The Cheeseman – Izard round trip in winter is usually scheduled for a 7.00am meet, walking by 8.35am from Texas Flat, say 12.30 to 1.00pm on top for lunch and hope to get around and down back to the flat before dark. Somehow the Footnotes description defaulted back to an 8.00am start, and I didn’t send out an email to change it. So today was always going to be a Mt Cheeseman only trip. No trouble. The forecast was good so an enjoyable day was in store.

We were fortunate to have five people at Church Corner therefore one vehicle. Approaching the Texas Flat car park on the Cheeseman road, it was obvious the snow level was going to be higher up. There had been some snow from the norwesters during the week and the smallish cover on the old snow probably saved us. Anyway, we were walking by 9.35am, following the familiar route up onto the Cheeseman spur, then crampons on early for the boney bits. We plodded up the ridge in beautiful, calm weather with a light westerly only starting nearing the top ridge. With it now being late lunch time, there was no incentive to go further north along the ridge to the actual Cheeseman peak at 2031m, but simply drop down on the eastern side for a sheltered lunch spot with the usual fantastic view.