Description

Stag Gully is the steepest and narrowest chute the Blue Lake area has to offer, you can drop in from Twynam or Little Twynam, extending the 150 or so vertical metres of skiing which Stag Gully grants.

The chute itself is accessed after passing the first of the large rock faces which will be to your left, it is a blind rollover down into the gap between the two faces, so really take your time and stay close to the first rock face, the blind rollover then will give way to a pretty gut wrenching drop, as it plummets down with a view across Blue Lake to Little Twynam.

The rocks are massive and are prominent on approach to Blue Lake, definitely scope them out beforehand to get an idea of this beast.

Take your time, and take a deep breath and send it, you've got a safe runout on the lake which is frozen solid nearly all winter, something which is extremely rare in Aus! Before tackling this run, or any of the chutes in the area, head down Centre Gully or Twynam South Face first, and scope the chutes, cornices form, collapse and have killed skiers in the past, always take care and be aware of conditions.

On the way down Stag, you have a fairly clean run to the lake, but take care of a rocky section in the middle of the run about halfway down, you definitely don't want to hit them at speed.

The best way to get back up to the top of the chutes is either skinning up Centre Gully or Twynam South Face.

I would suggest a base of at least a metre at Spencers Creek before heading down this one, with angles topping 40 degrees, this ain't no slouch, it's used as a rock climbing route in the summer, and definitely do not attempt this when it is really icy.