Bogong Rover Chalet
July 2017Bogong Rover Chalet
Nelse, Victoria
Experience of a lifetime
I’d never been skiing, or anywhere near snow before, so the thought alone of 11km of trails, just to get to the Bogong Rover Chalet, was a little overwhelming.
Fortunately, with a lot of support from friends to prepare for this adventure, we were ready to hit the snowy trails of the Bogong High Plains, in Victoria. With a number of practise hikes around Mt Lofty, led by John, we were hopefully fit and healthy enough to ski into the chalet.
The Ski In:
We arrived at Mt. Beauty to catch the coach, and collected our food to carry in to the chalet, filling our already full rucksacks with even more weight. We caught the coach, and climbed up the mountain to Falls Creek, spotting the snow when it came into view, as patches on the ground.
At Falls Creek, we jumped off the coach, pull out our bags and skis, and prepared for the 11km ski to the Rover Chalet. It was frosty, cold, but exciting to finally see snow for the first time ever.
The ski in to chalet was… to put it in a word, challenging. I can’t count the amount of times that I fell over, struggling to climb back up on to my feet each time. But, the feeling of accomplishment and success was incredible upon reaching the chalet.
“Look wide, and even when you think you are looking wide – look wider still.”
— Robert Baden-Powell
Day Expedition
11th July
A group of us set out on a day long expedition, with the goal to visit the waterfalls, which Brianna had never managed to visit during her many stays at the Bogong Rover Chalet.
On our expedition, we had Brianna, Ben, Andrew, Nathan, Aoife, Sam, Johanna, and myself.
We hiked out to the SEC Hut, where we stopped for a break with shelter. We continued, for what seemed like forever, along the pole line track.
We eventually caught sight of the waterfalls, down a steep incline. But before descending into the valley, someone spotted a group of Brumbies, wild horses that roam the high plains.
We decided to get a closer look, until we got too close that they started coming towards us, so we retreated into the valley, towards to waterfall.
Once at the waterfall, we stopped for lunch, enjoying cup a soups and biscuits.
After climbing out of the valley on foot, we started back towards the chalet. We deliberated on dropping past the Ryders Yard Huts on the way back, and with only one complaint, we decided to visit them anyway.
We made it back to the chalet, exhausted and a little cold, but with a great experience and a story to tell.
The People
Being stuck in a remote winter Chalet with 34 other people certainly makes for interesting times, but you grow so much closer to people that you barely know, and build much better friendships with them. This is what makes Rovers incredible, doing challenging things with adventurous people.
(Left to right, front) Aoife, Rebecca, Sam
Downtime
Fun in and around the ChaletChalet Shenanigans
While I can’t go into any detail, it wouldn’t be a Rover trip without having some shenanigans happening. We were lucky to find an igloo built by the Rovers on Week 1, that we ‘chilled’ out in often.
During the Chalet Week, the infamous game of Chalet Cluedo was undertaken, where you are given the task to ‘kill’ another player with a specific item, in a specific room, and potentially at a specific time. This results in hilarious killings, a little bit of paranoia, and making sure you’re not acting suspicious around your target.
There’s plenty of other things and traditions, such as cheese club, that you’ll learn and appreciate when you visit the Chalet each time.
Conclusion
If you get the opportunity to make the trip to the Bogong Rover Chalet, either as a Venturer, Rover, Oldboy, or Leader, take the challenge and book in.
You may or may not decide to return, as it can be quite a challenge for some, but at least you’ve tried it. Make the most of it, get outside each day and do something, even if it’s making a snowman.
I’ll be heading back one day soon, to experience what the Chalet has to offer again.
Oh, and don’t get hurt… 😉