Snow time

Wild weather delivers unusual conditions

Hi, I am a landscape and nature photographer based in Melbourne, Australia and enjoy using my camera to explore our remaining wild places and better connect with nature.

There was no doubt that the cold front sweeping from the Southern Ocean was going to hit Victoria over the weekend, with snow expected on Sunday morning down to 600 metres above sea level (asl). Snow in Australia is usually limited to the highest alpine areas over winter and rarely falls at these lower elevations. Time to head up into the hills to experience the conditions firsthand.

A couple of evenings spent scanning topographical maps and Google Earth and I had a plan. I would explore one of the rivers coming off the south face of the Baw Baw plateau. Starting at the base of a management track at a bit over 700m asl, I would walk up the management track (closed to vehicles for winter) and then into the bush to traverse across to a river I had explored lower down, but not this far upstream. I had walked a little way up the track and knew it was in good condition, but beyond that it was all unknown.

As I pulled off the road at my starting point early Sunday morning, it was hard not to get excited about the walk ahead. There was a thin covering of snow on the road, which would only get better as I headed to higher elevations and the mountain above was shrouded in low cloud. Wasting little time, I laced up the boots, added a layer of waterproofs and gaiters, and hoisted my trusty pack over my shoulders and was off.

The management track provided for a steady climb with little vegetation across the road, with twin paths where water trickling down the wheel ruts was melting the snow. With occasional flurries of snow and easy walking, I was enjoying the unusual scene of tall eucalypts and tree ferns covered in snow. I stopped in a couple of places to take some photos, just handheld as I was keen to keep moving.

As I continued to make my way up the track, my breath visible in the cold air, my mind started to turn to the next stage of the walk when the management track ends. Off to my left, the terrain dropped steeply away with very thick scrub (see image below). Pushing through that would not be fun.

I had made good progress (as far as I had hoped – different maps had indicated different end points to the track), but I could see the track levelling out. Reaching the end, I stopped for a drink and a look around and was very pleased to see what looked like a distinct path ahead. I had hoped that this would be the case – although very few people would head off-track here, I am guessing perhaps a dozen people a year, the end of a track tends to concentrate their movement.

I don’t want to overstate the quality of the path – it was no more than a vague gap in the vegetation. The ground was still knee deep in ferns, rocks, bushes and snow, and branches and shrubs criss-crossed the path, weighed down by heavy snow.

The real advantage is that it provided an aid to navigation. Unless it swung wildly in the wrong direction, I hoped that trail would head towards the river – the obvious destination.

By now I was fully engaged in nature. I was carefully observing the lay of the land and trying to keep to the path, watching for changing the light as the low cloud momentarily thinned. Occasionally I would pause to take a moment to carefully look for compositions, where a tree or rock, or just the light, had attracted my attention.

In several places, a small bird (I couldn’t identify it) would flit out from the undergrowth and then back again. I suspect it could only survive in the protected micro-climate of the snow-covered ground cover and tree ferns.

After 45 minutes, I sensed the path veer towards the north and I stopped to check my GPS. I was right where I expected to be. Below me was a reasonable size creek that I could follow down to the river. The creek was choked with fallen timber making finding compositions very difficult. I tried a couple but knew the terrain and light were not going to produce anything special. Still, practicing in difficult conditions strengthens my skills for better conditions.

I followed the creek down and before long hit the river. The terrain at this section of river was relatively flat, with several creeks with quite large catchments entering the river within a kilometre or two. It was wider than I had expected with a significant amount of water flowing.

I walked up the river for a bit, stopping to take some photos like the one below – my favourite of the trip. The conditions were amazingly still - this image is an 8 second exposure! I can’t quite remember why I tried such a long exposure at ISO200, f9 - perhaps to see the effect on the water - but of the 14 images I took of this scene, this was the one with only limited movement blur in the most inoffensive places.

Finally, I turned around and started heading back. Although out and back routes can be a bit tedious, the walk back to the car always goes quicker, unburdened by the need to navigate.

Photography had been difficult with low cloud and increasing wind, flat light and little colour in high contrast scenes. But that hardly mattered. The unusually heavy snow in a forest dominated by tall eucalypts and tree ferns made for an amazing experience and some unusual images. It is always great to explore a new area, especially one that will benefit from repeat visits.