Search

Mountain Journal

Environment, news, culture from the Australian Alps

Open Search
Author

Cam Walker

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

1,000 km by bike through the Alps for climate action

On Oct 13 Clycle 2018 will leave Federation Square in Melbourne, with the plan to cycle all the way to Canberra via the Australian Alps.

Clycle 2018 is described by the organiser as a ‘non-charity’ bike ride. The idea is that instead of pledging money, supporters pledge ‘actions’ that will help to fight climate change. This is an unsupported trip so riders need to be fit and competent in remote areas and able to ride long distances (they expect to average 80 – 100 kilometres a day).

The organiser Peter Foot says “I’m riding a bicycle from Melbourne to Canberra, a distance of 1000km, whilst carrying an inflatable elephant. I’m doing this to bring attention to the climate crisis (the elephant in the room), and to start conversations about this most pressing of issues. It’s the largest threat to our way of life, yet it is rarely discussed in the media, or in polite company, and I want to change this.”

Grand Departure: 9am, Saturday 13th of October, Federation Square Melbourne.

Continue reading “1,000 km by bike through the Alps for climate action” →

0

Gunaikurnai and Taungurung negotiate boundaries in the High Country

The Gunaikurnai and Taungurung Traditional Owner groups have connection to the Victorian Alps over thousands of generations, and in recent years they have been reasserting that connection.

Recently they have sought support form the Victorian government’s Right People for Country program to help clarify the boundaries between their respective countries. The Right People for Country Program supports Traditional Owners groups in the process of making agreements:

  • between groups – about boundaries and extent of Country
  • within groups

In general terms in this part of the Alps, Gunaikurnai country is in the catchments south of the Great Dividing Range while Taungurung country is on the north side of the divide. This process allowed the groups to clarify the boundaries for a section of the divide between Warburton and Mt Hotham.

Additionally, Taungurung and Gunaikurnai agreed to seek shared joint management of the Alpine National Park, valuing this as an opportunity for both groups to have increased involvement and greater influence over the management of Country.

Continue reading “Gunaikurnai and Taungurung negotiate boundaries in the High Country” →

0

Leadbeater’s Possum habitat being logged in the Blue Range

Critically important habitat for Victoria’s faunal emblem, the Leadbeater’s Possum is being logged right now in the Blue Range to the east of the Cathedral Ranges in the Central Highlands.

Despite being notified of the critical habitat that is likely being logged in breach of the law, the environment department are making excuses as to why logging should continue and are refusing to investigate.

Please call on the Victorian environment minister to protect threatened species habitat and cease logging in forest along Tom Burns Creek in the Rubicon Region.

Take action

You can email the environment minister here – to tell her we want critical Leadbeater’s Possum habitat protected, not logged. And we want to be able to trust that the environment department is making every effort to protect species and not making excuses about why they will not carry out their obligations.

For background information on the logging please check here.

IMAGE: from WOTCH

 

0

Something craggy and life priorities

Antony von Chrismar describes a mission to the Main Range with long time friend Lach to ride big lines on the western face. “The stoke was high … a rare treat it was to slay such perfect stable powder on a complex Aussie mountain face.”

Continue reading “Something craggy and life priorities” →

0

Hands Across The Organ Pipes

On Sunday October 7, around 140 enthusiastic and energetic walkers participated in the ‘Hands Across the Organ Pipes’ action – saying we love the Organ Pipes as they are and NO to a cable car.

After more than 5,000 people rallied against the cable car last May, its great to see the sustained activity of local residents against this unpopular development.

Photographer: Kim Walls.

0

It’s almost New Year

Last weekend at Mt Hotham I was chatting with a friend about the end of the season. She said she was starting to grieve for the end of another year. I was feeling exactly the same. I feel most alive in the alpine, especially the alpine when it’s snow covered, and for me, the spring melt marks the end of the year.

Continue reading “It’s almost New Year” →

3

McKayos endurance ride

Australia’s only mass start, snow dirt road enduro returns to the slopes of Falls Creek once more.

Taking off from the summit of McKay (Australia’s highest accessible point by car), or the Ski Patrol bases as used in 2017, riders will traverse the snowy peak, through single track, fire trails and the High Plains Road to  Lake Guy in Bogong Village.

It happens on saturday October 6.

Continue reading “McKayos endurance ride” →

0

Hands across the Organ Pipes – walk and action, OCT 7

Mountain Journal has been reporting on the proposal to build a cable car up the face of kunanyi/ Mt Wellington for several years. The community resistance to this plan has been solid, determined and strategic. Local residents group Residents Opposed to the Cable Car (ROCC) have organised a walk and action to celebrate the beauty of the mountain, to be held on Sunday OCT 7.

Continue reading “Hands across the Organ Pipes – walk and action, OCT 7” →

0

REI: ‘our electricity has been 100% renewable since 2013’

In terms of outdoor retail stores in the USA, REI has an enormous influence. This is both good and bad: it’s ubiquitous presence and huge buying power can threaten smaller, locally owned businesses. On the other hand, it is a co-op which shares benefits back to members, supports some good outdoors initiatives, and provides affordable gear to millions of people.

REI has also taken some significant steps to reduce its environmental impact and has recently released an interesting update on it’s efforts to source all it’s electricity from renewable sources.

Continue reading “REI: ‘our electricity has been 100% renewable since 2013’” →

0

The Hunt 1000 Australian Alps trail

This is completely epic: A 1,000 km journey by bike ‘through the rooftop of Australia along backcountry trails, across exposed high plains, through snow gum woodlands and among tall native forests. The trail links two of major cities (Canberra and Melbourne) with limited resupply points and some of Australia’s best high country campsites’.

The Hunt 1000 is envisaged as a 7 day bike packing ride. It is the brain child of Daniel Hunt. A number of my riding friends have been talking about it, so I thought I would check it out.

Continue reading “The Hunt 1000 Australian Alps trail” →

0

Aspen skiing company launches climate activism campaign

This is a great bit of leadership from Aspen Skiing Company. They have recently unrolled a new activist campaign, called Give A Flake, which invites skiers and non-skiers alike to speak out against climate change inaction, with the launch of a variety of online tools that help activists easily contact their elected officials.

Under the banner of ‘Protect Your Passion. Join the Movement’, Aspen says ‘Sometimes caring about an issue isn’t enough. You have to do something. It’s time to turn our concern about climate change — and yours — into action’.

Continue reading “Aspen skiing company launches climate activism campaign” →

0

Keep It Wild

Australians have campaigned for decades to protect our remaining wild ecosystems. From the Franklin River to the Daintree, Arnhem Land to the Alps to south west WA, many hundreds of campaigns have seen the creation of an incredible conservation estate. But as the saying goes, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Now we must be ready to defend these wild places, which once seemed safely preserved, from a range of new threats. The obvious one is climate change. But there is also a more localised and immediate threat: there are many plans to open up reserves to logging, commercial tourism and mining.

These proposals are being resisted locally wherever they arise. But unless you’re a part of a local group it can be hard to know about what threats are arising and where.

Keep It Wild is a great initiative which seeks to bring together the various threats to the conservation estate to help people to get active.

Continue reading “Keep It Wild” →

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑