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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.

The New Localism Film Tour

Outdoor company Patagonia is well known as a being conservation leader because of it’s attempts to reduce the environmental impacts of it’s products and its support for grassroots environmental activism around the world.

Amongst their in-house campaigns, they have one called the New Localism. In many ways this program simply encourages people to ‘pay the rent’ to the places that they love to explore, by working to protect them.

They say:

“We are all locals. And we live in a global world. We can no longer pass through or visit remote wild places and trust they will remain that way. Patagonia’s friends have always brought us news of places they loved that are threatened. Patagonia is committed to bringing our resources and connections to bear on these threats to wildness, far and wide. We all have a chance to make a difference. Take a stand”.

As part of the New Localism initiative, the company is hosting a traveling film festival which features a range of films that straddle the divide between adventure and activism.

Different films are being in various locations, starting in Sydney on Wednesday October 23.

The series includes Damnation, which looks at the movements in North America which are seeking to have dams which are no longer needed removed from key river systems, and Jumbo Wild, which chronicles the long campaign to stop a mega development in the Purcell Mountains of British Columbia.

You can find out more about the festival here, and dates and locations of showings here.

[Imagine is from Patagonia, in the Purcell Mountains, BC.]

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7 Peaks Alpine Ascent Challenge

The 7 Peaks Ride is an iconic set of rides up seven mountains in the Victorian High Country. You do each ride when it suits you, but has a five month window, with riders being encouraged to do at least four of the rides. The riding season starts this week.

The peaks are Mt Baw Baw, Mount Buffalo, Mt Buller, Dinner Plain, Falls Creek, Hotham, and Lake Mountain. Each ride involves a serious ride from the valley.

As you go you get your 7 Peaks passport stamped.

You can tackle the 7 Peaks any time from October 16 2015 to March 31 2016.

Full details here.

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Bushfire impacts on snow pack

People who visit the Australian high country know how badly it has been impacted by bushfires over the past decade.

In Victoria, we experienced the Eastern Alps fire of 2003, which burnt 1.3 million hectares, and also in 2006/07 which burnt almost 1.3 million hectares. Then over the summer of 2012/13, the Aberfeldy-Donnellys Creek and Harrietville fires also burnt large areas of the mountains. Some sections have been burnt three times in a decade, with loss of significant stands of Alpine Ash and snow gums.

I have often wondered what the fire impact might mean in terms of snow cover. Obviously where there is the classic open canopy of a mature snow gum woodland, at least half the ground is at least partially shaded from direct sunlight. Often snow will stay in better condition under the trees when its getting sun affected in the open areas. And equally you will often get snow lingering in the forests once it is mostly burnt off in adjacent treeless areas.

Continue reading “Bushfire impacts on snow pack” →

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Vale Ern Mainka

Many people will know the work of Ern Mainka. His photography was hugely popular amongst nature enthusiasts, and I must have seen his images in hundreds of places over the years.

Apart from capturing our wild places so well, Ern played a significant role in raising awareness about the many threats posed to these places. Many of these landscapes are now protected, and Ern played a big part in many of these victories.

Continue reading “Vale Ern Mainka” →

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Join the 2015/2016 Falls Creek Hawkweed Volunteer Program

Native to Europe, Hawkweeds have recently become naturalised on mainland Australia.

Hawkweeds are highly invasive and spread quickly via runners and roots, forming dense mats inhibiting and outcompeting native vegetation. They can cause major environmental damage in alpine and sub-alpine areas, and are considered a significant threat to the Victorian Alps if not eradicated early.

Participating in volunteer surveys is a great way to help protect the Victorian Alps from this dangerous weed, as well as a fantastic opportunity to enjoy the magnificent alpine environment during the green summer months.

Continue reading “Join the 2015/2016 Falls Creek Hawkweed Volunteer Program” →

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The Australian Alpine Refugee Walk

The Australian Alps Walking Track, formerly called the Alpine Walking Track, stretches more than 600 kilometres through the mountains of Victoria and New South Wales.

Isabel Brown is planning to walk the track to raise awareness about the treatment of refugees in mandatory Detention in Australia.

Continue reading “The Australian Alpine Refugee Walk” →

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McKayos gravity enduro

October 4.

From Falls Creek resort:

“McKayos is Falls Creek’s newest event, a MTB gravity enduro bash from the snowy slopes of Australia’s highest drivable peak to the pristine shores of Lake Guy in Bogong Village.

Combining Snow, Dirt and Road, the course takes riders 18km through fire trails and sealed mountain roads for a total descent of 1200m. A mass start on snow is sure to see some chaos from the starter’s gun as riders muscle for position.”

It costs $50. For further information and to register, please check here.

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Fairness for Forest Firefighters

Victoria’s forest firefighters who are employed by the Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning (DELWP) are fighting for fair pay and recognition as genuine emergency services workers.

The following information comes from the Australian Workers Union.

Approximately 95% of the bushfires that occur across Victoria take place on public land, where forest firefighters are the first to respond.  Apart from responding to many of these fires, DELWP firefighters are also expected to perform a range of highly skilled duties in public assistance areas such as missing person searches, pest control, biosecurity incursions, marine pollution management, flood and heatwave, mine rescues and disruption to water or energy supplies.

Continue reading “Fairness for Forest Firefighters” →

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Backcountry film festival 2016

The Backcountry film festival is put together by the Winter Wildlands Alliance, based in Idaho. It is a celebration of the human-powered backcountry experience, with a strong focus on skiing and riding.

The festival has been showing in Australia for the past five years.

We will aim to start screenings of the new season from April 2016.

In the past two seasons, we have included a brief Australian made film. In 2015 we showed Find Your Line, about spiltboarding the western slopes of the Main Range in the Snowy Mountains. In 2014 we showed OFF GRID, featuring skiing and riding on Mt Bogong in Victoria.

We would love to show one or two short (5 – 7 minute) Australian made films during the 2016 season. If you have something to suggest please get in touch: cam.walker@foe.org.au

And as usual, if you’d like to host a local showing or know a suitable venue in Melbourne, please get in touch. We generally get around 130 people to the Melbourne show, so looking for a theatre that’s large enough, cheap, and fairly central.

For further details on the festival, please check here.

We will post the 2016 line-up once its announced.

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Victorian government tables bill to protect National Parks

Earlier this week the Andrews Labor Government put an amendment before Parliament to implement its election commitment to prevent large-scale private development in national parks by removing the ability to grant 99 year leases.

This is a good move given the previous government’s interest in allowing new and potentially intrusive developments in the park system.

Continue reading “Victorian government tables bill to protect National Parks” →

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Demand up for native Australian food mountain pepper

Anyone who has walked in the High Country will be able to relate to this one. Mountain Pepper is a common shrub that has a strong and spicy taste. Its about some farmers in Gippsland who have started to cultivate Mountain Pepper to sell at markets.

Mountain Pepper (Tasmannia lanceolata) is found in cool wet habits from sea level to alpine areas in Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. It grows in mountain gullies and mountainous areas

The story below comes from the ABC by journalist Laura Poole.

Continue reading “Demand up for native Australian food mountain pepper” →

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SnowSurf premieres in Australia

A new snowboarding and surfing film will have three premiere showings in Australia next week.

BIGFISH_01_lFilmed in the powder capital of Hokkaido, and focusing on the legendary Gentem Family, who have pioneered the ‘Snow Surf’ revolution epitomised by Gentemstick, this film features some of the very best Japanese and western Snow Surf riders.

Many of the key players in the movement are featured in SnowSurf, which was filmed over two years by Australian surf photographer, Shane Peel.

It features: Taro Tamai, Gerry Lopez, Ken Miyashita, Alex Yoder, Osamu “Om” Okada, Beau Young, Hideki Takeda, Hidehiko Wajima, Forrest Shearer, Makato Yamada, Par Dahlin, Timo Paarvala, Kazushi Yamauchi, Alex Lopez, Takuya Harayama, Tomomi Kuwahara, Toru Kuwahara, Toshiya Kasuga, Jarrkko Kauranen, Haruna Kito and the Gentemstick Family.

Patagonia, the major sponsor of the film, will be screening Snowsurf at their Sydney, Torquay and Byron Stores next week.

23rd September. Sydney store – 6pm (93 Bathurst St, Sydney)

25th September. Torquay store – 6pm (116 SurfCoast Hwy, Torquay)

26th September. Café Byron – 6pm (Shop1/ 58 Jonson st Byron Bay)

You can see the trailer here.

You can rsvp for the events on Facebook.

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