Year 11 Outdoor Education & Environmental Studies: Mount Stirling Ski Trip
Wangaratta High School
In Week 4, the Year 11 OES class headed up to Mount Stirling for an overnight back country ski trip. From Telephone Box Junction, the group left on skis with fully-loaded hiking packs and made the slow journey up to King Saddle Shelter for lunch and some practice on the open slope. As you can imagine, skiing without a pack is one thing. So the students were met with an extra challenge by having to carry their packs!
We skied on to an area known as Razorback Hut, which is nestled in amongst the Mountain Ash trees on the lower slopes of Mount Stirling. Here, we camped the night in tents (making the most of the fireplace available in the hut).
The next morning was rather dreary, with rain falling instead of snow. Eventually, it cleared up and we were able to ski down the ‘Hut Trail’ to TBJ, our starting point. This was a great challenge for the class, who were starting to get the hang of their ski equipment. With weary legs, everyone was happy to trade their ski boots for dry shoes and head home. Thanks to Mr Nathan Manning for coming along on the trip.
Morgan Clarke
Outdoor Education Coordinator