Trip Report 2020 Mt.Stirling Trip reports/chat/ XC ski news

I just thought I would jump in early and start the ball rolling for the 2020 XC ski season at Mt. Stirling . I hope the moderators do not object.

 

https://www.mtstirling.com.au/snow-report/

Update - 21 June 2020

From 11:59pm on 31 May, overnight stays and camping are again permitted. Check the details of the new guidelines here.

• The resort is open
• The Stirling Cafe plans to open from Thursday 25 June - Sunday 28 June and operations will be reviewed pending snow conditions and visitation demands.
  • Take away options will be available and limited seating inside
• If you are hiking/camping and generally exploring please ensure you make a trip plan and someone knows where and when you are going and when you expect to return.
• Please follow the directions of all posted signs and closures.
• Seasonal road closures- are in place. No vehicle access beyond Telephone Box Junction. More info>
• Resort entry fees- anyone visiting Mt Buller and Mt Stirling from the Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend MUST pre-purchase a resort entry pass online and carry wheel chains.
• Pre-purchased ticketed entry enables the resort to effectively manage capacity in accordance with the Victorian Governments’ public health measures. It also sustains essential including snow clearing, parking and public facilities.
• There is NO tobogganing in resort, this will be reviewed after 13 July.

• Check the current guidance on coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines from the Victorian government: https://www.vic.gov.au/coronavirus-covid-19-restrictions-victoria
• View the live cams and pay Mt Stirling a virtual visit: https://www.mtstirling.com.au/plan/live-cams/
• There is a dedicated page on the Mt Buller website here also.

 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.imp...0-2e9451a75ae1/Stirling_Report_2020-06-25.pdf

The cafe` , ski hire shop and other services at TBJ are closed. The Ski Patrol is running at present. See the web link for details. We shall wait and see if these other things including XC ski hire and XC ski lessons based at TBJ actually happen once we get full skiable snow cover on the whole hill.

 

Bring a Thermos . The Huts now have a 4 humans per hut policy too. So if you do have a Mt. Stirling ski day then make it a weekday ski( or just fang it out to Howqua Gap and back , conditions permitting).
I am glad I have well hidden a supply drop near Mt. No. 3 Refuge hut . . This is the year to do that BC trip .

 

Very well hidden. I used a GPS to log it because I will not find again otherwise . It is NOT that near the hut if you are curious. That would be very silly and obvious !

 

Looking at the forecast , Sat. July 4th could be skiable from TBJ to Howqua Gap hut and back. That route does not leave much scope for split boarding but for both classic and skate XC skiers it is a fine outing.

 

http://www.janebunn.net/mt-stirling
Mt.Stirling and the Circuit road could become skiable this weekend!!
Stay tuned to the snow cameras this Friday at 4 pm.

 

Ms. Bunn's Forecasting for Mt. Stirling is usually for 1600 M. at Bluff Spur Hut but you can select the 1400 M. mark for a different reading. That is still predicting 13 cms at 1400M.
I am hopeful that skaters and classic rock hoppers will have enough cover to ski from TBJ to Howqua Gap hut and back on Sunday . Such a route requires 10 cms or more down to 1300 M. It is a 16 km. round trip , a good work out and helps get the ski fitness back up and running after a long off season.

 

https://www.mtstirling.com.au/wp-co...2020/06/Stirling-resort-operations-update.pdf

https://www.stirlingexperience.com.au/cross-country-skiing/

 

I will be coming from Myrtleford early on Sunday so MSG will not be feasible.
The Forecast for Mt. Stirling has now turned around something wicked . It is now the pick of VIC . Locations in the prognostications.
http://www.janebunn.net/mt-stirling
. In fact based on a hunch, the improved forecasting and outlook for snow and the fact that I have no computer access or printer where I will be staying on The weekend ( My mob. phone is antediluvian at best ),
I have dropped coin on a Falls Ck. gate pass for this Sat. and also for Sunday at Mt. Stirling.
I have printed them out in advance as per the new Plague Restriction rules. Who dares wins. If it is skiable on the old classic rock hoppers then I will be happy , if it is more than merely skiable and the top shelf BC XC skis get some action then I will have won .

 

Fitting chains to all vehicles at Mt.Stirling....... 3/7/20.

 

Erica Ski hire has classic skinny ski gear for rent if you are going to Baw Baw. Mystic Mountains ski hire run by @teckel in Narbethong is the only place to rent the best XC ski gear for Lake Mtn. .Mention to her that you are from the www ski forum .Tell her Mr. Tee sent you ;-) .

 

Mt. Stirling is sight seeing only until the next proper snowfall , it is sketchy at best for the 3 cm snow depth dare devils, bark skiers and dedicated users of OP shop rock hopper skis .I went there to "XC ski " today with @beefa skiing . . The ski hire shop at TBJ seemed to be open.
We met a chap who had rented Madshus Epoch BC XC skis.
He got to ski for a whole 500 M. near the Bluff Spur Hut.
I will post a trip report soon in the relevant section.

 

Mt.Stirling is having a dog of a XC ski season . woof!. There is no base and no skiable snow at all and August is around the corner and all. First we have the plague and now a paucity of snow.
:-0

It makes me think of an old Hindi/ Urdu proverb
"
Garibi mein aatta geela "

In Poverty even the flour is wet

Meaning: In adversity, everything takes a bad turn.

 

Mtn. Bike season in August at Mt. Stirling. :-0 Unbelievable! . I have never seen anything like it in at least 11 years or more of visiting Mt. Stirling in winter.

 

The snow has finally arrived and the ski patrol are reporting that they have groomed some lower trails for Mrs. Invisible and her ghostly Nordic ski club to ski on.
LAST 24HRS
20cm
LOWER SNOW COVER
Fair
UPPER SNOW COVER
Fair
SNOW CONDITION
Dry
LAST SNOW FALL
4/08/20

 

Mt.Stirling is now closed to the public due to the plague restrictions. I must say it has been a poor season for snow falls at Mt. Stirling. 2019 was vastly better.

 

This week in August in 2013 at Mt. Stirling.

 

Possibly one of the professional Estonian ski instructors that usually frequent Mt. Stirling in white season. They make us all look like snow shoe trekkers. They can do a whole 12 km loop of the mountain in under 2 hours.

 

Even though Mt. Stirling is shut to the public because of the plague , the resort management are still providing snow reports. They have machine groomed and/ or skidoo groomed many tracks and are reporting excellent skiing.
https://www.mtstirling.com.au/snow-report/
The lower trails snow depth are 38 cm deep and the upper trails average is 65 cm.
Perhaps they are holding out for some spring skiing or just giving the grooming machines a run for winter?

 

Many forum users would be more than pleased to XC ski at Mt. Stirling ASAP.
We need some more snow falls to keep these hopes alive.

 

We got 30 cm of powder at Baw Baw in Nov. 2019.Good things can happen but I have no say in them.

We need to know when we will be allowed out of the 5 km prison exercise yard. There is only so much people can take living the same uneventful solitary day over and over month after month ......

 

Let us hope so. Just the chance to swim in the bay will be the ultimate gift! .The impression I am getting is that local M.P.s are getting plenty of " Let me out ! ....I am going insane"
e mails and ph. calls from legions of people who are at the end of their tether after 6 months of some kind of restrictions.

 

26.9.20

27.9.20
Better late than never.

 

The Mt. Stirling web site is reporting VERY GOOD skiing from top to bottom.
https://www.mtstirling.com.au/snow-report/
Free entry plus snow camping are permitted for Rural Victorians.
Some skidoo grooming has been done for skaters.

 

If I am not mistaken we had a big snow fall in May, June, July, August and September respectively ( one dump per month, a bit of snow constipation really ) and after each snowfall there was no more snow and the potential base melted. This was a dismal affair all round in 2020. I am happy to say that I did ski the Bogong High Plains in June and July 2020 after it snowed.
AFAIK my friend who is a skier and who lives in Myrtleford did not ski at any of these rare opportunities. I think of the saying "pearls before swine " when it comes to people who live near Mt. Buffalo, Falls Ck. and Hotham , all within a 90 min. drive from the Ovens valley ( 2 hours by car to Mt. Stirling from Myrtleford) and yet do not utilize these gifts from above.

 

Mt. Stirling looking ready for a white Xmas.....8.12.20