Participants: Norman,Rosanne,Philip,Yolande,Leslie,John,David,Evan,Bob
Our group headed off shortly before 9 am, starting at Rocky Creek and quickly gained the long ridge leading up to our objective for the day. Stormy weather from the previous day had left the air crystal clear, with banks of mist hanging in the valley, and the surrounding peaks white with a dusting of snow. The ridge provided a nice comfortable climb, initially in trees, which soon thinned to allow some spectacular views of the surrounding peaks. The route was fairly easy to follow, with a well defined trail most of the way, and the occasional piece of flagging tape or cairn. The two scramble sections required care on the ascent and descent, but did not present major difficulty. We returned to the vehicles at about 5 pm, having climbed 1000m and 10.3 km
Fortress Mountain with a dusting of new snow
End of Opal Ridge. Red line shows approximate route
Start of first scramble section
Another view of first scramble section
Looking back at ascent route. Mt Kidd in background.
Second short scramble section
Yolande negotiating the last scramble section
Outcrop in the centre is our final destination which is easily scaled from the left side.
Surrounding peaks to east with dusting of snow
View of the north end of Opal Ridge
The Team
The team: Philip, Rosanne, Evan, Yolande, Norman, Leslie, Bob and David. John c/s
A thoroughly enjoyable day. Thank you all for signing up and joining me.