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Federation Peak, Southwest Tasmania

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(Continued from page 1)

 

Tuesday 27th December

Caught up with Joe, Don and Trevor, the other party with whom we had spent the night at Blakes. They are also going to the Peak, and together we spent the rest of the day battling through high button grass and fallen timber to a camp site at the foot of Moss Ridge. The, by now, not so bronzed surfer, has managed to persuade me to leave half of our food at this spot and return the way we have come. It seems as though he really intends to do some surfing this Christmas.

 

Map

John Stewart & Barry Revill

 

Wednesday 28th December

It's raining, and has been ever since we reached the top of Moss Ridge. There was a moment when the clouds dispersed a little and we had a fleeting glimpse of Mt. Hopetoun. It was a sight of such wildness and savagery that even the mellow evening sun, that lit the crags with a weak, pale light, did nothing to soften the effect.

 

On Moss Ridge

 

It took nine hours to get to the plateau below the Peak, mainly because it has been not, and in places you have to haul yourself up steep slopes of mud by the roots and branches of trees. We have been blazing our route up, and Keith and his party should find it useful when they come along.

Climbing Moss Ridge

 

Seven members of Melbourne University Mountaineering Club party also arrived here tonight. They came via the Arthur Plains after being flown in by plane to Lake Pedder. The place is beginning to get crowded.

 

Moss Ridge

The two plateaus and the peak

 

Thursday 29th December

It's been raining heavily most of the day. Joe had to start back this morning, and so he went without even climbing the peak.

The M.U.M.C. party of seven, made an attempt on the Peak this afternoon but could not locate Bechervaise Gully which is the normal way up, because of the cloud. Don and Trevor climbed the Peak by traversing a needle on the south-west side and getting into the main gully that leads to the top. By seven o'clock the weather seemed to be changing for the better and Ivor and I dashed up the terrace, located Bechervaise Gully, and began to climb it. When we got to the narrow chimney part of the climb, we discovered it to be' a waterfall. Ivor was leading and seemed to be having a certain amount of difficulty. As it was getting dark and we were both getting wet, we climbed down and went back to the camp.

 

Friday 30th December

We were on top of the Peak at seven o'clock this morning. The climb, as described in the notes that we had, was of a standard referred to as 'very difficult'.

Nevertheless there was no sensation of exposure and apart from the fact that it was in a gully, and subject to stone falls, the climb was quite safe. However, neither of us liked it as a climb. It is of no great length (180 feet) and does not lead directly to the top, but to another open gully, up which you can walk another 200 or 300 feet to the summit.

It was a strange morning without any wind whatsoever. About 1000 feet above us the sky hung, overcast, grey, but not menacing. The landscape was lit with an even, sharp light and we could see all of the Arthur Ranges and mountains far beyond, including the Anne group. South and west we could see the coast and beyond it the open sea. Near the New River Lagoon, we could see the white lines of breakers forming on the beach and white lines round the rocky coast.

We sat entranced, looking at this scene, so incomparably grander and wilder than any mountain scenery we had yet seen in Australia.

 

Federation Peak

Ivor close to the summit

 

Suddenly it occurred to us that though there was no wind, there was an intermittent roaring. This puzzled us for a while until the surfing gent solved it. It was the sea, the surf breaking on the West Coast. He was probably right and most certainly not chiding, for I knew that even he would not have wished to change our isolated obelisk for any surf beach.

 

(Continued on page 3)

 

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