As part of the 2019 Victorian backcountry festival, we are hosting an extended speaker’s program. This will happen on the afternoon of Saturday September 7, upstairs at The General, Mt Hotham.
The program will run from midday to 4pm (and will be followed by a ski in outdoor bar from 4 – 6pm).
Check below for the program. We have a few more things coming, so times will vary slightly before we get to the final program.
Of course, all of Australia is indigenous land, including the Alps. Despite colonisation and dislocation, Aboriginal communities have maintained connections with the Alps and have been re-asserting that connection in recent years.
Traditional owner groups have been involved in reclaiming of language, and this includes advocating for landscape features like mountains being re-named with their original or other relevant names.
This happened in the case of The Jaithmathangs, a rocky peak on the western side of the Bogong High Plains, which had previously been called The Niggerheads. They were renamed in 2009, after consultation with the Indigenous community. The Jaithmathang are an indigenous group with connection to the High Plains. This renaming has happened extensively in The Grampians in western Victoria, which are also known as Gariwerd in one of the local languages, either the Jardwadjali or Djab Wurrung language. Peter Gardner has recorded the extensive range of indigenous names to be found in the Victorian Alps.
There has been a long conversation about the name of our highest mountain, Kosciusko. There have been proposals for dual naming – using the current name in conjunction with a traditional name (as happens with Uluru/ Ayers Rock).
It would appear that the push is gaining momentum.
The Reclaim Kosci group have been running a fantastic campaign to gain protection of the Snowy Mountains through securing removal of the large numbers of wild horses in the Kosciusko national park.
This week they will present a petition to NSW parliament calling for the Repeal the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act.
Continue reading “Reclaim Kosci petition ceremony at NSW parliament”
With continued snowfalls expected this week, we’re looking as if we will have a proper (settled) base across higher ranges and hence an early start to the ‘season’ (yes, ‘ski season’ is just a capitalist construct).
You’re probably planning trips. Here are a few resources that might help:
Sunday September 8.
The Snow Bird, Hotham Central, 6.30 – 9pm.
Protect Our Winters (POW) is mobilising the outdoor sports community against climate change. It was founded by the legendary snowboarder Jeremy Jones and is active across North America and Europe. POW is now taking off in Australia.
Come along to this session to hear what’s happening, how you can support POW, and how to get involved. All welcome.
Millions of Australians have worked hard to gain protection of our wild places over many decades. The national parks and other conservation areas that have been created as a result of these efforts protect some of our wildest and greatest landscapes.
In recent years it has become clear that climate change poses a grave – and in some cases existential – threat to many of these places. Then there is the threat of invasive plant and animal species, fragmentation of habitat due to clearing and logging in areas next to reserves, etc.
A more insidious threat has been the slow shift by both state and federal governments to consider, or actively support, commercial operations in our conservation reserves.
This is well underway in Tasmania, with private commercial developments along the Overland Track, and plans for other operations in many parts of the state.
Recent examples include the plan to allow ‘helicopter tourism’ and a small commercial operation inside the Walls of Jerusalem national park in Central Tasmania and a plan to build a cable car into the famous Dove Lake, near Cradle Mountain. In some instances, land is being removed from parks to allow various forms of development.
A recent report shows the scale of this threat.
Continue reading “Australia’s conservation reserves under threat from commercialisation”
The Victorian Backcountry Festival will happen at Hotham, over the weekend of Sept 7 and 8. The program has just been released and is available here.
So far the program has 27 tours and workshops, from beginner to advanced, covering snow shoeing, splitboarding, alpine touring, telemark, and cross country. There will be skillshares in fat bikes, snow and avalanche safety, navigation, snow camping, rescue and a film making workshop.
The program:
Please remember to buy tickets for the weekend if you haven’t already (it’s $10 a person for the weekend)
Time for a road trip!
The snow currently hitting the Alps and Tasmania means an early skiing/ riding season at some resorts.
As a result of spectacular snow falls (Hotham is already reporting 65 cm!), a number of resorts are opening early, including:
Perisher, from Friday May 31 (although Perisher Skitube and Shuttle Service between Perisher and Smiggin Holes will not run until June Long Weekend).
Mt Buller (lifts starting June 2, with their new chairlift opening as well).
Mt Buller and Mt Stirling will both officially open on 1 June, offering half price resort entry from Saturday until the Queen’s Birthday Weekend.
Most others are opening over the traditional Queens birthday weekend (June 8 – 10).
And, of course, there is a good cover in the backcountry across higher mountain areas – obviously take care out there as the base will not have consolidated as yet.
There will a screening of the 2019 Backcountry film festival (BCFF) happening at Harrietville on Saturday June 1.
The BCFF features 10 great films, including an edit of the Ode To Muir splitboarding film.
There will be soup, bread and drinks available by donation.
All funds will go to the Avalanche Training Centre planned for Mt Hotham.
Harrietville community hall, Great Alpine Road, Harrietville from 6pm.
Alpine Access Australia started as a guiding company and now provides a range of snow safety programs and avalanche training. Many in the backcountry will know Dave and Pieta Herring and instructor Luka Panik. AAA operate both in the Snowy Mountains and a growing number of mountain areas in Victoria.
AAA are the avalanche safety course providers at this year’s VIC backcountry festival (September 8 and 9) and will be offering courses in the Hotham area before, during and after the festival.
The program for the 2nd Victorian backcountry festival will be released via the website next week.
People who have pre registered (you can register for $10 for the weekend here) will receive early notification of the program, and be able to sign up for tours, by the end of this week.
The program looks fantastic, with offerings from Hotham ski school, Traverse Hotham, LetsSplit, Melbourne Nordic Ski Club, Mountain Sports Collective, Bushwalking Search and Rescue, and many individuals.
Lake Mountain Ski Patrol (LMSP) is looking to boost its numbers in the lead up to the 2019 snow season, giving outdoors enthusiasts the chance to volunteer with a difference.
The patrol is recruiting people who can cross country ski, have basic first aid training, love to work outdoors and are keen to join the weekend roster for volunteers over the winter months.
Continue reading “Lake Mountain Ski Patrol looking for new volunteers”
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