Midnight Ascent 2013 POSTPONED/CANCELLED

Requirements: See the downloadable equipment PDF above.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

At this stage the weather (mainy the high winds) for the weekend looks extremely bad and it would be foolish to attempt the trip we are planning. Due to the mixed experience of our group I am cancelling the trip altogether. If you really want to do something this weekend keep an eye out on the website for last minute trips.

Midnight Ascent is a highlight of the club year for many members. Details of the history of this club tradition and what usually happens can be found here. It is a mix of challenging bushwalking, snow, cooking, fancy clothes and amazing scenery. Despite it being primaraly a social trip the hiking can be very involved so make sure you are prepared for it.

The trip starts with the drive up to Harrietville on Friday night the 16th of August to arrive at the base of Mt Feathertop around midnight, hiking up to our hut on Mt Feathertop and preparing for an elaborate 3-course meal in formal attire or themed clothing for the year.

Historically members would take Feathertop’s North-West Spur all the way to the club hut just below the summit. This year however due to the recent fires that affected much of the Feathertop region and subsequent track closures by Parks Victoria we will not be taking the North-West Spur Track to the club hut*. Instead we will take the Bungalow Spur Walking Track to Federation Hut at which point a leader will make a judgement call about the exposed and potentially icy traverse to MUMC Hut. If the weather is bad I expect all members to set up tents at the Federation Hut campsite until later in the day when the traverse is easier to attempt. It may be the weather is so bad that we are not able to attempt the traverse the entire weekend. Additionally as Federation Hut is for ‘Emergency Use Only’ members should not rely on sleeping in either MUMC Hut or Federation Hut, instead using appropriate snow tents for the environment. It is going to be critical for all attendees of the trip to have a planned spot to sleep in a snow tent as arrival at MUMC Hut is by no means guaranteed.

With all the boring walking stuff out of the way the preparations for the Saturday night party usually begin. Weather dependent some members will decide that they didn't get enough of the walking the previous night and choose to summit Feathertop. Others will simply choose to sleep most of the day to prepare for a long night of partying. The theme for Midnight Ascent this year is Where’s Wally (also known as Where’s Waldo to those from North America) but you can always choose to come in the ever traditional black-tie theme if you don’t like the sound of red and white stripes. From lunch onwards many start the preparation of an elaborate 3-course meal, this is prepared from ingredients as close to unprocessed as possible. Unfortuantly this year there was no beer brewed at the hut so  you will need to rely on what you bring up with you.

Spots on this trip are VERY limited this year due to the possible alternate campsite, so at this stage the trip is limited to 36 attendees however I may increase or decrease depending on weather conditions, snow tent availability and some other factors that I still want to assess. In an attempt to get current and active members priority on the trip you need to have attended 2 prior club trips this year to be eligible to come. To signup either email me at or come to a Tuesday night meeting.To confirm your spot you must attend the Tuesday trip meeting on the 13th of August unless you have already contacted me and we have agreed to an alternative special arrangement.

Please see this document for a detailed equipment list and driving directions. I also did an FAQ style trip description for Midnight Ascent 2012 last year which may be useful (keep in mind the details for the trip are different including the intended route).

If you have any questions or find an error in the above description just send mail to .

James Cristofaro
MUMC Walking Sports Officer

*As an aside I understand some would take this as even greater motivation to do the challenging North-West Spur ascent but I think the image of 20 or so MUMC cars at the base of an officially closed track is potentially very damaging for our club.

UPDATE 1:
The following people who don't appear in the below list have also been registered to attend the trip but a website bug is preventing me adding them.:

David Platzer
Rodney Polkinghorne
Andrew Kowalczyk
Emily Duncan
Kate Barraclough
Jessie Meaney-Davis
Daniel Cocker
Betty Kao
Molis Yunzab
Anja Fuchtbauer
Clara Minas
Andrew Corson
Conor Groves

Also remember, to confirm your place on the trip you MUST attend the trip meeting on Tuesday the 13th of August!