High Country Walking Retreat - December 2022

This retreat finally happened after one Covid related cancellation and two postponements due to Covid.  We'd hired what would  be one of the twenty highest buildings - in terms of altitude - in the country, the Pygmy Possum Ski Lodge at Charlotte Pass village. And we used the lodge as a base for day walks - four days of walking - and for two days of silent retreat schedule. The weather had been wet and cool in the months before we came and there was more snow than  normal for December. Two of the walks had snow sections. The week went really well, apart from one accident: a fall, someone breaking her wrist badly way out on a track. This needed an ambulance, trips to different hospitals and eventually surgery in Canberra. But it appears the break is healing well. 

We had two groups, one that did longer walks, up to 20k, and one that did shorter walks. This worked well. The longer walk group went to the Kosciuszko summit.

The team was Suzie Brown and myself as teachers / leaders, Warren Guy as retreat manager, Annie Ferguson as booking manager and our wonderful cook Ian Teacosy Gray.

Victor von der Heyde

Photo credits: Penny Cooke, Christa Schwoebel, David King, Karyn Richardson, Victor von der Heyde,  Megan Layton.