Brown Mountain

The Eiger Nordwand, K2, El Captan, Annapurna… The mere mention of one of these formidable peaks can silence a room full of hardy climbers.  But there’s one mountain whose name is spoken in whispers, two words that will send an icy shard of terror into the heart of any Tasmanian walker: Brown Mountain.

Many a time, on a drive through the southern midlands, I would see that colossal, hulking pyramid of rock, and crane my neck to take in all 792 of its vertigo inducing meters. I would always promise myself, “one day, one day.”

That day arrived when our fearless President announced what I had been waiting for - and dreading: The first TUBC attempt on Brown Mountain. There were cries of “madness!” and “it would be suicide!” but we continued our preparation in earnest, carefully selecting expeditioners with the skills we needed, waiting for the perfect conditions to launch our strike. After a sleepless night of anticipation and soul-searching, eight of us met at the TUU car-park. Unsurprisingly the team was down a few due to last minute nerves, and we couldn’t help wondering if they had been the wise ones.      

We steeled ourselves and took to the cars, arriving at the foot of the brooding giant an hour later.

It would be unreasonable for me to even attempt to contain the swashbuckling, death-defying adventure that followed within the confines of this humble blog, so here are a few highlights:

·         Climbing the First Gate (it wobbled a bit)

·         Crossing the Wire Fence (we could have easily tripped)

·         Walking up the Slightly Inclined Road

·         Finding the track marker (we thought that we should have already reached it but then we looked at the map and realised, no, actually it’s probably a bit further along – it was)

·         Stepping over The Branch

·         Struggling to get everyone included in the Summit Photo

·         Liz’s “slide”

Three long hours after beginning our walk we were back at the cars, with a story to tell and a greater appreciation for the fragility of life and nature’s cold indifference to the futile efforts of man.    

Grade: V. Easy
Time: 3+ hours
Map: Buckland