Skiing on man-made snow is just a little bit depressing…
Also, I’m sorry, but I just don’t like donuts. What’s wrong with cake, or muffins, or cookies? These are all tasty.
Author: megan
Categories
reading pliny the younger
On panthers…
“I am sorry the African panthers you had bought in such quantities did not turn up on the appointed day…”
On Christians…
“I have never been present at an examination of Christians. Consequently, I do not know the nature or the extent of the punishments usually meted out to them, nor the grounds for starting an investigation and how far it should be pressed…
For the moment this is the line I have taken with all persons brought before me on the charge of being Christians. I have asked them in person if they are Christians, and if they admit it, I repeat the question a second and third time, with a warning of the punishment awaiting them. If they persist, I order them to be led away for punishment…
They declared that the sum total of their guilt or error amounted to no more than this: they had met regularly before dawn on a fixed day to chant verses alternately among themselves in honor of Christ as if to a god…
This made me decide it was all the more necessary to extract the truth by torture from two slave-women, whom they call deaconesses. I found nothing but a degenerate sort of cult carried to extravagant lengths…”
Step One: Go on a 20 km mountain bike on Saturday morning
Step Two: Go on a 7 km run (street-orienteering) on Saturday afternoon
Step Three: Go to Mt Buller on Sunday and have your first day of telemarking for the season
Categories
*excellent*
After months of inaction, Russell the Peak-Bagging Moose (me, that is) finally got to go out and bag some peaks – and this one was a worthy one. Mount Bogong, highest mountain in Victoria, Australia (I understand it probably doesn’t count as particularly worth if I was a moose from another country, but I must make do with what is available).
There was over 1300 metres of vertical gain in one day to reach the summit, there was wind and snow, and beautiful clear blue skies. I’m a happy moose once more.
(You can just make me out sheltering between the stones of the cairn – I was close to being blown away)
Categories
“i can see why people eat them”
In honour of the Queen (may she long reign over us, etc) we hiked up the highest mountain in the state on the long weekend. Much less pointy and impressive than the mountains available in Europe and Asia and those sorts of places, but high(ish) at 1986m (6516 ft). And snow-covered, which has to count for something.
After parking the car at around 650 metres, we spent most of Sunday going uphill.
Up Staircase Spur, through the singed mountain ash, past Bivouac Hut, past the growing collections of snow at the side of the path, through the snowgum regrowth, and finally out into the open, where it started to get seriously windy.
We ditched our packs for the final press up to the summit. After climbing on top of the summit cairn and admiring the amazingly clear view, we spent most of our time cowering in the shelter of the cairn. With winds around 80km/h, and a temperature of -8oC or so (down to around -20oC with wind chill) it was nice and cool.
After retrieving our packs, we didn’t have far to go to reach Eskdale Spur. Not far, but over the very exposed section of about 100 metres before the spur turnoff, Corey lost his pack cover, Mikey was blown over a couple of times, and managed to break the handle of the snow shovel strapped to his pack (and in the process coming to the conclusion that Blundstone boots really aren’t the ideal snow hiking shoe). Once we started heading down the spur, the wind died down and things became quite pleasant. We dropped down to below 1700 metres, and found Michell Hut, newly rebuilt after the previous hut at the site was burnt down in the 2003 bushfires.
The full moon popped up as soon as we’d finished watching the sunset. Dinner was cooked, no port was consumed, and we all crawled straight into bed (spending some time enjoying the educational ‘Outback’ magazine).
After 10 hours of sleep, the sun finally reappeared, and we hiked the other 1 km of down down down to get off the mountain. The good weather held, my knees held, the car was still there, and we got to meet a ferret.
