Journey to the ‘roof of Australia’

Camping near the highest point in Australia. Picture: Aaron Jamieson Source: Supplied

AUSTRALIA'S ski resorts aren't exactly known for their extreme skiing, but unbeknown to all but a few of us, we actually have one of the most beautiful and dramatic alpine environments on Earth. You just need to look a little further.

Kenny Heatley, a 31-year-old Sydney-based traveller and news presenter, did just this, joining a team of pro Aussie skiers for an off-the-grid adventure. This is what he discovered.

I was invited to go camping and sleeping in the snow while hanging out with pro skiers. The expedition, lead by ski aces Chris Booth and Teddy Laycock, was about discovering "The Roof of Australia" by climbing and skiing the mountains of Kosciuszko National Park. That's right, you walk every step to the the 2228m summit of the highest mountain in our country.

I spent just a week with these guys in the Australian wilderness in August and it was one of the hardest things physically that I've ever done, but also one of the best. There was a LOT of preparation — getting all the gear together, supplies, packing, repacking and training.

I was a little nervous, mainly because I had never camped in the snow before, let alone for a full week! There would be no hot shower or heater waiting after a full day's skiing. What if I got wet, how would I dry off?

Ready to go! Picture: Aaron Jamieson Source: Supplied

Knowing I was going to be sleeping out in the elements for the week, I watched the weather forecasts pretty closely. A couple of days before I was meant to hike out to base camp, an "east coast low" drenched the NSW coast, and rain came to the Snowy Mountains. It's not a good idea to hike out in the rain and start the week completely drenched, risking hypothermia. So I spent a night waiting for the weather to clear. I was also worried about what this would do to the snow conditions for the week I was out there, would it even be skiable? Would it be dangerous?

Amazingly, base camp had phone reception and the next morning I got a message from Chris: "Still raining, hold fire". I got to Jindabyne and met up with Melbourne-based pro skier Watkin McLennan, and we sat in a cafe studying emergency first aid notes. Sure enough, the weather cleared and around lunchtime and we got the green light. We drove to Guthega and set off for base camp.

Stopping for a break. Picture: Aaron Jamieson Source: Supplied

Although I had a map, compass and GPS, I didn't really know exactly where we were going, but Watkin had already spent some time out there so I left it in his hands. Halfway there we met Chris, Teddy, and photographer Aaron Jamieson. After a few days of rain, they were pretty happy the sun was back out and was a good chance for them to get some more supplies.

"We'll see you up there."

Base camp was about a three-hour hike. Nestled in a bunch of trees about 1800 metres above sea level, yellow dome tents and human footprints were a welcome sight. I unloaded all my gear into the Black Diamond Stormtrack two-man tent that was already set up for me.

Now THIS is camping. Picture: Aaron Jamieson Source: Supplied

The main "hangout" tent was most impressive; a large dome that could fit about 10 people, it had a centre table carved in snow and whole sleds packed with gear and supplies.

It was a clear night, and cold. Watkin and I waited up for the others, but they never came so we made dinner. Watkin wasn't worried.

"They might have decided to spend the night in Jindabyne to charge batteries," he said.

In the distance we heard faint explosions. We went outside and saw the night skiing fireworks going off to the east at Perisher.

Sleeping in the snow is tough, but awesome at the same time. Everything you don't want to freeze or anything electronic has to go in your sleeping bag — including your ski boot liners. I was wearing almost everything I had with me, and it was a constant struggle to stay warm which made me worry about the rest of the week. Were my sleeping bag and mats up to the task?

At about 1am I heard laughter. It was Chris, Aaron and Teddy. They decided to have a few drinks at Guthega pub before coming back to the campsite — without head torches.

Spot the skier. Picture: Aaron Jamieson Source: Supplied

Halfway through the night I had to go for a toilet break. Half asleep and uncoordinated, I slipped on hard ice and fell on my back, knocking the wind out of me. As I waited for the pain to go away, I looked up at the sky and noticed how big and bright the stars were. Up there, you not only see stars, but what seems like the whole galaxy with the naked eye.

It's incredible.

Sore from yesterday's hike and bathroom stop, the next morning I watched the most amazing yellow sunrise come over the camp. Besides the active black crows' complaining cries, it was dead quiet, everyone else was still sleeping. I melted snow and made hot drinks.

When everyone emerged from their tents, the energy around the camp was evident. Chris came over and handed me an ice axe.

"Pack up your stuff, we're going on an adventure!"

It's an incredible experience. Picture: Aaron Jamieson Source: Supplied

The plan was to hike right up to the "Roof of Australia" and spend the night on top, past Mt Twynam, the third highest mountain, to the steepest terrain of Carruthers, Watson Crags and The Sentinel.

It was on this day that I thought all of the fitness training I did for this trip back in Sydney must have done nothing. Keeping pace with athletes while wearing a heavy pack in high altitude was hard, but the scenery was spectacular. I'd only spent day trips in the "side-country" next to the resorts in Australia, and had never ventured this far out.

Ice was everywhere. The rain from the previous days had reached all the way to the top, then the clear cold night froze it into a hard block, making the climb difficult on the steep sections and forced us to take our skis off and put crampons or metal spikes on our ski boots which slowed us down.

As we reached Mt Twynam we could see our objective. The photos I had seen of these mountains did not do them justice — jutting peaks, steep spines and big vertical, mountains you would hunt for from a helicopter window overseas.

We decided to go skiing. Because the steep face of Carruthers Peak faces north, the snow would be softer in the afternoon sun so Watkin, Chris and Teddy head there. I was getting tired so I hiked a smaller run on the first go. After watching them descend Carruthers and hearing their screams of joy as they carved from side to side, I knew it was a face I wanted to ski before I left.

That night, base camp seemed like a five-star resort compared to our new "top camp" at 2100m above sea level. It was so cold it took forever to melt and boil snow. The stoves were running for hours. I was worried we would run out of fuel and wouldn't have enough water for all of us, but they were never worried.

On the edge. Picture: Aaron Jamieson Source: Supplied

As we stood around in the cold wind making dinner with our head torches on, we drank cheap whisky straight from the hip flask, which does a great job of warming you up. To get out of the wind we all ate our pasta dinner inside the tent. Everything tastes good in the snow; Teddy had pre-cooked all the meals in vacuum-sealed portions.

It was hard to sleep. Everything inside the tent was freezing, and the outside was covered in a layer of frost. You really fight the elements up there, and realise how inhospitable it is, even for Australia. As I lay there in the snow I thought about how I was sleeping in the best four-season tent money can buy with the latest fabric technology. How did the old explorers like Strzelecki do it? But like Chris said, it was an adventure and I was stoked to be there.

The next morning I had never been happier to see the sun, which thawed everything. It seemed like each sunrise was more amazing then the rest, although maybe it just got better with elevation.

That day we skied, and climbed, and skied. More people came out to join us from base camp; Olympian Anna Segal, Pro Snowboarder Nate Johnstone, American snowboard legend Jason Robinson, and cameramen Jake McBride and Ross Reid.

After a beautiful sunny afternoon the fog rolled in and many of us had to make it back to base camp in next to zero visibility following GPS waypoints in the dark on the ice.

In my time up there I eventually conquered the line I wanted to ski, and witnessed some of the best talent in Australia and the world ride the steepest terrain Australia had to offer, and it's impressive! Sometimes out there on those mountains you have to remind yourself you are just a few hours drive from Sydney.

On the way back I stopped in at a mate's house in Jindabyne to have a shower before the drive back to Sydney. I can't tell you how good that was, after spending a week on "The Roof of Australia".

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