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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.

Splitfest 2018

The NSW ‘Splitfest DownUnder’ will be held on the weekend of the 24-26th of August in the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains.

It’s always a great event – meet some great crew, camp out at Island Bend up in the Park, and join a tour on the Saturday that leaves from the Guthega resort. Splitfest is organised by Adam West. You can Register here.

The weekend kicks off on Friday night at the Jindabyne Bowling Club in the downstairs room starting @ 6pm.

Full details on what’s going on and what to bring can be found here.

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In Search of Space, Journeys in Wild Places

In the introduction to In Search of Space, Journeys in Wild Places, Ross Brownscombe points out that ‘nature writing’ which ‘explores the poetry and magic of wild places’ has not developed into a strong tradition in Australia. Compared to North America and the UK this is certainly correct, and true writers in this genre are few and far between.

This book is a great addition to the library of nature writing that Australia has produced. There is a review here.

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Here it comes

After a fairly ordinary opening weekend, are we finally getting to the real part of winter?

It seems to depend who you talk to but the general answer is YES.

These are the seven day forecasts for Australia from MountainWatch.

This is the one from SnowWatch. Obviously, longer term models become less reliable, with a greater chance of the cold front being shunted off by a blocking High system or weakening, etc. We’ve all had our hearts broken many times by seeing a 15 day forecast that looks mind blowing slowly dissolve into drizzle and a bit of cloud, so do ‘adjust your set’ to prepare yourself for disappointment. But the short term forecast looks great.

The Jane Bunn forecast (via ski.com.au) looks pretty spectacular.

A series of cold fronts is passing through, driven by a complex area of low pressure that slowly moves past, just south of Australia.  

The heavier snow coincides with the colder air. Its still a little warm today (Wednesday) and Thursday, then we are proper cold from Friday. Snow down to 900 metres on Friday and Saturday, lowering to 600 metres for Saturday night and early Sunday.

Northern resorts see the most from this system as the airflow is northwesterly for much of the time. Baw Baw picks up what is left on Monday into Tuesday. 

The high moves in on Tuesday, bringing a return to sunshine.

We’re looking at 40 to 95 cm of snow for northern resorts.

Lets hope this is correct!

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Lamont magazine #2

Lamont magazine is only in its second edition but it already feels like it has become an institution in the Australian alpine community. Issue #2 is now available free at a wide range of city and mountain outlets (check here for locations) and has a great cross section of stories, largely focused on people who have turned their passion for the mountains into lifelong connection.

Continue reading “Lamont magazine #2” →

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Mt Buller dam gets state approval

The Andrews government has announced $7.5 million of support for the controversial Mt Buller Water Storage Project through the Regional Tourism Infrastructure Fund.

Continue reading “Mt Buller dam gets state approval” →

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Australia’s first backcountry festival

The Backcountry festival will happen at Falls Creek, over the weekend of September 1 and 2, 2018.

It aims to celebrate all things backcountry – tele, split boarding, cross country, snow shoeing and alpine touring.

Our vision is to host a grass-roots gathering at Falls Creek for backcountry skiers and riders of all abilities.  If you’re interested in any form of human powered adventure in the backcountry, you should be there. Beginners to advanced, all are welcome.

We now have a fantastic program for the festival. Thanks to the generosity of the folks at Falls Creek Cross Country, we have some great telemark clinics and snow shoe tours, which are being offered for free.

A range of people have also offered to lead tours or offer skills workshops, like navigation skills and snow camping 101.

There will be demo skis available for hire, an outdoor bar in the afternoon, and a mini film festival featuring Australian made backcountry films and some great speakers in the evening.

Sunday will see the world telemark day gathering, with skiing both in and out of the resort as an option.

The program is available here.

What now?

Please invite your mates and spread the word. Facebook page available here.

Please register. This is free and makes planning easier if we know numbers. People who have registered will have first option on getting tickets to the film festival.

Start to build some stoke. If posting pics through winter, please feel free to tag us #VICbackcountryfestival

We know of one person who is planning to walk and snow shoe to the festival from Walhalla (!!). Where are you coming from?

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Construction of cable car at Dove Lake one step closer

There has been a long public debate about the re-development of the northern end of the Cradle Mountain Lakes St Clair national park. The Tasmanian government has previously approved a revitalisation of facilities, which will see a new “gateway precinct” for the park. This will happen outside the park boundary and is generally not seen as being contentious.

What is more contested is a proposal to build a cable car from the new ‘gateway precinct’ to Dove Lake.

It has now been announced that the government is “sounding out interests for a public-private partnership to undertake the redevelopment of the Cradle Mountain visitor centre, as part of its potentially $160 million “Cradle Mountain Master Plan” to give the area a much-needed facelift”.

Continue reading “Construction of cable car at Dove Lake one step closer” →

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‘Insane’: NSW Government backs wild horses over environment

The enormous environmental impact of wild horses in alpine areas is well documented. In Victoria the government has recently announced a plan to remove a large number of the wild horse population. However in NSW, the argument that wild horses are a cultural component of the landscape despite their impacts has seen the development of legislation that would enshrine the existence of horse populations in the Kosciusko National Park.

The Bill was debated in parliament last night and passed as a result of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party and the Christian Democrats opting to support the Bill.

Peter Hannam, writing in The Canberra Times reports that:

The Berejiklian government has secured passage through Parliament of a controversial bill to protect wild horses in the state’s largest national park, ignoring broad protests from scientists and even a farmer responsible for relocating many of the feral animals.

Extending protection to so-called “heritage horses” is “incompatible with the principles that underpin Australia’s world-leading protected area system, and with our commitments as a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity”, the academy said in a letter sent to the government.

“Reports from bog, stream, and dry habitats in Kosciuszko and Victoria indicate a wide range of ecosystems are degraded by feral horses,” the letter said.

“This research leads the academy to expect substantial negative impacts on species and ecosystems within the park arising from the provisions of the Heritage Bill,” the letter said.

The creation of a community advisory panel that had no requirement for members with scientific qualifications meant science-based advice would be “all but removed from the management” of the horses, it added.

The Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Bill 2018 was passed late on Wednesday with the Liberal-Nationals Coalition gaining support from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party and the Christian Democrats.

Earlier the Australian Academy of Science joined a lengthening list of scientific groups – including the International Union for Conservation of Nature – to condemn the plan to prioritise an invasive animal over native species in the Kosciuszko National Park.

 

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Music for the Mountain

The campaign against the cable car that has been proposed for Mt Wellington/ kunanyi is going from strength to strength. From a huge rally (more than 5,000 people) to overwhelming public opinion opposing the project, there is a growing sense that common sense will prevail and the proposal will be abandoned. The next big point in the campaign is getting close – Carlton and United Brewery (CUB), who own the Cascade brewery site, need to announce whether they will provide land for the cable car.

On Saturday August 4 there will be a fund raiser in Hobart to support the campaign.

Continue reading “Music for the Mountain” →

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Climate change will make snow a ‘premium product’ like ‘fine wine’

Climate change poses an existential threat to the ski industry in Australia. A recent report commissioned by the Victorian government suggests that the end of natural snow could be as close as a couple of decades.

As noted by Adam Carey in The Age, without serious action to tackle climate change, ‘the likeliest outcome is that Victoria’s snow resorts will gradually close, until just one or two remain in business by mid-century, offering an increasingly rarefied experience’.

You would think that people who earn their living from snow would be paying attention to what is happening and perhaps even playing their part to reduce emissions.

Apparently not.

Continue reading “Climate change will make snow a ‘premium product’ like ‘fine wine’” →

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Victoria moves to reduce wild horse numbers

The Andrews government has released a long-term plan to protect the Alpine National Park in Victoria from the threat of feral horses.

Minister for Environment Lily D’Ambrosio launched the Protection of the Alpine National Park – Feral Horse Strategic Plan 2018-2021 this week, which aims to radically reduce wild horse numbers in the park. In announcing the plan, Minister D’Ambrosio said “feral horses cannot be allowed to run rampant in the Alpine national park – their hard hooves damage the precious environment and destroy the habitats of threatened species.”

Continue reading “Victoria moves to reduce wild horse numbers” →

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Report into climate impacts on Victorian resorts

There is no doubt that climate change is already impacting on snow conditions in Australia, and hence impacting on the industries that need snow to be viable. When it comes to responding to this existential threat, there are three key options: ignore it (in the hope it will go away), reduce our contribution to the problem (also called mitigation) or just try to adapt to the changes that the problem brings (also known as adaptation). With few exceptions, ski resorts in Australia have opted for the first and the third options. A sensible, responsible and forward thinking ski industry would be doing both adaptation and mitigation.

A report released by the Victorian government will help local resorts steer themselves along the path of adaptation.

Continue reading “Report into climate impacts on Victorian resorts” →

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