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V APRIL 1967. A / ..- / •1 / was having troubles this month. Articles promised and not received; people out of town or at least not at home; and an editor who does tend to leave things till the last moment. However, all's well that ends well, and here IT is at last. NEWS FROM NEAR AND FA Our very best wishes to Peter and Sally Tormey (ne Holt) who were married in Canberra on Easter Monday. And also to Barry and Lesley McCann who were married recently. Mary Hawkins will be down here at a Conference at the end of May. Peter and Ritva. Sands left Canberra last Thursday for Sheffield, Tasmania, Peter's home town, where they will stay for several months. They will then fly to Finland, Ritva' s native country, and eventually to New York where Peter starts work in September. Jenny Brierley is about to start her nursing training at the Canberra Community Hospital. So we'll know whom to turn to with all our aches and bumps now. Bob de .Viana spent Easter in a charming little village called Itrcote, situated on a lake with mountain& rising beyond. He is forever interested in his bushwalking mates. But how about an article in 'IT' for all your fans, Bob? Roy Hyndman has gone to Perth for two weeks. Warwick Ward sends his regards to. everyone. It seeme he will be staying in S.A. for some time yet. AMAZING BARGAIN SEIKO gents stainless steel, waterproof, shockproof, 17 jewel wrist watch. Thilly guaranteed by Australian agents until January 1968. Only $16. Contact Geoff Marston 49.3487 SOME EASTER WAUCS IN BRIEF IT\ ni -s. r tt --: - isj riiOu - uouueras - --?- Geoff Mar ston,. Helen Madden and Martin -fl -•m Williams drove in from Dead Horse Gap to - Quambat on Good friday, climbing the r - Pilot en route, This 'road' is not r recommended - tno fool has ever tried it beforet. On Saturday they bagged Moscow Peak and Cobbera No. 2, both \m?-. ¼1j:\2• part of the Cobbera range. They raturned that night to base camp at Quambat but it was not a peaceful night as they were disturbed with explosions from 303 shot-guns and search lights. Geoff is convinced that the shooters mistook the orange of his tent for the -jL------7 C / . - - eyes of an animal. Tents in N.S.W. but fire-place in Victoria caused some trouble with fruit positiona t - --------- :-t------- 2 Next day, Easter Sunday, they climbed Cleft Peak and Cobbera No. 1 - thus completing the Cobbera range - and camped at Limestone Creek, twelve miles south of Quambat Flat0 Itnday - the long drive home via Benambra and Corryong. Total miles covered, 550; depreciation on car, inestimable, Moral: Unlessyou have a landrover, don't drive through on the Dead Horse Gap road, it just isn't worth it. The walk through, which has never been completed on a club expedition, would be about 70 miles return - how about that? A.E. (ii) Snowy Plains and Jagtmgal Area The trip was supposed to be some time in May. If this (10th April) weather is a foretaste of what is to come 5 the leader is pleased he stuck out for Easter instead. A thumbnail sketch of the route is in to Jaingal from the east (through the catch- ment of the Gungarlin River outside the Park) and a circle back to the cars by turning south and 'going past Kidman' s Hut. The party was Miep 1 Dorothy Brown, all t'he Storys except Judy, and until the secdnd morning, the President. The Gungarlin catchment is open country and enjoyable walking, but the inai5 is inaccurate here and there0 One pleasant1situated little hut isn't marked, and one that is marked is in fact an enormous rock, but as they are both on private proprty- añrway, they doi't really concern us. We made Cesjack's Hut the first evening after a long final pull through open grassy snowgum woodland to find that another party was just beating us to it, but nobody minded the extra company, and incideptally they were old bushwalking friends of some of us into thebargain. Cesjack's is strong and weathertight but there's only one bed, i.e. it's a good bolt-hole in case of dirty i'eather, but otherwise you sleep out. We struck it very "otherwie' - 'clear frosty night with the moon as near full as made no odds, and to be Irish, plainbeautiful. Next morning John lit out for hOme and Jenny's birthday, our friends made for Grey Mare via Jagupgal, and the rest of us went down theDoubtfuLRiverand on to O'Keefe's Hut, which does ecist if you 'naigate, carefully, in spite of what I told Peter Elder and Mike Itrris two months ago, It was a wild sky that evening, and it turned out to be a night to match, the rack whizzing by and the wind whistling past the chimney. OtKeefe?s was a snug place to be in, we stoked up and relaxed. Next morning, was, cold, but that was all, and we climbed Jagungal in bright sunshine. The place seemed full of peopleL We could see them round the beacon and dottd on the skyline elsewhere, or coming over the eastern ridge and halting to blossom out in parkas as the cold wind struck them. Our Cesjack friends told us later that five parties had climbed Jagungal in the short time they were there. We shared the peak briefly with a small pack of scouts, then drew a bead on Mawsonts and pushed on0 - Mawson1 s was jam-packed with day trippers who had come from Alpine Hut and who urged us to join them there; "the bunks are full but there's plenty of room on the floor and it 1 s warm as toast" In fact there wasn't so much room on the floor, 29 thronging 'people saw to that, and they were probably relieved, after we had passed the time of day, to see us go further afield to camp (out of earshot of the several guitars we saw). They left early next morning, streaming past our camp like lemmings, with a wave and a hail and abuzz of voices. This is more or less the end of our story too; just a short scramble Over a ridge to Kidman's Hut (no trouble following the trail as you can guess) and then a vehicle track to the cars. In all, a long but otherwise easy trip, enjoyable and scenic all the way, R.S. (III) Mt. Coree (Easter Monday) Seven walkers and one fisherman assembled at the Ilriarra Homestead at 9.30 and tOok a forestry track which runs from the Wee Jasper Road to Piccadilly Circus, passing close to the summit of Mt. Coree. This track climbs through pleasant forest country on the northern end of the Brindabella. Range and was in good condition. Leaving the cars about three miles short of Mt. Coree1 the walkersset off up'a spur towards Devils Peak0 The fisherman headed for Flea Creek and the Goodradigbee River and Was not seen again that day. St 30 from the top of Devils Peak we surveyed our course to Mt. Coree. , A moderately deep valley with some difficult scrub intervened, and this section of the walk was rather slow0 Lunch at a creek in the valley was eaten in a shower of rain with corroboree frogs crawling out of the rocks on which we made a fire. Mt. Coree was climbed at 230 p.m. The rain clouds had cleared to reveal excellent views in all directions; east, Lake Burley Griffin and some prominent buildings on its shores; south-east, the Tinderries stood out clearly; south, along the Brindabella range with the Goodradigbee Valley; and the Bogong Peaks to the west. The walk back to the cars was an easy downhill stroll along the track and we drove back to the Brindabella road through the pine forests. M. MORRISS Reflections upon the pleasures of ski-touring as the snow season approaches H.B. THE SKYLINE 'WIDE tcne skiers on the skyline wide, Deep blue above and shimmenng white beneath, ,.. ---'c - - Steep, dazzling slopes of snow to glide C4.ULSC .1. LV Cd. WSIiL&SSib .ULLI. ULIC fJSC..LAL* -- - Lone figures on the skyline wide ink deep of frosty air and leap again To schuSth the crystal mountainside, And sail the frozen plain to haunts of men. HARRY BLACK SNOWY MOUNTAINS March 11-12 I take back everything I said about mediun walks being hard — last weekend (March 11-12) the "hard walk" was easyt ? Admittedly, we didn't drop down to Geehi Dam or climb Dicky Cooper Bogong (to the dismay of Barry Mayfield and the relief of everyone else - 3 Storys, 2 Peters, Graham, myself and the leader). Our trip was curtailed to Guthega, Twynham, Watsons Crags, Tate, Guthega. The leader was patient (most of the time), the weather cool and sunny, flies and grasshoppers everywhere but not too annoying, and the last of the harebells, snowdrops, daisies, clover ... as beautiful as ever. J. B. JAGUNGAL WILDERNESS AE March ig-i9 "Hey, Robin, I've just realized that you've led two walks in recent weeks. How about writing one of them up in IT?" "Well now, which will it be?" "What about the one we went on in the &owy area; that was a terrific trip; we're still talking about it." "Yos it tas perfect in every way so that leaves nothing to be said about it." "Now wait a minute ,, -Oh, airight you write about your Easter trip and P11 write about the others" "But what will you write?" "Oh, 7)11 make something up".