Around Howitt

Hells Staircase (made famous in the John Marsden books). The peak behind The Staircase is The Viking and the peak to the left is The Razor. This photo was taken from Macalister Springs.
Vallejo Gantner Hut. Located at Macalister Springs it is the most beautiful hut in the Alpine National Park. It's worth going there just for the toilet which is just behind the hut. Perched on top of the cliffs behind the hut, the wall facing the vista below is perspex. A most magnificent place for a poo
Mt Howitt summit with some snow. Taken in early spring.
Above Hells Window. Hells Window is a little notch you go past on the way down from the summit of Mt Magdala. The range on the horizon is (from right to left) Mt Howitt, The Crosscut Saw, Mt Buggery and Mt Speculation.
The Alpine Track just north of Mt Howitt.
Big Hill and Mt Howitt from Mt Magdala. Big Hill (ahead) and Mt Howitt (left) from the summit of Mt Magdala
The camp site at Magdala saddle. A lovely camp site just under the summit of Mt Magdala. There is even a spring on the south side.
The Crosscut Saw seen from near Mt Howitt.
Bush fire smoke fills the valley below Big Hill.
The summit of Mt Howitt in the summer.
Looking west from the summit of Mt Howitt with the Howqua River below.
The Alpine Track goes over the Crosscut Saw and beyond.
Mt Howitt plain. Mt Howitt is just a little hill on top of this broad plain. But at 1742 metres, that makes it a pretty big hill.
The summit cairn on King Billy 2.
The Crosscut Saw in summer.
The range to the north of Mt Magdala.
The Viking in the distance. As seen from near Macalister Springs.
Vallejo Gantner Hut on a lovely winter's day. You can see why they chose this shape. It gets a lot of snow.

Here are some photos from around Mt Howitt in Victoria's Alpine National Park. I usually do photo galleries around a particular hike or route but there are a lot of different bush walks involving Mt Howitt. So here is a selection in no particular order with no particular theme other than being near Mt Howitt. I would really recommend this area as a good place to do a hike. You can drive to Howitt Car Park in a two wheel drive car (although the road is unsealed can be very slow and bumpy some years). It's a great starting point for beginners and the experienced alike because you have so many different bush walks to choose from. You can just walk to nearby Vallejo Gantner Hut and camp there and then do Mt Howitt and surrounds as day walks.

Or you can do something harder like the Viking Circuit I describe in an article you can read here. Or the The Howqua River - Mt McDonald – Mt Howitt circuit I describe here. 

North, east, west or south, there are good walks on track and off all around Mt Howitt. Ones that are easy and some that are very difficult.

But just remember that bad weather, snow and blizzards can happen at any time of the year. So be prepared! Another thing you should keep in mind is that some maps of the area show foot tracks (and even some of the old four wheel drive tracks) that can not really be seen on the ground any more. Well travelled tracks like the Alpine Track are mostly well maintained but a lot of the lesser used tracks are mostly notional. The intense bush fires of the past few years, followed by intense rains of the following winter - or snow melt, have wiped out a lot of the traces of old tracks. So it can be easy to lose your way. The thick scrubby regrowth after bush fires can make travel and navigation very difficult and problematic.