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Mountain Journal

Environment, news, culture from the Australian Alps

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Cam Walker

I work with Friends of the Earth, and live in Castlemaine in Central Victoria, Australia. Activist, mountain enthusiast, telemark skier, volunteer firefighter.

Defending the Jumbo Valley

The Jumbo Valley, located deep in the wilds of British Columbia’s Purcell Mountains, has long been revered for its spiritual significance and beauty. To the Ktunaxa Nation, it is known as Qat’muk, home of the grizzly bear spirit.

For decades, First Nations, conservationists, backcountry skiers and snowboarders have fought a proposed large-scale ski resort deep in the Jumbo valley. After 24 years of opposition, what more will it take to keep Jumbo wild for good?

Jumbo Wild is a beautiful film about the plan for – and the campaign against – this major development.

Continue reading “Defending the Jumbo Valley” →

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Big Hotham investment in snow making

This news is from the end of winter, but still worth noting. Mt Hotham has announced it is investing $4.4m in snow making for winter 2016. The investment includes 18 Techno-Alpin fan guns. These guns are often said to be amongst the most efficient that are available. The company claims that in the last “ten years we have been able to decrease energy consumption by 30%, or, leaving energy consumption static, increase snow production by 30%”.

General Manager Belinda Trembath says “This is the single biggest investment in snowmaking at Hotham since we partnered with government in 2008 to install the Loch snowmaking dam.”

The expanded snowmaking will cover more trails on Heavenly Valley, the intermediate terrain serviced by the Roadrunner lift, and the Beginner terrain in the Summit area. Installation will happen through summer and autumn, with a substantial new network of pipelines being put in.

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Parks Victoria Volunteer Track Ranger Program

Last year Parks Victoria (PV) ran a Volunteer Track Ranger Program in north east Victoria. They received a very positive response from both the people who volunteered and those who were out hiking in the areas where volunteer rangers were present. PV has decided to run the program again this year and is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified people.

Being involved in the program will enable participants to expand their volunteer experience while exploring some of the remote terrains and campsites in the Alpine National Park. This helps Parks Victoria during peak times of visitation.

Continue reading “Parks Victoria Volunteer Track Ranger Program” →

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‘Road to Nowhere’ rejected

Mountain Journal has previously reported on the plans to build a “Buller Stirling Link Rd” between the two mountains. It has been argued by the proponent (Mt Buller Resort Management) that the road will provide a second escape route off the mountain should a bushfire or land slide close the main road from Mirimbah to Mt Buller. There has been the argument that a link road will encourage more tourists in the ‘green season’ as it is sometimes argued that tourists don’t like going up a dead end road (this argument was used in the unsuccessful campaign to put a road in from the Baw Baw village and across the Baw Baw plateau).

Continue reading “‘Road to Nowhere’ rejected” →

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New developments on Ben Lomond?

A feasibility study has released which looks at the potential for further development at the Ben Lomond ski field in north eastern Tasmania. It is called Investment in Ben Lomond Skifield Northern Tasmania. It was produced for a range of clients including local government councils, Tourism Northern Tasmania, the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service and the Ben Lomond Committee. The committee is composed of the club / lodge and business operators at Ben Lomond and acts as a lobby group for the Ben Lomond skifield.

It proposes some significant developments be undertaken on the plateau in order to make the ski fields viable and extend the ‘green season’ attraction of the mountain. It identifies the likely financial costs of these developments without suggesting a source of finance. It points out that the development will lead to economic benefits across north western Tasmania rather than just the skifield itself. However, while noting the environmental impacts which could come with these developments, it makes no attempt to quantify these.

Continue reading “New developments on Ben Lomond?” →

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Review: Mountain Ash: Fire, Logging and the Future of Victoria’s Giant Forests

David Lindenmayer is the renowned specialist on the critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possum and the Mountain Ash forests that are their home. He has collaborated with other researchers to produce a book which looks at the possums future in light of fires and logging.

While it is expensive (almost $60) it is an incredibly important contribution to our knowledge about these forests. It is available from the CSIRO.

The following review was written by Alex Mullarky, and originally published on the Wild Melbourne website.

Continue reading “Review: Mountain Ash: Fire, Logging and the Future of Victoria’s Giant Forests” →

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A ‘MCG’ sized oval at Dinner Plain?

There has been a long planning process around how the alpine village of Dinner Plain should be developed. Most businesses struggle with the extremely seasonal nature of the tourist trade, and residents can struggle because the small number of permanents makes it difficult to sustain basic services like the supermarket through out the year.

Continue reading “A ‘MCG’ sized oval at Dinner Plain?” →

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Appreciating the Home Range

As a keen skier and walker I love to visit some of the higher ranges around the world. But having done lots of overseas trips I figure I’ve consumed well beyond a fair share of carbon, and tend to stick close to home for my adventures nowadays.

Continue reading “Appreciating the Home Range” →

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Splitfest 2016

The Australian Splitboard gathering will be held for the fourth year in the Snowy Mountains next winter.

August 21 – 23, 2016.

Chuck it in your diary. It will start with the usual gathering at the Banjo Patterson Inn in Jindabyne on the friday night. Facebook page available here.

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Summer of Citizen Science and Forest Defence

Goongerah Environment Centre (GECO), based in a mountain valley in far east Gippsland, is organising two weeks of ‘citizen science’ and a range of activities intended to protect the native forests of the region.

It runs from Friday, December 4 until Friday, December 18.

Continue reading “Summer of Citizen Science and Forest Defence” →

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Line up for the 2015/16 Backcountry film festival

We now have the line up of films for the next Backcountry Film festival. Nine films featuring skiing, boarding and climbing, spread over several continents.

You can find the details here.

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MountainGrass music festival

The Mountaingrass festival is an institution, having been around for more than a quarter of a century. It is held in Harrietville. The dates for 2015 are November 20 to 22.

Continue reading “MountainGrass music festival” →

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