scenic

Following on from my article Mt Richmond—mountain and forest park, here’s an account of my experience on the infamous “fixed-wire” traverse.

The fixed-wire traverse is a route that gives access to the Richmond Range and Mt Richmond from Pelorus Valley. Some years ago, when I started exploring Mt Richmond Forest Park, I heard and read about the “wire”, a steel cable that assists in negotiating a steep rock face. I was told all sorts of stories about the level of difficulty, from “piece of cake” to “sheer horror”. The only way to find out was to get up there and have a look for myself.

View from point 1496 aka North Peak to Mt Fell (centre, 1599 m) and Mt Richmond (right, 1756 m).

First attempt—mission failed

On my first attempt I never made it to the wire. I set out from Rocks Hut at dawn, and descended to Middy Hut by the Pelorus River, which took a couple of hours or so. Behind Middy Hut I bashed through some thick bush in a southeasterly direction until the bush opened up to mature beech forest. There was no obvious track but the odd, old marker confirmed I was headed the right way. After the initial climb of 750 metres the track levelled off a little, before becoming undulating. The weather was near perfect, a bit too warm perhaps and there was a strong, gusty southwester blowing which would have been more of an issue above the bushline.

Anyway, I thought I had reached Conical Knob when, in fact, I had only made it to point 1034. When I did get to Conical Knob I stopped for a break to assess the situation. I realised that

• I had underestimated the route
• I was half way, if that
• I didn’t carry enough water to get through the day comfortably.

To complicate things, I didn’t know what time it was! At some point during the ascent, my otherwise reliable, accurately ticking Swiss watch stopped working—flat battery! This was well before cellphones became small and light enough to carry. These days when I’m out tramping I have at least three clocks on me: My watch, cellphone and even my pocket knife has a mini computer in it.

Back to my reckoning on Conical Knob: I knew it was well after midday, and I was unsure of what challenges laid ahead, like the infamous “wire”. In the end I reluctantly decided it was time for plan B: Backtrack to Middy Hut.

Second attempt—mission accomplished

In December 2006 it was time for another attempt. This time I came in from the west, spent a night at Browning Hut, then over Totara Saddle to Roebuck Hut. From old maps and brochures I established that there used to be a marked track from Roebuck Hut to Conical Knob. Like many other tracks, its maintenance ceased in 1994. My guess was that the vegetation would be similar to the Middy Hut–Conical Knob area—mature, open beech forest—so I gave it a shot.

Roebuck Hut–Conical Knob

To my surprise someone had actually cleared the bush between Roebuck Hut and the smallish clearing above the hut, giving easy access to the old track. The initial climb was straightforward. Frequent, old track markers made navigating a breeze. In fact, the old markers led all the way up to Conical Knob. Beyond point 702 the track was rather pleasant, with lots of ferns and trees other than beech.

Bush along Roebuck Hut–Conical Knob Route.

The final assault of Conical Knob was a very steep affair. Above 1000 metres altitude the gradient increased considerably up a spur with lots of rocky outcrops. Once there, it was a nice feeling to be back on Conical Knob; new (personally) untracked country was lying ahead.

Roebuck Hut marker on Conical Knob.