The Folded Range and the White Monoliths, Part 2
- From: The Irenabyss Gallery – The Photography of Matt Brain
- Participants : Dax Noble & Matt Brain
- Camera: Konica Autoreflex T (intermittent light meter) with 50mm Hexanon and 24mm Makinon Lenses
- Interactive Online Map: The Folded Range Trek
Dax and I returned to the Folded Range. The weather forecast was for clearing weather but we were afraid our planned trip would be out due to swollen rivers. Unlike the last trip, this one was sensational. It could be thought I was insane to want to return here in winter but it gets in your blood.
High camp on the Folded Range. We camped below the more eastern highpoint. Cloud filled the valley. The view is north over the Giblin Range towards an un-named bluff west of Right Angle Peak on the Frankland Range.
The Reward for Climbing in Winter
We followed the same route as my previous expedition, but this time with knowledge of the route and best of all – no snow. Our first night was again spent near the same site on the eastern end of the range.
On the second day, we were able to push along the range to the more easterly of the two highest points (view online map), helped a little by being able to sidle on the north side of the ridge around some of the high points. Mist and a little rain had followed us through the day but as we pitched the tent, the sun broke out to create a spectacular display of light and colour.
Dax shot off to attain the true high-point while I pulled out the camera and enjoyed the late afternoon light. Despite the cold and discomfort highlighted in the previous trip, this is the reward for climbing here in winter.
Looking west at sunset on the Folded Range. Southwest Tasmania. Dax was on his return from the high point in the center at this time.
Sunrise from the Folded Range. Southwest Tasmania.Cloud fills the valleys of the upper Huon River. Terminal Peak is left, the Giblin Range center and Mt. Wedge and Mt. Field on the skyline.
A Display of Light and Colour
The night was still and bitterly cold and my fingers were freezing as I arose early the next day for the sunrise. Dax liked the inside of his sleeping bag better but he missed another display of light and colour. The whole southwest lit up with the slanting light first streaking across the face of the rugged Western Arthur Range before striking the White Monoliths and Mt. Maconochie. Behind this I could just see the summit of Greystone Bluff, another even more remote goal that at that time I hadn’t reached. I could trace the route that Kathryn and I followed in 1997 from the White Monoliths over Cinder Hill to Long Ridge spending New Year’s Eve at the Frankland River before climbing over Remote Peak to the Frankland Range.
Sunrise toward Greystone Bluff and Mt. Maconochie from the Folded Range. The Folded highpoint is middle right with Cinder Hill visible over its shoulder.
Brightly shining cloud lay in the valley between the Folded Range and the Giblin Range. The thick frost made our route slippery as we packed up and returned eastward. By afternoon it was threatening rain again and we retreated along the range, on this occasion, getting the timing of the weather right.
Sunrise looking east to the Giblin Range from the Folded Range. Mt Wedge is on the far left skyline, followed by distant Mt. Field. Lake Pedder can be seen below Mt. Anne in the upper right.
Camp on the Folded Range. Southwest Tasmania. Remote Peak is center and the Frankland Range on the right. Doherty’s Ground on the Frankland River is center bordered by Long Ridge.
Sunrise from the Folded Range. Southwest Tasmania.Cloud fills the valleys of the upper Huon River. Terminal Peak is left, the Giblin Range center and Mt. Wedge and Mt. Field on the skyline.
Dawn on the Folded Range. Southwest Tasmania.
Frankland Peak and Secheron from the Folded Range. Southwest Tas .
Sunrise over the Arthur Plains from the Folded Range. Mt. Picton is on the center left horizon.
Remote Peak and The Frankland Range from the Folded Range. Southwest Tasmania.
Frost on the Folded Range. Southwest Tasmania.Greystone Bluff and Mt. Maconochie are in distance.
Evening over the Frankland Range from the Folded Range. Southwes Clouds hang in the valleys below the Frankland Range after southwest rain squalls. Remote Peak is center, Double Peak and Coronation Peak dominate skyline.
Matt is a landscape photographer with a long love of his home state Tasmania. He began exploring Tasmania’s unique wilderness areas in his childhood and gained an early taste for exploring the island’s remote and less visited corners. When not photographing wilderness areas he works in the Intensive Care Unit of the Launceston General Hospital and as a researcher with Monash University. Matt’s photography and reports are online at Irenabyss, named for the spectacular chasm on the Franklin River.
