Snowy Mountains - details

Lichen and bark.

Lichens growing in the socket left where a limb once grew on a Snow Gum Eucalyptus niphophila.

Longhorn tracks.

These branches of a snow Gum have been killed by borers, the larvae of a longicorn beetle Phoracantha sp. They burrow beneath the bark of the living stems, the tree dies, the bark peels away and the finger wide furrows of the larvae burrows are exposed. Meanwhile the larvae have emerged and flown off to infect another tree.

A tangle of branches.

Lichens growing on the dead branches of Snow Gums killed by the big fire of 2003.

A tangle of leaves. 

High on an alpine slope, looking through a low mat of Herbfield Celmisia Celmisia costiniana. The shine is created by the multitude of tiny hairs on the leaves, which help protect the plants from frost. 

Stars in an alpine stream. 

Alpine Marsh Marigold Caltha introloba grows in wet flushes below snow patches. It likes to have its feet wet and doesn't have much of a hold in the gravel beds.

Everlasting awakening.

A cushion of an alpine everlasting, Alpine Sunray Leucochrysum albicans. In a few weeks there will be tall stems with daisy-like heads sprouting from this tight mass of silvery woolly leaves. This is the form that the plant adopted to survive under the winter snows.

Xanthoria orange.

A tell-tale streak of Xanthoria sp. lichen growing on granite tor high on the summit ridge of the mountains. These lichens only grow where there is localised nitrogen enrichment. In this instance, there was a streak of it below a slanting crack in the rock, only a flat hand wide. The presence of the lichen hints that nitrogen was dropping out of the crack - probably very small amounts over many many years. That could have been from moth droppings, from aestivating Bogong moths Agrostis infusa.

Water lines.

Meltwater forms runnels on the surface of the old snow patches, then drips from the lip and into a stream below.

Old snow. 

Cracks opening up on a long-lying snow bed.

 Snowy Mountains - day three 

Mt Kosciuszko looks best when the spring snowlie emphasises its form with big deep cornices.

Or when seen from the distance of a neighbouring hill. This is such a good time to see the hills with the spring flower growth emerging as the snow shinks away.

It was good to walk freely over the mounatins, treading delicately across the gravel in a mountain stream. Aware not to even leave footprints. And pick up other peoples' litter.

Alpine flora are delicate and need our protetction. The first flowers were coming out, not long after the snow had melted. It is such a short growing season up there.

Buds were swelling on the heaths, like this plant spreading over a boulder to hug the sun's warmth trapped by the rock.

Lots of snow-melt had formed a moat around this castellated tor.

A fallen spire, split by its own force. But when did it fall? Probably in the last ice-age when these tors were formed. 10-12,000 years ago.  

A more recent annual fall of snow was now rapidly melting. 

The melt-water running down under the snow-patches and out of tunnels at their lower edge.

Water released by those snows with give so much life all the way down the Snowy River and beyond.

The snows are a precious resource.

 Snowy Mountains - Blue Lake walk

Day two in the Snowy Mountains. A walk to Blue Lake, high up on the main ridge.

There is a double river crossing at the beginning of the walk. OK when the water was low in the morning. A matter of balancing on wet stepping stones. At this time of year, when the snow is still melting, the water is always a bit high. By afternoons, as more snow melts during the day, the water rises.

The earliest alpine flowers were beginning to open, adding tiny flecks of colour to the winter-browned vegetation recently exposed by the melting snow.

Blue Lake never disappoints. It lies in a deep glacial hollow below the summit ridge and the snow lies late on the crags. The  morning sky was still mostly blue and the water reflected it clearly.

Although soon, the clouds built up, a warning of changing conditions.

And over behind the rdige, more clouds were forming, big heavy dark ones.

Within minutes, Mt Kosciuszko, the highest peak in Australia, was being drenched by a thunderstorm. So a quick dash back along the track to the rivers before the rainwater added depth to the crossing. 

A well timed trip. 

Snowy Mountains

I was snow-boarding up in the Snowy mountains last week, and it was snowy. There was a steady south-east wind bringing in cold moist air all week. This created constant light snowfall and freezing fog. The best riding was through the woods on deep consolidated snow, picking your own slalom route through the trees.

 The leaves on the snow gums were coated with thick ice as the fog froze around them.

 The granite tors were coated in ice too.

The whole landscape was deep in winter's grip. Wonderful stuff.