Mt Buller

Weekend of 22nd July 2000

Neil Monteith & Jono Shimdt

For my first real climbing experience since dislocating my knee over two months ago Jono and I decided to try some mountaineering at the local ski resort of Mt Buller. Jono has picked up the infectious mountain bug so, with bad weather reports and much driving we arrived at the base of the mountain at about midnight on Friday night. The weather the next day was shocking with pelting snow, rain and high winds. We got tot he village at 8am to find it a complete whiteout and freezing. We loaded our packs, goggled our eyes and started trudging up the snow following the inactive ski lifts. Our visibility was about ten metres so we were just the blind leading the blind. Occasionally we would bump into a ski patrol or some poor hapless bloke whose job was to hammer the ice off the chairs on the lift. They all were amazed at our enthusiasm and warned us of the increasingly bad weather forecast for the weekend. In typical style I was keen for anything - the wilder the weather the happier I would be! We kept trudging until the ski lifts ended and a windswept summit ridge disappeared into the storm. As soon as we got onto the ridge the wind slammed into us. Heads down and backs bent we battled onwards to the amazing 'ice pyramid' on the summit which was infact a fire tower in summer. It was encased in about 20cm of thick ice so looked exactly like an ice sculpture. The wind was icing everything. Zips didn't work, our hair was covered in a thin layer of ice and my jacket was atatemptin to fly of my body!

Neil in shitefull weather just below the summit.

Jono rests on the north side of the wind swept summit ridge. The 'ice pyramid' fire lookout is obvious on the summit.

We walked down the other side looking over little cornices on the ridge, wondering what was down below. Our first objective was to make camp in a protected area. We chose a small culdesac at the base of a rock wall halfway down the steep south face. In evil wind we started chopping out the ledge for the tent in the snow. We worked out if you dug about a metre under the snow you hit vegetation which could be used to anchor the tent down. I also placed a piton in the rock wall to help keep the tent from turning into a spontaneous 'kite'.

Jono proudly displays our tent which perched on a ledge on the south face.

After the dramas of tent construction we roped up and headed out onto the unknown South Face. Soon enough we were climbing some iced rock and snow gullies with the handy advice and local beta of two other climbers, Geoff Butcher & partner, who were also battling the bad weather. Jono and I completed two good routes, placing ice screws, deadman and pitons to protect the routes. It was an awesome experience for both of us.

We retired to the tent early and spent the next 16 hours attempting sleep with howling winds and constantly falling snow hitting the tent roof. Little mini-avalanches would build up on the slopes above us then cascade off the rock wall to hit out tent. It was rather an unpleasant night and very cold. I wore all my fleece clothing and was in two sleeping bags but still felt the cold. It would have been at least -10'c in the tent.

Neil freezing cold on belay on day 2. Check out the double ice screw belay!

The next day Jono and I climbed two further routes, both technically hard on steep rock and occasional ice. We then dismantled the tent and had to crawl along the summit ridge in super powerful winds to get back to the ski resort. The weather cleared and we trudged the several kilometres back across the resort, almost being hit by skiers every few minutes.

Jono walks along under the south face.

This was another weekend of discovering awesome areas never mentioned in Australian magazines. Supposedly in good years there forms a 20m high free hanging waterfall somewhere up at Bulla. We will return.

Neil, not heading the warnings.