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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.

Mt Olympus traverse

The Olympus Range is in central Tasmania in the southern end of the Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park. It is the range that runs along the western shore of Lake St Clair and stands high above the surrounding plains and poses quite a challenge to approach.

The range has two key summits (Mt Olympus north and south, of similar height), some beautiful lakes and stands of deciduous beech, and should be on the list for any serious mountain enthusiast who enjoys a challenging walk.

There are some track  notes for the traverse available here.

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state budget allocation to Falls to Hotham Crossing

Mountain Journal reported recently that Parks Victoria had released its final Master Plan for the Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing: a five day serviced hiking opportunity in the Alpine National Park. In the state budget for 2018/19, there was an allocation of funds to help make the project a reality.

The proposal has been widely criticised because it will help open up previously undeveloped areas near Mt Feathertop and allow private development within the Alpine National Park.

Continue reading “state budget allocation to Falls to Hotham Crossing” →

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Opposition to Mt Wellington cable car keeps growing

The community campaign against the cable car that has been proposed for kunayi/ Mt Wellington in Hobart is going from strength to strength.

Here is a summary of what’s happened in the past week.

Continue reading “Opposition to Mt Wellington cable car keeps growing” →

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Tunnel re-connects Mountain Pygmy Possum populations

The Mt Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and Zoos Victoria have recently completed a tunnel under the Great Alpine Road, which aims to provide safe passage between two groups of critically endangered Mountain Pygmy-possums. The populations are separated by the road and this reduces the chances of the species remaining viable in the Mt Little Higginbotham area.

Continue reading “Tunnel re-connects Mountain Pygmy Possum populations” →

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Mountain Ash forests facing ‘collapse’

There is ever growing evidence of the impacts of climate change on natural ecosystems. We know that, without meaningful action now, the future of alpine vegetation in Australia doesn’t look good. This is true around the world. For instance, research shows that, in many instances, forests in the western part of the USA are not growing back after wildfire, and warmer temperatures are being blamed.

Here in Australia, longer and hotter summers are increasing the risk of longer fire seasons. Some parts of the Alps have been burnt three times in the space of a decade or so, with resulting impacts on what species grow back.

Continue reading “Mountain Ash forests facing ‘collapse’” →

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Backcountry film festival – Melbourne, May 9.

It’s happening tonight!

Melbourne

Wed May 9. 7pm – 9.30pm.

Co-hosted with RMIT Outdoors Club.

Storey Hall (RMIT), 342-344 Swanston St, Melbourne.

Suggested donation:

$8 conc & students/ $15 waged/ $20 solidarity.

Tickets at the door. There will be plenty of room. All funds raised go to the Friends of the Earth climate campaign

There will be a bar run by the RMIT Outdoors Club before the films start (from about 6.15pm).

THE PROGRAM

6.15ish – Bar opens

7pm sharp – 1st films – local films plus first half of the Winter Wildlands program (6 films)

8pm – ish: intermission

8.25 – 2nd batch of films (3 films)

8.45 ish – end of program

 

Facebook page here.

In addition to the BCFF program (eight great films – check here for full details), we will be showing:

Mount Townsend 2209 – Australian Freeride Story (3 mins 53 sec)

Mt Townsend imageIn keeping with our tradition of showing an Australian backcountry film at the start of the program, this year we have a great short production about a late season mission in 2016 to ski Mt Townsend on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains.

Film maker Lachlan Humphreys says

With the Australian ski season coming to the end, I joined Australian sisters and pro skiers, Anna and Nat Segal, for one last push for the hills. Filmed in October last year, Mount Townsend 2209 follows Anna and Nat as they spend five days camping and touring together under the peak of Mount Townsend, together with their American/Canadian skier friend, Holly Walker.

Ski touring is undergoing a rebirth; a new form of free skiing, attracting people to the great outdoors and encouraging people to venture beyond the boundaries of ski resorts. There is no better way to explore the vast terrain Australia has tucked away than to camp out under the stars and experience the magic of the sunset on the western faces.

The sisters’ mission was to nut out a plan for their upcoming ski film, Finding the Line and they felt Mount Townsend was no better place to do so.

Produced by Clean Line Productions

cleanlineproductions.com

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An interview with Peter Gardner

I first learnt of Peter through his Ngarak Press, which published a wide range of books on local issues and had a real bioregional feel to it’s approach. His regional histories and materials on indigenous peoples in Gippsland and what we would now call the Frontier Wars changed the way many people look at the occupation of the east of the state and the mountains above Gippsland. His bookstores in Ensay and Swifts Creek were real institutions. While now mostly focused on climate change, he continues to be a significant historian for the region, having lifted the lid on the many massacres which happened during and after occupation.

You can read the profile here.

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Is this a game changer for sustainability in the outdoor industry?

US-based retail giant REI has just announced a new set of sustainability standards, which will apply to all 1,000-plus outdoor brands it currently sells , and all the ones it will sell in the future. The standards address a broad range of social and environmental concerns, with minimum requirements and a set of preferred or suggested practices’.

These guidelines will be implemented almost immediately. While REI only trades in the USA, many of the brands it stocks are sold here in Australia, so we have to assume these brands offerings in Australia will be manufactured to these standards.

While individual companies have been making significant advances in sustainability and workplace issues in recent years, the sheer scale of REI’s influence on the retail market in the USA could prove to be a game changer in that it could cause a ‘step change’ in the baseline operating standards of the outdoor gear sector.

Brands sold through REI include:

Arc’teryx, Deuter, Exped, Mountain Hardware, Mammut, Osprey, OR, MSR, The North Face, Columbia, Burton, ExOfficio, Helly Hansen, Kuhl, La Sportiva, Marmot, Smartwool, etc.

The full story can be found on Green Outdoor Gear.

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Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing Final Master Plan released

Several years ago, Tourism Victoria suggested that Victoria needed four ‘iconic walks’ in order to help ensure the state became a bushwalking destination. One of these was the ‘Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing’.

After a great deal of work, the final masterplan for the walk has been released by Parks Victoria.

Continue reading “Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing Final Master Plan released” →

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Climate change impacts on resorts – and how they’re taking action to reduce emissions

We all know that climate change poses an existential threat to the snow and alpine environments that we love. While Australia’s lower mountains and modest latitude make it something of a miracle that we even have snow, there is little doubt that already our seasons are getting shorter, with less snow (our snow pack has been in decline since 1957).

But it is disturbing to see the impacts that are happening elsewhere, in countries at higher latitudes and with higher peaks. This recent story sums up some of what’s happening in North America, and how some resorts are responding.

Continue reading “Climate change impacts on resorts – and how they’re taking action to reduce emissions” →

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New hut opened at Frenchmans Cap

Lake Tahune sits beneath the main face of Frenchmans Cap in south west Tasmania and the hut, nestled slightly above the lake, can be a real God send in bad conditions. While the old hut certainly did the job of providing a dry space to gather and sleep in an often cold and wet place, it was as if it was designed to ignore its surroundings.

This new one is certainly a lot nicer looking and it honours the magnificent terrain it is located in, with much larger windows and lots more natural light.

Continue reading “New hut opened at Frenchmans Cap” →

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The economic impacts of climate change on winter sports

Protect Our Winters has released an update of it’s report ‘the economic contributions of winter sports in a changing climate’. It is yet another reminder about the economic benefits of the snow industry, both in local economies and at the national level, and the threat posed by climate change to this economic activity.

Continue reading “The economic impacts of climate change on winter sports” →

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