The Mont Blog

Summer in Tasmania’s mountains presents the walker with a multitude of flowers, ranging from the prickly Richea Scoparia to the diminutive flowers of the remarkable Tasmanian Cushion Plant.

The pines were extensively studied some time ago and the conclusion was that they are up to 1,600 years old and quite possibly far older as the original pines may be long gone and the descendants may even date back to the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago.

Nestled below the huge cliffs of Eliza Bluff, over 700 metres above, lies a beautiful body of water in South West Tasmania called Lake Judd.

It’s day 2 of the Western Arthurs Traverse and my client and I are moving between lakes Cygnus and Oberon. It’s wet, it’s windy and temps are barely above zero. My client is not coping with the uneven terrain and after 4.5 hours of walking we’ve travelled only 3.8km.

We were probably twenty electrolyte tablets deep each, feeling more like science experiments than cyclists. Add in sketchy tarmac with trucks roaring past, hogging the whole shoulder, and you had a section that demanded laser-sharp focus…

I had brought my Mont Helium 680 with me. A luxurious bag rated to -12°C for warm sleepers, it is perfectly suited to Tasmania’s cooler months. Ice crusted the ground and tent the next morning and checking my temperature sensor I was surprised to see that the temperature had dropped to -7.7°C overnight. That is remarkably cool for late October in Tassie!

At Mont Adventure Equipment, we believe that quality gear, people, and the planet deserve care. That’s why we only participate in only one yearly sale event that falls on Black Friday. 

Tasmania has had a burst of late snowfalls recently and I headed up into the mountains yesterday to take advantage of a patch of fine weather. Unfortunately, the snow has coincided with very windy weather which makes conditions in the mountains challenging (but invigorating) for photography.

In the three months since I decided to spend a week paddling down the upper Murray River, one question has been asked to me more than any other: Why? 

It seems, to me, to be the strangest question one could ask. What do you mean, why?

The plateau leading out to the cape is extremely exposed and open to the prevailing winds. As a result, much of the scrub has grown almost prone to the ground as it tried to escape the savage Southern Ocean blasts.

Out there, everything is quiet. All the noise, the missed training sessions, the work drama, the forgotten birthdays and the never-ending to-do list - it feels like it doesn’t matter. You’re left with the cool air, beautiful humans beside you, and a glimpse of another world.

 It became my safe place. My home. Every time I slide into my sleeping bag, that memory comes back. Not just the physical comfort, but the emotional one. The sense of safety, self-reliance, and joy that only comes when you strip life back to the essentials and find they’re more than enough.