Ben Nevis - Sat. 23rd August 2014

The next Boots N' All adventure is coming up this Saturday, 23rd August. Vivienne Bartle will be leading enthusiastic walkers up the not-so-challenging slopes of Ben Nevis, a peak to the north of Ben Lomond, with views directly across to Jacob's Ladder and the ski village (subject to clear weather!!). This walk is rated "easy-medium" and should suit energetic children and moderately fit adults. It does involve a fairly steep climb, with a few rocky patches and a small section of boulder field near the summit. The track is typical of many of Tasmania's mountain tracks - rough in places but not difficult. The summit is 440 metres higher than the start of the walking track.

Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone your walk leader, Vivienne Bartle  0409 347 151   to book in.
The departure time is 9 am from the Door of Hope Church car park, Launceston. If you would like to arrange to meet the group at these places or elsewhere, please arrange with the leader, and please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of departure time.
The leader should always be notified of any other people you intend to bring along, and you should always contact the walk leader if intending to participate in a particular Boots N' All walk.

Walk route:
The walk begins from Schulhof's Rd, a logging track off Telopea Rd. which is accessed via Rose's Tier. The track heads south from the road, climbing fairly steeply from the start, rising 300 metres over the first kilometer. The slope is then more gradual over the next 500 metres, followed by a relatively flat section, before a short scramble on to the summit.

To access this area from northern Tasmania:
From Newstead, follow Hobler's Bridge Rd. through St. Leonards as though heading for Ben Lomond. Continue past Corra Lynn and White Hills. The Ben Lomond turnoff is reached after 47 km, but continue on the sealed road to Upper Blessington, 50 km from centre of Launceston. Be sure to turn left into Upper Blessington Road, which is the main sealed road heading off to the north-east.  After 4 km, the sealed road changes to gravel as the road climbs towards Rose's Tier. A further 8 km (62 km from Launceston) brings you to the juction of Telopea Rd. Turn left, and head 3.5 km north. Schulhof's Rd. is on the left, and possibly hard to spot from Telopea Rd. Head west for 1 km along Schulhof's Rd. to the start of the walking track.

Warnings:
The summit of Ben Nevis is 1368 metres above sea level, reached by crossing an exposed alpine plateau.
E    Exposed alpine conditions – can be dangerous in poor weather if not fully equipped (You must be equipped for poor conditions even if the weather forecast is promising).
B    Short sections of boulder fields need to be crossed
S    Steep incline for at least part of the way
M    Marshy or muddy sections – be prepared to walk with wet feet.
If you are unsure of equipment requirements, Visit the Boots N' All section of the sutas.org.au website per link below and read "Clothing suggestions for exposed conditions"

Map details:
Ben Nevis: 1:100000 map is Forester and 1:25000 map for upper area is Ben Nevis (TasMap 5441).
Map reference:
Short ref. 522153
Zone      Easting        Northing    Latitude    Longitude
55G    5 52 325    54 15 565    -41.40976    147.62606

Reaching the summit of Ben Nevis will earn you 1 peakbagger point. For listing of peakbagger points, see the Hobart Walking Club Peakbagger's Guide (2000 revision) which can be found and downloaded (as an Excel spreadsheet) from http://tastracks.webs.com/peakbaggers.htm  The same web page contains several other listings of Tasmanian peaks.