The MJ magazine is an annual print run of 1,000 copes that is circulated for free to mountain and valley towns between Melbourne and Canberra.

The 2026 edition is currently at the printers (thanks to Charley and Jenny, the wonderful crew at Black Rainbow in Gippsland) and we will start distribution in early March. In the meantime, you can find a pdf version of the magazine here.

You can find general information and previous editions here.

Thanks, as always to Tess Sellar for the lovely design, and Dylan Robinson and Mike Edmondson for the cover images.

If you like this self funded project and want to see it keep going, you would be welcome to sign on as a Friend of Mountain Journal.

The theme for 2026: the mountains are changing – are we ready?

Change is everywhere. As the snow line slowly but steadily climbs higher up the mountains, climate change is impacting on winter as we know it. Erratic weather, boom and bust snow cycles, the borderline rain that should be falling as snow. Businesses and mountain staff feel the brunt of these more unpredictable days. Winter ice skating and regular snow on the lower peaks is already fading into the distance as we move into an uncertain century of unprecedented warming. In summer we often face the challenges that come with longer and more intense fire seasons.

Since the covid lockdown years, two new generations have found themselves in the mountains, both bringing opportunity and risk. As has often been said “everybody discovered the backcountry since Covid.” While you can still find open slopes, silence and untracked snow, the backcountry is busier than ever before. Social media gives us a one dimensional view of mountains that look gorgeous but which can prove deadly. Mt Bogong, the Main Range, Stanley Bowl and the trails of the Bogong High Plains are often crowded and many of the people who are out there lack the experience to be there safely, and don’t know the culture of good manners and mountain etiquette. The death of three people on mountains in the past winter and a large number of rescues demonstrates the sometimes devastating flip side of backcountry adventure.

At the same time, new groups are making their way to the resorts. The snow play crowds fill the roads and carparks, and bring new pressures to the resorts. Both these waves of new people need to be welcomed and supported as they find their place in the mountains.

At the same time, a growing number of First Nations groups are re-asserting their rights to manage their Country.

These profound changes bring us to a new point in the human story of the mountains. These are times that are exciting and daunting in equal measure. How do we manage these pressures, while creating space for the new arrivals, demonstrate respect for the old cultures, and leave space for wild nature?

These are the questions we have tried to delve into in this edition of mountain journal.