The Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT) is the premier long distance walking track through the Australian mountains. It starts in Walhalla in Victoria, crosses the Victorian Alps and the Snowy Mountains and goes almost to the outskirts of Canberra. It is 650 to 704km in length, with an epic 28,000 metres of elevation gain during the length of the walk.

Marita Hills recounts her winter journey along the AAWT with her sister Angela.

I learnt about the Australian Alps Walking Track after moving from QLD to live and work at the northern end of the track. My sister, Angela, then moved down a few years later. Over time we both wanted to complete the track which grew after being part of a snowshoe expedition across the Australian Alps but unfortunately had to pull out mainly due to Covid restrictions. As part of doing it we also wanted to show women in the backcountry as the majority of people we see in the backcountry are men including over this trip.

Skiing past a track marker before Hotham.

The preparation for the trip started a bit over a year before we departed. We hiked the Viking Circuit to get more familiar with that area. Next was route, food and gear planning. Campers Pantry sponsored us which helped with food and we were ambassadors for Tom’s Outdoors where we got some gear. We had stashes at Fiddlers Green, VG Hut, Barry Saddle, Derrick Hut, Mt Wills Hut, Buenba Flats, Dead Horse Gap, Kiandra and Oldfields Hut. They were put out over a couple of trips in the months prior and we did a test trip with our gear.

As part of doing (the trip) we also wanted to show women in the backcountry as the majority of people we see in the backcountry are men including over this trip.

After some days exploring Walhalla we started the AAWT. Our first snow and ski was across the Baw Baw Plateau. After a few longer days we had a short day to our first stash at Fiddlers Green. The next day we headed down to Black River and to our surprise it had recently been flattened on top and chicken wire put on which made crossing a lot easier than expected. Our next challenge was Mt McDonald due to the patchy snow cover not been enough to ski but kept potholing and trying to go on the side of the spur with less snow which caused us to go 500m down the wrong spur when it divided. We got to camp in the dark which was a theme for the next two days. Even though the last stretch into VG Hut was challenging it was our favourite day with stunning views and some good ski runs.

After a rest day at VG Hut we left early for the Cross Cut saw. We microspiked the whole way across and found one part a bit tricky to navigate around. Over the next few days we had a couple of dustings of snow and frozen shoes one morning. As we got closer to Hotham the snow was patchy so was again on and off skis. One of our tent poles broke while setting up and given where it broke I had to swap two pole sections around to put the repair sleeve on. It held out until Dead Horse Gap where I got a replacement pole. Crossing Big River was freezing and then Quartz Ridge was more technical than expected with our microspikes going on. The following day we found our stash at Mt Wills Hut had been tampered with the lock busted. Thankfully nothing essential was taken.

Track marker on the Bogong High Plain with Feathertop on the background.

We had heard varying stories about the next section until Buenba Flats. Over this part we saw heaps of animals from a platypus, a wombat with a baby, emus, lyre birds and feral animals. As far as the bush goes it wasn’t bad until after Buenba Flats. The stretch between Misery Trail and Dead Horse Creek was the worst with fire regrowth and caused us to take ½ day longer. At camp Angela realised that her Exped mat had come off her pack in the bush. Our Mum met us at the top of Bob’s Ridge and we had 3 days rest in Jindabyne.

We had clear but windy weather heading over Mt Kosciuszko. The following day was a whiteout so headed low and lost the pole line after Seamans Hut but thankfully re-found it. The weather over the next few days was unpredictable. There wasn’t much snow in this area when we did our test trip and the snowshoe expedition. Unfortunately there was even less snow which meant less snow skiing and some improvised grass skiing. We decided to have a weather/rest day at our stash and it actually snowed. We arrived at camp with no snow and ended up skiing out.

Fogbow over our tent near Dr Phillips Hut site.

From Kiandra we hut hopped across the High Plains area and kept our distance from some unhappy horses. We did a side trip up to Lego Land as I hadn’t been up there since the fires. For our final night we camped on Mt Tennent with great sunset views. We spent our final sunrise at the summit before heading down to the visitor centre.

The week following we picked up our Kiandra stash. Angela then picked up stashes while I was working in WA. In November we collected the remaining stashes with our friends. Unfortunately they had to leave us early after one of them had a piece of stick flick up in his eye. Since wrapping up the AAWT we are already thinking about future adventures with the Aussie Top 10 during winter high on the list.

There will eventually be a video and more detailed blog from the AAWT shared on our social media.

You can find them on Instagram: @maritahillsphotography and @adventuring_hills_sisters

Putting our stash out at Vallejo Gantner Hut.
Leaving camp near Kiandra after a day of snow.
Packs outside Oldfields Hut.
Sunset dinner views from Mt Tennent.
Sunrise summit on Mt Tennent.
The Viking and Victorian Alps from Mt Speculation at sunset.