Mt Stirling

Three hours drive north east from Melbourne in winter and you arrive on the snowy landscape of Mt Stirling.  Through the cloud you can hear the clank of the ski tows just over the valley on the Alpine ski resort of Mt Buller.  On Stirling, however, the Red Robins dart on the lower snow free slopes and the Antechinus retreat to the burrows under the snow covered grass clumps.  On a spring day in September the distant views are revealed.

relentlessly the water removes the snow and soon the mountain will be thawing at times .. the route up is rather steep the snow gums form a dark snowy tunnel
As you clear the tree line you see the windy summit of Mt Stirling the wind blasted summit of Mt Stirling offers little protection at last the sun appears .. and we can see our lunch spot
Looking west .. we can see the extent of the snow fall this year The quiet slope of the Northern side of Mt Stirling is a great place for practising those turns if we were staying longer .. this snow cave would be a comfortable place to rest

These pictures were taken in late August, 2000 with an Olympus digital camera.