KIM AND PETE’S (SWEET AS) ADVENTURE MONTH!
Sure, Pete and I have had our fair share of adventure days… but an adventure month? First of all, where to stage such a frivolous romp? And could we organise such an ambitious expedition as we hurtled towards the finishing line of a degree and a PhD? Apparently not, but that didn’t stop us winging it- and having the time of our lives in the South Island of New…
Surprise Bushwalk – The Beeripmo Trail, by Ray
Uni was a pretty long drag with books, boring lectures and tutorials. That's when I came across the ' La Trobe Mountaineering Club' (LUMC). My friends joined it and I followed; thinking that I would just go Kayaking every Tuesday night. The very next week I signed up for a bush walking trip too. Well, it was a 'surprise bushwalk'. We were not told of the destination, until…
a most gramptacular adventure, by kim.
Like most of my adventures, this particular expedition began in Abbotsford with the allocation of gear from the well equipped (Pete) to the poor and uninformed (me). There was also petting of a surprisingly soft rabbit, but that doesn’t really have much relevance in the grand scheme of this story, nor does it help our mountaineering street cred, so I won’t dwell on her…
Climbing or the gentle art of falling up at first glance seems to fit nearly into that category of ‘what the f*$k’ or alternatively ‘hey lookie at that fun!!’, depending of course on your level of personal chutzpah (Defined as the quality of a person who can murder both parents then plead for mercy , because their an orphan). Simply put the answer is that climbers…
Arts Students (Mt Feathertop - September 2008)
Q. What do you get when you have two Arts students with little dedication and little inclination for paid work during winter?
A. Mt Feathertop midweek madness
Mark had been in Canada for 7 months, and I’d been sitting around the whole time trying to think up exciting things to do instead of what I should have been doing (thesis) when a ripper of a trip came up on the…
Grampians 26-30th of September (2008)
What else would a LUMCer do on grand final weekend other than get as far away from the CBD and a television set as possible. I can boast that I did not know the result of this years grand final until the Wednesday after the event.
Alex, Pete and Myself walked, scrabbled and at times hauled ourselves to the top of Mount William from Sheep Hills and across the major Mitchell…
Its snow season again! So what else, but a ski trip with Hilary, Steph, Pete, Bonnie (MBOC) and myself headed to St Gwinear for a weekend.
We skied
Camped in the snow
Ate some yummy food
Went exploring between the trees
Then it was time to head home
Coming to Australia was pretty scary at first - its on the other side of the world and the first time I've ever left home! But getting settled in was pretty easy; we took part in some of the orientation activities La Trobe had to offer. At the Orientation Sports Fair, we signed up on the e-maillist for LUMC.
Our first time going to the weekly kayaking sessions was a hit. We…
A Scrub bashing Epic: The Successful Ascent of Mt Latrobe, Wilson Prom
With our previous failed attempt echoing at the back of our minds, we spotted a window of good weather at the Prom, and the decision was made – this time, we were getting to the summit of Mt Latrobe (the highest point of Wilson's Prom). Having learnt our lesson from our previous attempt however, this time we came properly prepared. *cue dramatic music*
GARDENING…
A short drive in the Hindu Kush
Ok, so my recent five week trip to Afghanistan wasn’t an official LUMC outing, but we did see some impressive mountains and white-water, which might interest some of you. The mountains of Afghanistan, the Hindu Kush, are the western extension of the Pamir, Karakoram and Himalaya and rise up to nearly 7,500 m. Areas, such as Nuristan and Badakhshan (where lapis lazuli…
Above: Alice leading Hanging Fred Bonnet
Spooky shit on the Moon
Me and Alice went to Moonarie for a week of sunshine, nice rock and friendship. However before this happened we got completely freaked out. It wasn’t the climbing, which is often sustained, direct and steep, it wasn’t the odd bit of rock that broke off. It wasn’t even having to dig a poo hole every…
Urban Adventure with the LUMC XTCT
While Victoria’s rivers bulged with drought breaking rain, the LUMC X-Treme Creek Team ticked the Darebin Creek (cough cough, “stormwater drain”). Alex, although not a Cave Clan member, has adopted this local creek/ drain as his own. He frequently suggests trips, checks the gauge on the way to work, posts related comments on the Paddle Australia forum, and undertakes…
One Van, Two Bikes and “That Hill”
Mikey and I recently had occasion to take our bikes out for a couple of leisurely mountain bike rides. The occasion being that Mikey got his car fixed, mine was on its way, I’d recently got a kick-arse guide of some other LUMCers and we tend to do stuff like that from time to time. After consulting the possibilities we decided to take the VW of Doom out near Yan Yean…
Tim and Alice’s offwidth adventures
Me and Alice recently went climbing at Arapiles and the Grampians for a week or so. Whilst we did many challenging and interesting climbs, a few stand out as having that something extra special.
One day at Arapiles, we decided to do the classic crack struggle ‘Electra’ (grade 19). I cleverly suggested that we climb it as two pitches instead of one, meaning I could lead…
How does one find oneself picking through gear in the club boatshed at 4:30am on a Saturday and then waiting by the ring road for a lift? Who hatches a day of paddling that would be best titled end of semester assignment avoidance scheme? And what is it that lures a crew on uni kids to a 1.5km section of creek in a wet, cold and rocky valley 250+km from home?
Well it’s not…
Curious to discover what was so addictive about climbing, I decided to join a trip to Arapiles over the Easter break. I was, by all accounts, a beginner. I had never set foot in a climbing gym, let alone tackled any outdoor ascents. In fact, I had avoided climbing in the past. Hardcore climbers with their secret language littered with jargon seemed a bit inaccessible to a…
Every now and again the weather shifts from the predominately westerly patterns to that mysterious and magical easterly direction. Typically this upsets the applecart to the extent that it rains a lot in a place with unreliable rainfall at best – deepest, darkest Gippsland.
After experiencing moderate success on the Rubicon the weekend before (the rocks were well…
Emily led six cross country beginners (Robyn, Mikey, Yuta, Anthony, Wade and Alice) to Mt Hotham during the first week of the winter break. We ventured to Mt Loch and Derrick’s hut, virtually the only possible destinations due to lacklustre snow cover. We also enjoyed a couple of short walks around the lodge and playing (and making a nuisance of ourselves) on downhill runs…
Wilson’s Prom - 10 – 12 Dec 2005
Saturday – Enormous death waves of doom
We’d secured a campsite late on Friday night, after driving down from Melbourne. I woke up alone in my little blue tent on Saturday morning, and felt compelled to get up and check out this place. I’d never been to the Prom before, despite many plans being made. I wandered out across Tidal River with my camera, and did a loop up…
Gravity 12 Hour Mountain Bike Ride – Nov 2005
LUMC entered three teams in the Gravity ride this year – it’s a mountain bike challenge/endurance event near Myrtleford, involving doing as many laps around the 13km course of single track and fire trails as your team can manage in the 12 hours.
Wombles of Mass Delusion consisted of Alex, Nick and Megan, and managed 11 laps in 12:01:55, coming 8th out of 14 in their…
