The Blue Lake - snowboarding in November ================================= By Luke Beuchat Cable television channel Sky News beamed out the latest details from the devastating bushfires around Canberra - three hundred houses lost and the inferno was still raging. The images were scary - intense walls of red, hot heat and the smoldering ruins of family homes. I could feel the heat in my lounge room. I lay back in the armchair and wiped the beads of sweat from my brow. Outside the Sydney air temperature was pushing 30 degrees and it wasn't even mid-November! Sky News continued with the weather forecast. It certainly didn't look good. Continuing 30 plus temperatures and warm winds. The exceedingly high mercury reading were fast killing my memories of the epic Aussie winter just passed. Strong consistent dumps throughout the whole season had brought one of those epic winters that Aussie riders can normally only dream about. It was time for a cold shower. I retrieved a towel from the pile of clothes heaped in the corner of my bedroom. Just as I was about to turn the tap on the phone began to ring. It's shrill tone echoed through the warm, stifling air of the house. "Better answer it," I thought, "Who knows whose house may be burning down now!" I answered the phone with my customary monotonic greeting, "Luke speaking." The G-man's excitable voice came streaming down the line, "B-boy it's the G-man in the house. What IS going on?" How could someone have so much energy on such a hot day? The G-man always seemed to have an oversupply of energy. It was almost like he was on permanent drip filled with Red Bull. That certainly couldn't be healthy. "G-man how you doing. Mate, I'm just about to jump in the shower. It's just too damn hot," I replied in a significantly subdued manner. The G-man's springy voice came back down the line, "Well hold the mayonnaise B-boy we're going snowboarding. I've got this trip to Blue Lake all teed up. All you have to do is show up and ride." I had an inkling that the G-man was slightly crazy but this really took the cake. I mean bush fires were raging on the Main Range, Canberra was ablaze, people were frying eggs on the pavement and the wind felt like it was coming out of a steel furnace. Surely there couldn't be any snow up on the Aussie Alps. I relayed this rationale back to the G-man. But as always he had done his research. He had checked the satellite photos, looked at the Web cams and spoken to a few of his granola-eating hiking buddies. Out around Blue Lake there was still two metres plus of snow. I was still skeptical of the whole idea. Snow in mid-November, smack bang in the middle of the worst bushfires on record. Yeah right! However snow or no snow I knew it would be a damn sight cooler 2,000 plus metres above sea level than right here in the smothering heat of Sydney's inner suburbs. The G-man's fast flow of words kept coming down the line. "OK G-man I'm in, I'm in. I'm keen let's give this Blue Lake deal a bash." I said. "Nice one B-boy," the G-man virtual shouted down the line, "I'll be over in an hour or so. Started packing. This is the G-man spraying and chlaying outta here." The G-Man was around banging at my door in under an hour. When he has an idea in his head it's all systems go. I rapidly stuffed the rest of items I thought I might need into my hurriedly packed bags and piled into the G-Man's over-sized Ford Falcon station wagon. Along for the ride was one of G-Man's good friends, Bruce. He would have to be one of the nicest, most Australian guys you could ever meet. However for the duration of the trip Bruce was to take on the name of that most revered of cricket commentators, Richie Benaud due to the G-Man's addiction to the "Twelfth Man" chronicles which seemed to be on a permanent repeat sequence in the Falcon. The car trundle down the Hume Highway with thick plumes of gray smoke visible in the distant, providing clear evidence of the summer bushfires that were burning intensely throughout the Australian Main Range. A lay my head back on the seat comforted by the Falcon's air conditioniong. In the front seats the G-Man and Richie were reeling off lines from all the editions of the "Twelfth Man". This was all pretty funny for about five minutes but we were now nearly at Canberra and it was getting a little too much for me to take. I persevered with the pain from Richie Bernaud and cohorts with the thought that snowboarding would be just around the corner. Driving through Jindabyne in mid-November was like driving through a completely different town. The hustle and bustle of this snow town had well and truly ended in September. Now it was just another country town. With shouts of "Maxy Walker" emanating from the car we left the Jindabyne and proceeded on the road up to Perisher. I was hoping to see some patches of snow at Perisher. At least this would provide me with some concrete evidence that there would be some snow out at Blue Lake. It would be my worst nightmare to make the three-hour hike out to Blue Lake with a fully laden pack only to discover that the G-Man's granola-eating buddies had been punching a few too many bongs the night before. There was no snow at Perisher and no snow when we pulled into the Charlotte's Pass car park. Now I was really beginning to ask questions. I virtually jumped out of the car and ran to the lookout that provided a view of the Main Range. It was like a loud "Alleluia" came from the heavens. The view in front of me was amazing - snow covered peaks stretched out to the horizon. It reminded me of Europe but this was probably due to my deluded stated caused by too many renditions of the "Twelfth Man" by the G-Man and Richie! It truly was a breath taking view and more so given it was November and I was in Australia. The sight of snow significantly lifted my spirits. I even allowed myself to recite a few lines from "Twelfth Man" - "On your bike boys we going snowboarding" I shouted at the G-Man and Richie. We loaded up our bags with every piece of camping imaginable. G-Man's granola-eating friends really did eat too much granola. I mean how could one individual own so much camping equipment? Worse still I had to carry it. When you put it all together - sleeping bag, mat, tent, camp stove, food and then add snowboard, boots and clothes you have one heavy pack. But it would all be worth it I kept telling myself. The hike out to Blue Lake is a relatively simple hike. The path heads down to a river crossing before gaining altitude as it meanders it's way into the Main Range. The surrounding landscape presents quite an opposing view to what you would expect in an alpine environment. It is barren with a complete absence of trees. No sign of alpine pines out here; just small Australian shrubs and grasses. On the horizon we could see Mount Kosciusko and from here peaks stretched out across the skyline. The amount of snow really was unbelievable. It was such a contradiction to what you expect from Australia in November. We walked into Blue lake around four o'clock. For the umpteenth time that day I was awe-struck. Before me was the most amazing alpine amphitheatre. A huge snow-covered semicircular bowl punctuated with sharp cliffs and chutes. This all cascaded down into the most pristine lake. The combination of the sun and the snow causing a unique reflection on the water, turning it a deep blue; hence the name. We all stood there in awe. The G-Man let out a shout, "Struce Richie this is amazing." He was definitely right! Given the amount of snow out here I would definitely have to revise my opinion of the G-Man's granola-eating buddies. They certainly knew what they were talking about when it came to snow depths. Just hiking around Blue Lake and doing laps of some of the chutes it was quite easy to see that there was more than a two-metre base out here. I still couldn't believe that I was snowboarding and it was November. And I don't mean just crappy little left and right turns on some bunny slope. Blue Lake offers the most insane freeriding terrain as well as several good spots to built booters. If you ever have the opportunity and the time I highly recommend a hike out to Blue Lake. It will totally change your perspective on what snowboarding is like in Australia. Blue Lake and the surrounding faces offer some of the steepest riding available in Oz. Best of all you can do this after all the resorts close. Just a word of advice - don't take along any friends who are infatuated with the "Twelfth Man". You may not come back a sane person. How to get there =========== [SPECIAL BOX] Blue Lake is located about two hours hike from Charlottes Pass. First you need to drive to the car park located near the Mt Kosciusko lookout, just near Charlottes Pass. The road here is only open to normal traffic after the close of the official ski season. So if you want to head out during the ski season then you will need to organise alternative transport to this location. A bus does travel regularly from Perisher Blue to Charlottes Pass. Once at the Mt Kosciusko lookout there is a well-marked path that leads all the way to Blue Lake. Note if you are doing this during the winter then the path will not be visible so you should take maps and compasses with you. Also be aware that the alpine weather is very unpredictable and you should be prepared for all possible weather conditions. [PHOTO CAPTIONS] Photo Number Caption Photographer SB3-201 The Elevator Shaft at Blue Lake. And this is one of the easier chutes! Photo: Alex Guzman SB3-202 Hard to believe but this is actually Australia in November. Mouse indies above Blue Lake. Photo: Alex Guzman SB3-203 Blue Lake in summer. Photo: Alex Guzman SB3-204 Blue Lake in winter. Photo: Holman/supershot.tv