Thredbo – Easter 2004

The Cannonball Run, Kosciusko, Cascade Hut and back.

The day (Sunday) started out with a bit of rain but cleared up during the day. By 9.00am, all the men and children raring to go (there were about 6 adults and 7 boys under the age of 18 in our group). I was still hesitating, after being told in no uncertain terms by Colin "not to do it", but I signed up anyhow, kitted up in my full body armour and headed out for the skills session...

The Cannonball Run!!!!

The day (Sunday) started out with a bit of rain but cleared up during the day. By 9.00am, all the men and children raring to go (there were about 6 adults and 7 boys under the age of 18 in our group). I was still hesitating, after being told in no uncertain terms by Colin "not to do it", but I signed up anyhow, kitted up in my full body armour and headed out for the skills session.

After balking at the steps and the drop down the hill on my first attempts, I finally went over the top (see pic) and headed up the ski lift with my bike.

I can't remember much of the run. It was pretty steep, with lots of single trail winding through the trees and plenty of rocks and drops. I just kept telling myself it was just another ride, no matter about the full-body armour. It's all a bit of a blur now… I wasn't the fastest or the slowest, and I although I walked quite a few sections, I didn't fall off and I made it to the bottom in one piece.

Justin did a total of 4 runs and he was buzzing with it all, having a great time on his new Cannondale Gemini. There were a few thrills and spills during the day along with a couple of flat tires and by the time they got back from the fourth (or fifth?) run at 3pm, most of the guys had had enough. It was down the pub for a hearty roast and a few beers that night to talk about sore hands (from trying to hold onto the brakes), surviving the rock garden and successfully beating the "Ladder".

Kosciusko

The next day we were up at 8.00am for the Kosiousko ride, starting from Charlotte's Pass and riding to Seaman's Hut, where we stopped for lunch, and then on to Kosiousko itself (you have to walk the last 15-20 minutes). There were 16 of us altogether, ages from 5 to 50, 8 children and 8 adults.

This was a wonderful ride on a good graded service road with a small but consistent gradient. The last bit up to Seaman's Hut is a bit steep but overall not too difficult. The views out to Victoria from the top of the mountain are spectacular.

Cascade Hut and back

Justin and I left Thredbo about 11am with Dave and Chris a few of the kids to do the road ride to Dead Horse gap. They were going to head back from Dead Horse Gap on the single trail and we (Justin and I) were heading to the cascade Hut for lunch. The ride to Dead Horse Gap on the road from Thredbo is about 5km and I can vouch for the fact that it is ALL up-hill.

Dave and the others joined us on the trail from Dead Horse Gap to Cascade Hut for a kilometre or so but the kids had had enough by then (too much up-hill) so they all headed back.

The ride to cascade Hut is about 10 km through Man from Snowy River country along good quality fire trail and the scenery is fantastic. There is a big climb up to the top of Bob's Ridge, but the gradient is not too steep so we managed to ride most of it, then there is a fantastic downhill run over big water bars to the Cascade Hut itself.

We were hoping to spot some wild brumby's, but it was not our day for brumby's, so after a half hours stop for lunch, we headed back.

Unfortunately, what goes down must also go up, and the first 3kms of the ride back to Dead Horse Gap were a bit too much for me. I walked most of it and found the thin alpine air really had me struggling. The gradient is not incredibly steep but it's very hard to get up over all those water bars, and keep it up for the whole 3kms riding to the top of the hill.

Amazingly, Justin rode up about 95% of the mountain to the top, which was an incredible achievement: a result of sheer guts and determination on his part.

A quick stop at Bob's Ridge, where we passed the time of day briefly chatting to the walkers who were heading off for a 6 day hike, and it was downhill nearly all the way back to Dead Horse Gap, followed by a MAJOR downhill run on the road to Thredbo. A total of 30km for the day (including the ride from Thredbo), and we were done glad to get back for a nice cold beer and Vodka Tonic.