Year 11 Outdoor & Environmental Studies

On the penultimate week of Term 3, the Year 11 Outdoor & Environmental Studies class braved the elements on an overnight journey in Victoria’s high country. Unfortunately, with a snow season that was shorter than a squirrel’s attention span and less exciting than a monotone math lecture, the hotly anticipated backcountry ski trip turned into an overnight bushwalk. 

In an ironic turn of events, the warmer-than-average August temperatures that decimated the snowpack were blasted away by an icy September blast. When the class stepped off the bus, they found themselves being covered in a consistent dusting of light, fresh snowflakes. Wet weather gear was donned, and the group marched out of Falls Creek Resort and into the fog of the Alpine National Park. 

The wind and snow cleared, leaving some glorious sunshine as we made our way up the Big River Fire Trail, before having to make a tactical crossing of a snowdrift near Marum Point. A quaint wander down the spur led us to our final destination: Fitzgerald’s Hut. We huddled into the hut, setting a fire and cooking dinner before sharing conversation, discussing the history of the area, and taking note of the management strategies in place. 

Everyone awoke to find their tents covered in a thick layer of frozen condensation after the overnight temperature had reached -5 degrees Celsius. This made the packing up process very painful on the fingers! The skies were clear, and the air was crisp as we retraced our steps back to Falls Creek, hoping that the diesel hadn’t waxed up in our vehicles’ fuel lines. The wind howled as we crossed the dam wall one more time, finishing with everybody in one piece. 

Thanks to Mr Nathan Manning and Ms Hailey Ronald for their help on the trip.

• Morgan Clark