MountainSphere Adventures | Navigation Weekend 14-15 September 2024

A full house of 10 people for the navigation weekend this weekend. And despite forecasts of snow and an apocalyptic cold blast from Antarctica on Sunday, we enjoyed mostly sunny weather the whole weekend, not too much wind, and just a cold morning on Sunday and a cold but mostly sunny day. Nothing that a fleece and a beanie can’t fix. Saturday was a day packed with learning the skills of navigation in fine weather and putting them into practice immediately in varied terrain. By the end of this very full day we established our camp on a lovely cool afternoon in a beautifully peaceful spot. Unfortunately due to a minor slip just before reaching camp, Vee Jin had a sore knee upon arriving at camp, but she was still very mobile and very positive. In the end it was decided that on Sunday the group would split, with one group very capably led by Leanne and George would walk back the way we came, and the other group led by me would continue the normal nav weekend route which was longer and steeper. The two groups remained constantly in touch with 2-way radios. This way, everyone was able to enjoy the weekend at a pace and distance suited to them. And everyone had the opportunity to put into practise everything learned on the previous day and in the morning at camp before we parted. The group who walked back the short way completed their walk in time to enjoy a lunch together at the pub in Mt Victoria. The group who went the longer way arrived at Bell about an hour and a half later, after having crossed the river gorge in a steep but scenic spot. All up another fantastic navigation weekend in beautiful weather enjoyed by all.