Tasmania weather: Hobart City Council workers struggle to find road under huge dump of snow on kunanyi/Mt Wellington

Council workers clearing a path to the summit of kunanyi/Mt Wellington have found the snow so deep, they are struggling to find the road. SEE THE AMAZING IMAGES >>>

Council workers are battling their way through huge snow drifts as they clear the road to the pinnacle of kunanyi/Mt Wellington.

Pinnacle Rd has been closed at Bracken Lane at Fern Tree since Friday because of persistent deep snow.

Hobart City Council bushland manager John Fisher said workers had reached the final 900m stretch of road before the summit – although at times it had been a challenge to find the road under the snow, which is up to 3m deep.

The team has been making slow and steady progress using a snow blower and a tractor in the hope of having the road to the pinnacle cleared by the weekend.

“It’s the biggest snowfall we’ve seen for two to three years,” he said.

Mr Fisher encouraged people to check the road status before heading up the mountain.

Council staff check the road each morning to assess it for safety.

“We’ve been opening it fairly quickly these last couple of days to the Springs,” he said.

Following the rescue of eight people from extreme conditions on the mountain in recent days.

Mr Fisher urged people to carefully consider trips up the mountain during winter.

“The big thing is it’s not a suburb of Hobart. It is a completely different environment. For every 100 metres you go up it drops one degree in temperature,” he said.

“It might be six degrees at a Salamanca Market but it’s likely to be minus three or four or five on the mountain, if you add wind chill to that it could be minus 14 or 16.

“It might look lovely from the city but it can be deadly.

“The message is look warnings, look at the weather.”

A worker stands in the snow showing the depth on Pinnacle Road near the top of Mt Wellington. Picture: Hobart City Council

Tasmania Police have again urged people to heed safety warnings around conditions on Tasmanian roads and wilderness areas over the coming winter months.

“Anyone planning on driving up Mount Wellington or in any area likely to be impacted by snowfall is urged to check the Tasmania Police website Community Alerts before travelling, always obey road closure and restriction warnings, and never drive in an area your vehicle is not capable or prepared for,” a police spokesperson said.

“Motorists are urged to slow down, leave plenty of space between your vehicle and the one ahead, remain alert for black ice which can cause a vehicle to lose control and crash, and drive with headlights on in reduced visibility.

“People are urged to never enter or walk in wilderness or alpine areas unless they are genuinely and suitably prepared and experienced. Entering alpine areas unprepared can have deadly consequences.”

Chaos as thousands flock to snow

Chaos reigned on the road, but kunanyi/Mt Wellington was mostly a sea of happy faces as children and families made their way to the snow on Monday.

A large snowfall event over the Queen’s Birthday weekend led to a perfect storm of public holiday traffic on Pinnacle Rd as families sought to take advantage of the improved weather.

Drivers parked their cars on the side of the road, or wherever they could find space, after the car parks were full.

With the road closed to public vehicles at the Springs due to the weather, traffic on the narrow road was so severe a kunanyi/Mt Wellington Explorer Bus was stranded in the car park.

SNOWY GALLERY

The service apologised on social media to customers for the inconvenience, citing “delays to the 2pm mountain service due to high traffic volume”.

Explorer bus staff were left to direct afternoon traffic, but the parking anarchy did not seem to affect the joyous mood on the mountain.

Kelly Jarvis with son Max Jarvis 6 who walked up to the Chalet from the Springs. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Kelly Jarvis and her son Max, 6, were among the first hikers to set off Monday morning and completed a 13km trip through a “winter wonderland”.

The appeal of the snow meant Max continually knocked back offers to shorten the impressive trip, Ms Jarvis said.

Heavy overnight snow at Mt Mawson ski field in Mt Field National Park covered over the tow rope, and volunteers had to dig it clear. Picture: Peter Davis

“He’s a great little adventurer … he was leading the way on the tracks most of the time,” she said.

“It was incredible – the trees were filled with snow, it was sometimes up to Max’s knees when we left the path.

“People wouldn’t have had this view at The Springs, there was a lot of snow melt from yesterday there but the amount of snow on the Pillinger Drive Track was wonderful.”

At Mount Mawson ski field in Mount Field National Park, skiers, snowboarders and young families packing toboggans continued to enjoy some of the best conditions in years.

“It was another full-on ski day,” Southern Tasmanian Ski Association president Peter Davis said.

“The Lake Dobson carpark was again filled to overflowing and hundreds of enthusiastic skiers and boarders made the trek to the skifield.”

Mr Davis said aboout 20 volunteers spent a couple of hours digging out the University Ski tow, where the rope had become buried deeply in the snow.

Cross-country skiers reported the sun was out, but conditions were still quite windy on the exposed mountain tops.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Peter Otto said the wild weather was over for now.

“It’s cleared off and we’ll see some cold fronts move across Tassie this week but they’ll be weaker,” Mr Otto said.

“There’s still the chance of fairly widespread frost but that will be lifting throughout the week.

Mr Otto said temperatures were expected to get a little warmer this week.

“We’re seeing morning temperatures trending upwards slightly and daytime temperatures just peaking up ever so slightly through the week,” he said.

“For tomorrow it’s partly cloudy for Hobart, little chance of rain, we’re looking at reasonably widespread showers on Wednesday.”