Mr Holding, a former army reservist, set off alone on Saturday to tackle Victoria's second highest peak - Mount Feathertop.

He sent a text message to his partner at 6.30pm to say he had arrived at Federation Hut and expected to arrive home at 4pm yesterday. The alarm was raised when he had not returned by 9.30pm. Mr Holding's father received weak telephone contact from his son late last night. Premier John Brumby said the minister’s father, Bruce, said he had received the phone contact at 10.30pm on Sunday night. ‘‘The area concerned, as you know, has got poor reception and conditions were very bad,’’ Mr Brumby said.

‘‘He [Bruce Holding] got the call back, so it showed the number had come back from Tim’s phone, but the call didn’t get through.’’ Mr Overland said police remained hopeful of finding Mr Holding. "He is an experienced bushwalker. We haven't given up hope on him," Mr Overland said. Most of the search teams, including police, the State Emergency Service (SES) and volunteers from Search and Rescue Victoria, are expected to shelter at Federation Hut tonight. Another six were camping on the western side of the mountain. Mr Brumby said he was increasingly concerned about Mr Holding’s welfare, saying it was too dangerous for rescuers to search through the night.

"He’s an experienced bushwalker, he would have presumably bedded down, but they are difficult conditions." Earlier today, a team of bushwalking volunteers from Melbourne arrived in Bright to join the search for the Water Minister.

Bush Search and Rescue Victoria convenor Frank Zgoznik said the conditions were difficult and it was likely to be icy on the summit. ‘‘We’re heading up three different routes up the the summit and it will probably take us till the evening to get there,’’ he said. There was no chance of sending a helicopter up this evening, so the search party would work in teams of four in an effort to cover as much ground as possible, he said earlier today.

Searchers have packed three days’ worth of equipment, including ice axes, harnesses, crampons and ropes. He said the temperature was expected to be about zero or below. ‘‘We might find ice, we might find some dry snow,’’ Mr Zgoznik said. Transport Minister Lynne Kosky arrived in Bright today to lend support to Mr Holding’s parents and his partner, who have been briefed by police at Bright station. A police spokeswoman said Mr Holding was ''fairly well-prepared for being out on the mountain overnight with a couple of thermals, a Gore-tex jacket, tent and dehydrated camping food’’.



Ms Kosky said she was optimistic that her colleague would be found alive.

"Tim’s very prepared. He’s done a lot of bushwalking and so we’re just looking forward to catching up with him at the end of all this,’’ Ms Kosky said. Mr Holding told a group of bushwalkers yesterday morning he had changed his mind about climbing to the peak of Mount Feathertop because of the dangerous conditions. The bushwalkers are the last people to have seen the minister.

The 37-year-old minister spoke to the walkers about 8.30am as they made their way to Federation Hut on the mountain and Mr Holding walked north.

Acting Superintendent Wayne Rotherham said Mr Holding told the group he had intended to climb to the top but had changed his mind and would head back towards his car, which remains parked at the base of the mountain. ‘‘He had [planned to walk to the summit] but he had decided that he wasn’t going to now because it was too steep. He said he was going to make his way back to the car,’’ Acting Superintendent Rotherham said. He said searchers were taking three different routes towards the small track where Mr Holding was last seen, not far from Federation Hut. ‘‘We are focusing on that area and fanning out from there,’’ he said. ‘‘We don’t know if he continued walking or took a different track. There are a number of tracks that go from there, so we have different search teams going in from different locations but obviously it is very difficult because of the terrain and conditions.’’

Low cloud, wind and snow are hampering the search, with helicopters unable to be used because of poor visibility. Mr Holding stayed at Federation Hut on Saturday night as the temperature plummeted to minus seven. A bushwalker who also spent the night in the hut told online his walking group set off about 30 minutes after the minister left the hut for a solo hike about 7.30am. As the group headed towards Mount Feathertop they saw the minister’s footprints veering off the path. Police last night picked up a weak signal from Mr Holding’s mobile phone but have been unable to use it to pinpoint his location.

Acting Superintendent Rotherham said Mr Holding’s phone could be low on power or out of range, or may have been dropped by the minister. Victorian Premier John Brumby says he is concerned that his friend and colleague’s mobile phone is ‘‘inactive’’. He said Mr Holding was an experienced hiker who had tackled the Kokoda Track. He was well-equipped with food, a tent and sleeping bag but did not have snow shoes or an emergency beacon. Earlier, State Emergency Service state duty officer Jeff Cartwright said an extra 12 specially trained alpine SES searchers would help police look for Mr Holding today. He said ‘‘white-outs’’ were possible in low cloud and snow which made it difficult to tell where the ground ended and horizon began.

Mount Feathertop is the second-highest mountain in Victoria at 1922 metres and is popular with walkers. Located near the town of Bright in Victoria’s north-east, it is often known as the Queen of the Victorian Alps. About 5,000 hikers tackle the summit of Mount Feathertop every year, but few in winter and alone. Locals say the track can be treacherous in snow, with nearby Mt Hotham recording a 89cm fall yesterday.



"I haven't got a good feeling about it, but that doesn't mean much,'' the operator of a Bright outdoor store, who gave his name only as Stephen, said.



"I've been here probably in Bright now 30 years and there's been a few who have been lost and not been found for several months later, until the snow disappears.



"You only hope that they find him in good condition.''

Mr Holding is a rising star of Victoria’s Labor Party and holds the multiple portfolios of water, finance, WorkCover, TAC, tourism and major events. During his decade in Parliament as the MP for Lyndhurst, in Melbourne’s south-east, he has held cabinet positions for police and emergency services, corrections, information and communication technology, financial services industry and manufacturing and export.

with AAP

