Summertime in the Snowy Mountains

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Caroline Thurlow discovers the off-road delights of Australia’s heights. 

I have been fascinated with the history and beauty of the Snowy Mountains since first catching a glimpse of the serene scenery as a girl watching the movie The Man from Snowy River. Until recently, however, I hadn’t really thought a lot about riding a bike in that magnificent setting—my associations with the region centred around clipping boots into skis, sitting frozen on chairlifts or T-bars and drinking hot chocolate to keep warm.

Of course, I knew summertime riding was a possibility, so being keen bushwalkers and wanting to conquer Australia’s tallest mountain—Mount Kosciuszko—we ventured to the area over summer taking our mountain bikes. We were pleasantly surprised: summertime in the Snowy Mountains is a mountain biking haven. I would argue the region has more to offer in the summertime than the winter, with brilliant weather, wildflowers, brumbies, rugged mountains, running rivers and, most of all, fantastic bike riding. With beautiful, clear and still-cool days, you can escape the coastal summer heat and explore these mountains.

 

IMG_2705 (Large)Bike trails from Thredbo Alpine Village

Thredbo Alpine Village offers more than a dozen mountain biking trails ranked from beginner through to advanced and from long scenic trail rides to fast action-packed downhill trails. Many of these trails start in or near Thredbo Village.

We began our riding adventure with the Thredbo Valley Trail, a 12km return, easy to intermediate trail which took us down the picturesque Thredbo River and across three suspension bridges. The same day, we also explored the valley further on a 3km circuit around the golf course, an easy 3km Bridle Trail loop and a 2km Pipeline Trail.

We also managed to get ourselves lost taking our bikes on the Thredbo River Track to Dead Horse Gap. We realised we were on a walking track, not a bike track, when we were forced to dismount numerous times to climb stairs, straddle tree roots, and cross streams on thin board tracks. We abandoned our bikes and completed the pleasant track along the river on foot, taking a dip in the very brisk Thredbo River to cool off.

If you want to take your bike up the chairlift for some more adrenalin pumping downhill rides, you will need a ticket, and a two-hour induction for $20 includes a safety briefing, bike inspection, an introduction to lift usage, explanations of technical sections of the trails and a general introduction to the great riding in Thredbo. There’s also a two-hour clinic for $60 that focuses on developing the skills needed to ride Thredbo’s terrain. Your chairlift pass for the day is $71 per person or a reduced rate for multiple days. Find out more at www.thredbo.com.au/activities/summer-activities/biking/.

We thought the $60 induction clinic was a little OTT but the trail options from the top are worth the $20 induction. The Kosciuszko Flow Trail was an attractive 5.8km gravity-fed flow trail without all the technical features of the more difficult trails. Thredbo’s signature downhill trail, the 3.8 km Cannonball Downhill Trail, is apparently an exhilarating ride with jumps, rock drops and other technical features. Merritts Traverse is also popular but is for riders with a guide only.

 

Trails through Kosciuszko National Park

We chose to explore the many trails in the Kosciuszko National Park, which totally surrounds Thredbo Village. Many of the walking trails are shared with mountain bikes.

We rode the Cascade Trail, a 20km out-and-back trail from Dead Horse Gap off Alpine Way. A walking trail as well, we were really pleased we could move a little faster through the valley on bikes. We could explore so much more of this beautiful country than on foot. Crossing streams and riding through large puddles, we weren’t so happy to be on our bikes when we had to push our bikes up the long hill to Bob’s Ridge. But the scenic lookout across the Murray River valley into Victoria made the hard work worthwhile.

The descent from Bob’s Ridge was nothing but pure exhilarating fun! Along the valley on the other side riding to Cascade Hut, I had the soundtrack from “The Man from Snowy River” in my head and we saw plenty of brumbies to put us in the mood. If you’re a camper, you can stay here overnight and continue on into Victoria, but we returned the same way we came.

 

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Riding to the top of Australia

The pinnacle of my four-day mountain bike riding adventure in Kosciuszko National Park was taking the trip to the top of Australia: Mount Kosciuszko. At 2,228 metres (7,310ft), I expected to see it towering over the other mountains. But alas no: Mount Kosciuszko is barely noticeable against the high plateau of the main range.

Many people climb Mount Kosciuszko from Thredbo Village, catching the chairlift up to 1,930 metres and then traversing on the mesh boardwalk track over the alpine landscape towards the summit.

But with our bikes in tow, we decided to drive to Charlotte Pass, which at 1,840 metres elevation offers a fine lookout but otherwise no shelter, and ride the slow incline of the old road to Mount Kosciuszko called the Summit Track.

Leaving Charlotte Pass, we pedalled past peeling snow gums and colourful wildflowers. We crossed a trickling creek—the headwaters of the mighty Snowy River—and saw plenty of birds as well as a snake sunning itself.

After Seaman’s Hut—built in 1929 as a memorial for two explorers who perished in a blizzard—the gravel road became slightly more demanding on our legs until we reached Rawsons Pass. Here, outside the highest toilets in Australia, we left our bikes on racks before walking the final 1.4km to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko. At the summit, we took the time to appreciate the magnificent day that it was: a little chilly and windy, but amazingly clear—we could see for miles into Victoria.

 

Rides around Lake Crackenback Resort

Lake Crackenback Resort, situated alongside the National Park, is a private resort but opens its 25km of trails along the banks of the Thredbo River to all mountain bike and bushwalking enthusiasts. These trails also link with those in the National Park.

 

Visitor information

If you are driving into the National Park to get to Thredbo or up to Charlotte Pass, you will need a National Park pass. A summer day pass is valid for 24 hours and is $16 per vehicle. You can purchase these at the entry to the Park.

More info: www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/kosciuszko-national-park.

Bike hire is available from Thredbo Village or from Lake Crackenback Resort from $30 per day for a village bike, a regular mountain bike with front suspension or a downhill mountain bike with rear suspension.

For maps and more info: www.snowymountains.com.au/things-to-do/mountain-biking

 

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