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Environment, news, culture from the Australian Alps

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Good manners in the mountains

Anyone who spends time in the high country will have seen the exponential growth in visitors during ski season in recent years, especially since the covid times. Resort car parks full, mayhem on the roads, rubbish along the access roads, overcrowding. This is our new reality, so it’s worth thinking about how we can make it work.

Firstly, we should admit that change can be hard. We love these places and are used to the way things are. Suddenly the roads are busier, the car parks and ski runs are full, even the usual campgrounds are busy with people.

Continue reading “Good manners in the mountains” →

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An Icon at Risk: current and emerging threats to the Victorian Alps

Snow Gums (Eucalyptus pauciflora) are the classic alpine tree of the High Country, generally growing at heights between 1,300 and 1,800 metres asl. Anyone who has visited the Australian High Country will know – and probably love – these trees.

In recent decades, wildfire has been devastating huge areas of the Snow Gum forests, with significant fires in the Victorian High Country in 1998, 2002/3, 2006/7, 2013 and 2019/20. More than 90% of Snow Gum habitat has been burnt at least once in the last 20 years.

The species can survive fire. However, climate change driven fire seasons are leading to more frequent fire, which is causing more death of trees and changes to forest structure. In some instances, localised collapse of Snow Gum woodlands is now being observed. As climate scientist Michael Mann describes it, we are now seeing climate change play out in real time.

We must ask whether we are now seeing the start of the collapse of Snow Gum woodlands, one of Victoria’s iconic vegetation communities.

Continue reading “An Icon at Risk: current and emerging threats to the Victorian Alps” →
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Hiking the Australian Alps Walking Track

The Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT) is one of the premier long distance walking trails in Australia. While the distance (around 650 kilometres) is impressive, it is the fact that it passes through so much remote country that makes a full crossing such a feat.  Unlike many long hiking tracks around the world there are only a small number of points to easily get off the track or to resupply, and this adds to the pre planning and commitment required to walk across Australia’s highest country.

Mountain Journal often features stories from people who have walked the track. This reflection from Jon Miller represents a trip based on an unusual SOBO (south bound) journey. Unlike many people, Jon and his friend Cath walked from the ACT south into Victoria.

Continue reading “Hiking the Australian Alps Walking Track” →

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Campaign launch: Protecting Snow Gum Country

A campaign plan to gain federal (EPBC) listing of snow gums as threatened.

Snow gum woodlands and forests are a key vegetation community across the higher mountain country of south eastern Australia and the highlands of lutruwita / Tasmania. There are 6 subspecies of Snow Gum, but the most widespread is Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. pauciflora.

While they are largely protected, a range of threats remain that impact on snow gums (including expansion of ski resorts, invasive species, and impacts from recreation activities). There are also two threatening processes are causing an existential threat to snow gum communities: the spread of dieback and more frequent and intense fires.

Friends of the Earth invites you to join the launch of our new campaign to gain protection of snow gums through federal listing on Wednesday June 17.

Continue reading “Campaign launch: Protecting Snow Gum Country” →

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‘The mountains and valleys endure’. A crossing of the AAWT.

The Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT) is one of the premier long distance walking trails in Australia. While the distance (around 650 kilometres) is impressive, it is the fact that it passes through so much remote country that makes a full crossing such a feat. And it has an epic 28,000 metres of elevation gain during the length of the walk. Unlike many long hiking tracks around the world there are only a small number of points to easily get off the track or to resupply, and this adds to the pre planning and commitment required to walk across Australia’s highest country.

Mountain Journal often features stories from people who have walked the track. What struck me about this reflection from Geoff Law was that he paid deep attention to the environment as he passed through the mountains. In a time of climate change there are existential threats to many animal and plant species, but as Geoff also notes in this story, ‘this landscape has been battered by fires, roads, logging and intrusive tourism developments. But the mountains and valleys endure. The ecosystem as a whole survives.’

We hope you enjoy this story.

Continue reading “‘The mountains and valleys endure’. A crossing of the AAWT.” →

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My favourite mountain – The Twins

We recently asked MJ readers to write about their favourite local mountain, why they are special, and why they matter.

Here is the second installment: from Mick Webster. His reflection is on The Twins, a lovely double mountain just south of the Great Alpine road, close to Mt Hotham.

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My Tidbinbilla

We recently asked MJ readers to write about their favourite local mountain, why they are special, and why they matter.

Here is the first one we have received: from John McRae, who was a park ranger in the ACT for 17 years. His reflection is on Tidbinbilla.

Continue reading “My Tidbinbilla” →

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Backcountry Film Festival 2026 – screening at Wolf of the Willows

The Backcountry Film Festival is a winter institution in Melbourne, screening each year since 2011. The program is put together by Winter Wildlands Alliance, and celebrates the power and spirit of humans in winter. The 2025-26 winter season is the 21st anniversary of the Backcountry Film Festival! This year showcases a dynamic lineup of short documentaries and ski films that transport audiences straight to the heart of winter. Adventure, love, travel, ski culture, ice, pain, friendship, and DEEP POWDER—you’ll find it all as the festival brings these powerful stories to towns around the world.

The festival will be re-screening at Wolf of the Willows in Mordialloc on the evening of Thursday 16 July, 2026 – Ticket details below.

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Help protect the Athrotaxis communities of Tasmania

The pencil pine (Athrotaxis cupressoides) is a much loved and wonderfully charismatic tree of the Tasmanian mountains where it is largely restricted to sub-alpine areas above 800 metres. It is one of the Gondwanan species – dating back to the times of the Gondwana super continent – and often grows around tarns, streams and lakes because of its intolerance to fire. Pencil pines can reach ages in excess of 1,200 years, but have little chance of recovery after a ​fire.

It is hard to imagine the mountains of lutruwita without these wonderful trees (check here to get a sense of the beauty of these trees).

Sadly they face a very uncertain future. But this campaign aims to secure a future for both pencil and King Billy pines.

Continue reading “Help protect the Athrotaxis communities of Tasmania” →

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The outliers – the mountains we love out in the Flat Country

This website (and the magazine) focuses on ‘environment, news and culture’ from the higher mountains of the Great Dividing Range between Melbourne and Canberra and the mountainous island of lutruwita/ Tasmania.

From time to time we get people writing about mountains that have resonance to them which are well away from the core area of focus of MJ. For instance, recent commentary about the destruction of snow gums at Mt Macedon in central Victoria and the mountains on Dja  Dja Wurrung country in northern Victoria.

There are many wonderful and significant mountains across the continent well away from the mountain stronghold of TAS and SE Australia. Wollumbin/ Mt Warning in northern NSW, the Glasshouse Mountains in Queensland, Rwetyepme/ Mt Sonder in the NT, or the Stirling Range in south west WA all come to mind.

We would welcome your reflections on your local mountain, why they are special, and why they matter to you. Read on for full details.

Continue reading “The outliers – the mountains we love out in the Flat Country” →

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The Mt Macedon snow gum vigil

In April 2026, many of us were shocked to find out that Parks Victoria intended to clear almost 1 hectare of rare snow gum dominated forest on Mt Macedon in order to restore a view from near the Memorial Cross towards Melbourne.

Locals and environmentalists quickly mobilised to defend the forest and despite a spirited campaign and several days of occupying the site, contractors moved in on April 17 and devastated the slopes immediately south of the summit. On the Sunday, a planned community rally went ahead and turned into something of a vigil to reflect on the destruction that had just happened. There was grief, sadness, anger and determination. What really struck me was the depth of feeling that so many people expressed for the mountain. Many of us see the mountain as a personal refuge. This destruction of a rare forest has impacted many on a deep level. I heard so many stories of people’s personal connection to the mountain last week.

Local resident Lydia Best spoke at the vigil about her connection to the mountain.

Continue reading “The Mt Macedon snow gum vigil” →

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The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area 40 years on

The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) meets seven of the ten criteria for World Heritage listing, an achievement not surpassed by any other property. The TWWHA was first inscribed in 1982. Since then, the world has changed significantly, and this is demonstrated by the issues that are arising in places like the World Heritage Area. This in turn has influenced how the area needs to be managed.

A recent paper published in Austral Ecology and called Natural Values and Threats of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area: Changed Perspectives Over Four Decades Since Listing (available here) considers how threats have changed over the past four decades and how management approaches have responded.

Continue reading “The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area 40 years on” →

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POWFest 2026

Are you feeling blue in the lead-up to winter (and let’s be honest, the budget)? Sad that Albo won’t tax gas properly? Or just need an excuse to go to visit the beautiful Vic Alps? Well we’ve got you sorted! Just sending you all a quick invite to Protect Our Winters’ (POW) flagship annual event in Bright in NE-Vic, POWFest.

POWFest is a free annual event to celebrate our mountain communities, support local businesses, raise awareness of the impacts climate change is having on our mountains and learn how to protect our alpine environment and communities. All while having a bit of fun! We will be celebrating the lead up to the winter season with live music, raffles and prizes, food, art, conversation and a panel event!

If you’re in the area on the 17th of May, come down and say hello. We’d love to see you there.

More details on the line-up of the day at this link and on the attached poster: https://events.humanitix.com/powfest-2026

 

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Mountain Icons in a time of change

The theme for this year’s Mountain Journal magazine (which is available as a pdf here) was ‘the mountains are changing, are we ready?’

In delving into the changes being driven by global heating, destructive land use practises, and more people venturing into the mountains, we profiled four of our favourite mountain Icons.

Continue reading “Mountain Icons in a time of change” →

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