching a little more from the E in the final couple of hundred metres and picking up a couple of cairns approaching the top) I was decidedly cold. It was raining, the cloud had closed in to obscure the view, and the party propped at the last marker cairn, as much as possible out of the howling wind.

I went over to the Tidbinbilla Mountain cairn. As everyone is, I was equipped with hammer and screw driver and removed the K&K small brass plaque from the SW side of the cairn. I hate to offend anyone, but I reckon it's not appropriate to mark areas in such manner. The party didn't dally long, even though I thought it was lunch, and we quickly got down out of the wind and headed through SH1555 to the cairn near SH1556. A quick jaunt to Tidbinbilla Peak to 'bag' it for the CBC 50 Peaks in 50 Weeks event.

Returning to the cairn, we headed a few tens of metres SE down out of the wind for lunch.

The penultimate leg was the classic route down from near Tidbinbilla Peak to meet the Camel Back fire trail. Rob thinks the regrowth is thinning! A tromp down the fire trail completed the round.

We'll have to go back to enjoy the views on a finer day. Phillip, Llewellyn - take me back when the weather improves!

A classic route that I've waited 5 years to do, going up from the Lyrebird Trail to Snowy Corner. Many thanks, Rob and Jenny H, and to Jeff B, Karen C, Brendan K, Llewellyn S-P, Phillip S and Linda S.

Distance: 10.2km Climb: 700m. Time: 7.40am - 3.30pm (7hrs 50mins), with 50mins of stops.
Grading: M/R; H(12)

KMZ file for Google Earth/Maps: Tidbinbilla Mountain via Snowy Corner

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This page last updated 23Aug22