“On a Mish” #343 Into the Snow we go (Part Two) – Jimny Club Day Trip. Lake Lyndon. Torlesse Conservation Area. 31.7.2022. Due to the road being closed at Springfield, there were heaps of skiers around waiting for the opportunity to head up to the ski fields to enjoy the fresh snow, and we heard that Porters Pass may open at 10am. So with that news our plan was to do the trip in reverse and hope that the pass would be open by the time we got there. This was my first outing with the club, and to see eleven Suzuki Jimny’s together brought a smile to my face and together the team took to the road…
By the time we entered the mountains at Windwhistle the sun was shining and we were in an area that looked spectacular wearing its winter coat. Rumours that the road was closed on this side disappeared when we rounded a corner and saw the gate was open and the way to Lake Lyndon was clear. We had a quick stop to take in the scenery and during the brief stop we were entertained by the team’s only four legged member. Watching a dog go nuts running around in the snow is a hilarious sight to see! After our quick stop we pushed on and in classic Jimny mish fashion we avoided the easy ways (using the bridges) and opted for a bounce through the river fords. As we continued along the road we began to climb, and the more we climbed the more snow we encountered. We were now following two trenches in the snow, and apart from the narrow lines through the snow on the road, the area was an untouched winter wonderland. Every now and then we would see a side track, usually leading to the base of one of the many powerlines that follow the road through the mountains, and this would give us a chance to be the first to disturb the snow. Like kids when they break ice during the winter, we were giggling and laughing at the fun we were having in the frozen environment. We got to a point in the road where we crossed a river and then climbed back up onto a plateau via a steep left hand bend. Ruts on the inside of the corner showed us someone had run into some trouble earlier in the morning and just as we were chatting about it the radio piped up with news of one of the team being stuck. Adam is always keen to assist with a recovery, so we turned around and set ourselves up to save the day. It was cool watching a Jimny anchor another Jimny while it winched out another Jimny that was in bother. It didn’t take long to get things back to normal and with that we were on our way again.
The snow around us was incredible and as we rounded a corner we got our first view of Lake Lyndon and at the bottom end we saw a very stuck Toyota Estima trying to free itself from its icy entrapment. Driving around in 4WD vehicles was dangerous enough, and this fella was attempting to tackle the roads in a regular roads only car. All we could offer was condolences as we easily cruised on by, and at least the dude got a chance to see an army of Jimny’s hooning around the snowy countryside. After a detour at the bottom end of the lake we followed the track towards State Highway 73, but before we got there we had to do another recovery job. This time the vehicle wasn’t part of our team and the location would be much trickier than the first rescue. For some reason a fella with his two kids in a Hilux had attempted to climb a very steep powerline access track, and after losing an uphill battle with the snow the truck had slid back into a very precarious position. It was tough for Adam’s (monster) truck to get up past the stuck truck, so we were very surprised the guy had attempted such a challenge on his own. The recovery was far from simple as when we attempted to use the winch to get the truck back into the tire ruts it would just slide away from the place we wanted it to go. To overcome this we attached a Jimny to the back of the truck and Adam’s Jimny to the front, then very carefully guided the stuck truck back onto the tracks in the snow. With great effort the two Jimny’s guided the Hilux back down to the Lake Lyndon Road, and then we continued on to the top end of the lake to regroup with the rest of the team. What we encountered at the top of the lake was insane… PART THREE 3/3
