Australian Geographic — May-June 2017

May. June 99

and is located about 90km south-west of Hobart. It’s a 1225m-high,

incisor-like, quartzite spire sometimes referred to as Australia’s only

true mountain. It was first summitted in 1949 by a party led by

John Béchervaise, an Australian writer and photographer renowned

for his mid-20th-century exploits in Antarctica.

Hikers reach the summit via Bushwalkers Route, a deceptive

name for a severely exposed and sometimes near-vertical scramble.

Barely 100 people make it to the top each year. In early 2016, just

months before our Winter on the Blade team set out, an experi-

enced bushwalker tumbled 150m to her death here.

The walk into Federation Peak has the reputation for being

Australia’s toughest. It is an unmaintained trail that guarantees

submersion into thick mud and is lined with dense vegetation

that impedes your every step. The walk’s allure is further tempered

by its exposure to the famously strong Southern Hemisphere

westerly winds known as the Roaring Forties. In winter, when

consistently wet conditions can flood the rivers here, making

them unsafe to cross, it’s an even tougher challenge. Despite the

risks, Simon and Andy managed to attract five other participants

to their expedition – climbers Mark Savage, Mick Wright and

Nick Grant, videographer Dan Haley and me, the photographer.

I

T WAS THE afternoon of 21 June 2016 – the Winter Solstice

• when our team gathered nervously in Andy’s living room
  before finally setting out. Hobart’s Derwent River looked
  distorted through wet window panes and our romantic notion
  of leaving in the dead of winter was beginning to seem foolhardy.
  When conditions are good, the Farmhouse Creek Track access
  to Bechervaise Plateau is manageable. With overflowing rivers
  and heavy packs, we knew the 21km trek would be a nightmare.
  On a reconnaissance trip weeks earlier, volunteers had dropped
  off 120kg of food and equipment at the plateau. But much of the
  remaining gear, including 35kg of camera equipment, had to be
  divvied up between us. Then there were the 3kg of salami, 7kg of
  cheese and two loaves of halva Andy had packed!

Mick Wright peers down into the

amphitheatre in preparation for

climbing Blade Ridge the next day.

Devils Thumb protrudes upwards

near the middle of this picture.

Continued page 102

is a documentary photographer. Nature, adventure

and travel dominate her work. She was one of three

videographers to film the first winter ascent of the

North West Face Direct via Blade Ridge, alongside

Dan Haley and chief filmmaker Simon Bischoff.

Olivia Page

PHOTO CREDIT: OLIVIA PAGE; INSET: ANDY SZOLLOSI