Mount Anne

Every overnight walker on the Mount Anne walks must hold a Parks and Wildlife Service walker registration for their start date. Registration is free, but it is not unlimited: the booking system caps each departure date at a maximum of 12 walkers, and you register for a specific start date and party size. It exists for walker safety and to keep numbers sustainable on a fragile alpine route.

Twelve places a day is not many for a walk this well known. The good-weather window is short, the camps are small, and a settled summer forecast or a long weekend can push a popular start date straight to its cap. When that happens your date shows as full, and you are left refreshing the page hoping someone drops out.

And they do drop out. Mount Anne is a big commitment that depends entirely on the weather, so plans change constantly: forecasts turn, parties lose a member, trips slip to the next clear spell. Places quietly free up as a date approaches. The trouble is that a freed place is taken by whoever happens to be looking at that moment.

That is what Spotbagger watches for. We check the PWS walker registration page for Mount Anne often and alert you the moment a date you want has room for your whole party, so you can register before the place is gone again.

The usual season is summer and early autumn (December to April), when the days are longest and the tops are most often clear. Even then the south-west is one of the wettest, most exposed places in Australia: rain, gale-force wind, cloud, and snow are all possible on the range at any time of year, and the dolerite of the high traverse turns slick and dangerous when wet.

Weather dictates everything here. The summit climb and especially the traverse over the Notch are only sane in dry, clear, still conditions, and those windows are few even in high summer. Most parties build a spare day into the trip and sit out a front at camp rather than commit to exposed rock in cloud. Outside the main season this becomes a full alpine undertaking and is for expert, well-equipped parties only.

There are no serviced huts on the circuit: apart from the small High Camp shelter, every night is a tent night and your shelter is what you carry. From Condominium Creek the usual first night is at or near High Camp on the Eliza plateau; parties continuing the traverse camp at Shelf Camp and Lonely Tarn beyond the summit. The registration records a 3-night sub-cap at Shelf Camp and Lonely Tarn, so plan your nights accordingly.

Water comes from the tarns and creeks and is generally reliable in season, but the high camps are tiny and fragile: pads are few and exposed, so keep well back from the water's edge, use the provided facilities or pack out where there are none, and tread the established pads to protect the cushion-plant and moss. Fuel stoves only; there is no firewood and fires are not permitted.

This is exposed alpine Tasmania with a scrambling traverse and no easy bail-out. The short list:

• Rain jacket and overtrousers: genuinely waterproof hard-shell, not water-resistant
• Four-season tent: there is no through-hut; your shelter must take wind and rain on an exposed pad
• Warm layers: fleece or down, plus hat and gloves, even in summer
• Sleeping bag and mat: rated for cold, wet alpine nights
• Stove and fuel: no fires, no firewood; carry enough for the whole trip
• Sturdy boots and gaiters: for wet dolerite, deep mud, and buttongrass
• Map, compass and PLB: the high route is exposed and there is no phone coverage; carry them and know how to use them

PWS publish a recommended gear list with the walker registration; read it before you finalise your pack.

The walk begins at the Condominium Creek trailhead on the Scotts Peak Road, off the Gordon River Road south-west of Maydena, roughly a 2 to 2.5-hour drive from Hobart. The full circuit finishes a little further along the same road at the Mount Anne track (Anne River) exit, so parties either arrange a short car shuttle between the two trailheads or walk the road between them.

There is no public transport to the trailheads, so walkers self-drive and leave a vehicle for the duration, or arrange a private shuttle from Hobart. You will also need a Tasmanian parks pass for the national park, separate from the free walker registration. Lock in your start date and your registration as soon as your plans and a settled forecast line up; with only 12 places a day, the good dates are the first to reach their cap.

Do I need to book Mount Anne?

Yes. Every overnight walker on the Mount Anne walks needs a PWS walker registration for a specific start date and party size. Registration is free, but each departure date is capped at 12 walkers. You will also need a Tasmanian parks pass.

My start date is full. Can I still get a place?

Often, yes. Mount Anne is a weather-dependent commitment and plans change constantly: forecasts turn, parties shrink, trips slip to the next clear spell. Places quietly free up as a date approaches. Set up a watch and we will alert you the moment your date has room for your whole party.

Do I have to do the full circuit?

No. Many parties walk in to High Camp and climb the summit as an out-and-back on a clear day, turning around before the exposed traverse over the Notch. The registration is for the walk, not for any particular route on it.

How hard is it really?

Hard. The full circuit involves steep climbing, real exposure, and scrambling over the Notch, and it is for very experienced parties who can navigate in poor visibility and stay self-sufficient for days in genuine alpine wilderness. Even the summit out-and-back is a serious steep climb in a remote, fast-changing mountain environment.