I popped up to the top of Jacob's Ladder this morning to retrieve the bottle I stashed. Either someone beat me to it, or I didn't dig deep enough into the soft snow, as I couldn't find it.

Conditions up there were much gentler than on Sunday when I gave up my run around the western edge due to excessively painful spin-drift.

After Jacob's Ladder I went on to Pt. 636m, then to Kinder Gates intending to follow the Kinder River out to the Downfall. This wasn't quite so easy as I thought - there were plenty of deep, soft drifts. I was then somewhat surprised to meet 5 youngish blokes (mid 20s) with high-vis jackets. They were NT workers who'd been told by the NT that conditions were 'workable' today!! They seemed pretty cheerful, anyway.

Finally, a big thank you to Ian Fitz and all his helpers for trying their very best to put the race on.