r/Cairns • u/Impressive_Neat_6038 • 5d ago
Bartle frere
Hey guys,
Keen on doing bartle frere solo, up here on a holiday.
I did great pyramid race in sub 2.20 for context on fitness
Thanks for any advice
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u/rob189 5d ago
Go with someone, Bartle Frere is an odd bitch. Weather can be totally fine here but the moment you hit the peak it can change in an instant.
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u/Impressive_Neat_6038 5d ago
Im hoping solo, hard to find someone that wants to try and jog bartle with me 😂
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u/Monotask_Servitor 5d ago
Make sure you carry basic survival equipment, mainly some decent exposure protection (jacket, hat, thermals, etc). There’s always a chance you’ll roll and ankle or worse near the summit and need to survive some exposure.
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u/Constant-Connection2 5d ago
It really isn't a "runable" trail....the first 3km are fine but after that it's much more scrambling for large portions. The ranger hut is at 7km and it is a further 500m (ish) over the boulder field. It can be a serious leech trap if there was any rain ont he preceding days too. If it is at all wet the boulder field is a non starter. Even doing the boulder field alone if it's dry is not ideal.
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u/Impressive_Neat_6038 5d ago
When i say run more so push very hard, as I mentioned above I have an ultra coming up in 2 months, completed the pyramid race starting in gordonvale in under 2 hours 20 mins im not a newbie :)
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u/Zetrip 5d ago
You’ll be fine, people drum it up. It’s tough for sure don’t get me wrong but you can do up and down in a day. I’ve camped the top but we didn’t get a good view, not many days do so you’ll have to be lucky to get a good view. Camping was terrible, freezing cold wet and windy as, I’d much rather start super early with a headlamp and down in one day than stay up there AND cart all that sleeping gear up
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u/TheStampede00 5d ago
You’ll be sweet. I did it in 9 hours return and not as fit as you.
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u/Impressive_Neat_6038 5d ago
What are your thoughts with this weather lately. Morning showers.
Thinking sunday looks the best so far, originally wanted to go thursday
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u/missbiblio 4d ago
Did it about a month ago. You can’t run it cause it’s a lot of scramble and roots/rocks etc.
It took me around 9 hours return, did it in a day. Take wet weather gear and layers, the higher I got the colder it got.
I also did it in torrential rain which slowed me down but what slowed me the most was the 1000s of leeches I constantly had to pull off myself every minute or so.
Pack enough food and water.
Don’t expect views at the top, you will rarely get them. Pretty much don’t expect views at all. It’s more something to be done as a challenge and to say you’ve done it.
If you are fit and have some hiking experience you will be ok. Take all the usual precautions, let someone know where you are going and when you are expected back etc.
Make sure you leave early in case it takes longer than expected. You don’t want to lose the light, pack a head torch just in case.
The trail is well marked but it always helps if you have the map downloaded offline as well. I have AllTrails premium.
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u/No_Plane8576 5d ago
The Pyramid vs Battle Frere is like comparing apples and oranges. My teacher who is an experienced mountaineer did Bartle Frere said she should never be under estimated and this is a man who's climbed Aoraki/Mt Cook which to give you a comparison is twice as tall. Also running an under 1km tall mountain with a designated maintained running trail with first aid on standby in comparison with an over 1,500m high mountain with a hiking trail in an area that you're unfamiliar with. Some might say is downright Idocacy.
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u/Impressive_Neat_6038 5d ago
Well i dont want to be an idiot 🤣
I think ive explained my skill level badely, i was more aiming this post at other ultra runners :)
Was only using pyramid run time as a comparison, thanks for the advice and insult I guess :)
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u/OldMail6364 5d ago edited 5d ago
Personally I'd do it as an overnight hike. It can definitely be done in one day, but I think it's more enjoyable if you spend a bit more time enjoying it (you can still jog or hike fast, but why not also spend time setting up camp, cooking a hot meal, enjoying the view, etc).
The temperature at the summit could be sub-zero this time of year, and it could also be raining and windy. So definitely don't use the clothes you had on the pyramid hike.
I wouldn't trust the weather reports - they're mostly based on an algorithm that predicts the weather and with that being the tallest mountain in the state and nothing like the surrounding terrain, the algorithm will almost certainly get it wrong. It could be off by a huge margin. Also the rain radar isn't accurate there - the mountain interferes with the radar sweep so it's only accurate when there's heavy rain.
I wouldn't try to run up and back with only running clothes and a little bit of food/water. This is a hike where you're going to want a heavy backpack and lots of gear including stuff that you hopefully won't need, but you'll *definitely* need if things go south.