Tour de ski: Winter bikepacking and multisport adventure

What do you get when you have a naturalist and two photographers on a bikepacking trip to Kosciuszko in winter?

Good timing obviously. We caught up with Jaime Askew who, along with his video designer friends Hayden Griffith and Tim Clark, planned and executed a multi-day bikepack from their backyard in Wollongong to the summit of Thredbo using panniers loaded onto their gravel bikes. Oh, and we forgot to mention; they took their skis and climbed the back track up to the top of Thredbo to complete their journey.

A revolutionary who packs bikes through COVID, Jaime describes close friend Hayden as a 'leader' and a visionary, saying 'I think this idea has been brewing for years behind the scenes. He called me one day and suggested an idea. Until a few days before the trip, I had no idea what we were doing. I had the impression that we were riding around our area for a few days, not riding from our houses to the snow with all our ski gear – it was amazing to me.'

But being the adventurer that he is, Jaime couldn't help but jump on the adventure, which also served as a fundraiser for hyper-local ecology charity, Keep it Cool, which focuses on regenerating the Snowies region with native seedlings. As a naturalist and videographer, the trio has a deep knowledge of the region through their use of drones for exploration and videography, which allows a deeper understanding and connection with the world than you can just experience on foot, bike, or ski. This inspired them to support the future of this clean environment alongside the Keep it Cool foundation.

Riding their gravel bikes, the Trek, Surly, and Kona were loaded with panniers and skis strapped to the center of the frame with as many straps as possible. Although Jaime prefers to go for 'clean bike packing' and more minimalist, the snow conditions and the addition of skis and boots will not allow for a very light setup.

'When it comes to bikepacking, we all have different experiences. I've been bikepacking for a few years now – it's my new fix. Hayden is like that. Tim had never packed a bike before this trip – he jumped in the deep end, it was really impressive. He nailed it.'

Now might be a good time to check out AMB's Bike Backpack Guide here.

The 473km route focuses on back roads and gravel crashes as long as the trio can keep up: from Wollongong to Nowra, inland to Braidwood, then Cooma and on to Thredbo. The trio averaged about 90-100km on fully loaded bikes, about 8 hours in the saddle most days, only reducing the distance downhill as they hit unforgiving and steep terrain.

'We weren't sure if we would get to the snow. We were planning to find somewhere in the forest in the snow to leave the bikes. We are thankful that we have friends who were there who were supporting us and we piled all the bikes in the car and they joined us in the back area,' said Jaime.

The trip was unsupported, both culinary and ethical, as Jaime explained: 'We stayed at our place and our friends found us each day.

The attitude is always high as we had a lot of kindness from parents and fans which we were very happy about. Tim's mother stopped at the side of Braidwood Rd and opened the boot of her car; it was full of rolls and bacon and eggs and coffee and fruit…it really helped.'

'We've been very lucky – we've had fantastic weather most of the time apart from half a day of strong winds from Braidwood. It was a really successful trip. We had a blowout 12km ride; Tim's rack was split and dragging the rear wheel. It looked bad for a second there – 12km in…hey what's going to happen – but we found something until we changed the rack, and then we didn't have a single problem for the rest of the trip. It was luck, good gear, and high morale throughout the trip.'

'We all have a very good relationship with each other. Although it was my first trip with Tim, we knew each other well enough to know when we needed that extra boost from each other and knew when that space or silence was most helpful. It always helps if you have your own beats or music going on.'

Passing through Thredbo, the trio continued to walk in the mountain air for about 6 kilometers past the village to Dead Horse Gap, where they dumped the gravel bikes and continued the ski trip. This time it was Jaime's first turn: 'I had never done spring boarding before; it was the first time. We were going up above the tree line on the first day and there was a snow storm.

'We set up camp and woke up above the tree line on a bluebird day and knee-deep powder on a bluebird day. It was a winter wonderland: it was wonderful.'

'Tim and Hayden are experienced backcountry skiers. As videographers, they spent a lot of time on the mountain professionally. They were very comfortable in that place and put that trust in me which felt really good.'

They then visited the Cootapatamba hut – a designated shelter for travelers stranded in Kosciuszko in bad weather.

Jaime says about the experience: 'For someone new to the sport, I was very overwhelmed and blown away by how freeing backcountry skiing is…you look for a good line and run it. I was breathless, my body was very tired, but I couldn't really tell at the time. I paid for it when I got back.'

The final piece of the puzzle came on the last day, when they skied up to the top of Thredbo and skied down: a very different Thredbo experience than most AMB students.

As they slowly made their way back to Wollongong (a trip in itself that included riding with friends, hiking, Tim's ever-helpful mom, and a train ride), Jaime's body was tired but he managed to brace himself for the next trip: a trip to Europe. from Morocco to Germany in the European winter. The trio raised nearly $5000 for Keep it Cool; you can donate to the charity here.