The primary purpose of this website is to celebrate the mountains of south eastern Australia and Tasmania. This includes getting out and enjoying them – walking, skiing, riding, climbing, paddling, or simply just taking it easy. I have a deep belief that getting people out into wild nature makes them more likely to feel engaged in protecting wild ecosystems.
There has been some interesting conversations of late about whether this assumption is actually correct.
The snow looks great for the next few days. Lower avalanche risk (remember to check the Mountain Sports Collective website before heading out) and a good freshen up is expected, so the weekend should be awesome.
The Mountainwatch 7 day forecast is for 54 cm at Perisher, 46cm at Hotham and 45 cm at Mt Stirling. Yes, forecasts at 7 days are very unreliable and the expected snowfall tends to trail off as you get closer to the actual day. But it does look healthy. Stay safe and enjoy.
7th September.
The Mountain Pygmy Possum is on the endangered list and it lives here…
Come visit us at Falls Creek Cross Country and learn about the mountain pygmy possum and its vulnerabilities. And learn what you can do to help. We are offering FREE XC ski hire and $1 coffees for those who bring their own cup.
FALLS CREEK CROSS COUNTRY, located above the Windy Corner carpark.
Continue reading “National Threatened Species Day at Falls Creek”
At the backcountry festival, we will be raising funds for a number of great causes (check here for the full list).
As part of these efforts, we will be selling tshirts, and all profits will be directed to the Mountain Pygmy Possum recovery program at Mt Buller. Please see below for details on this important – and very successful – initiative.
They are $40 each, are Australian made and come in a male and female design. They will be a grey that works with the design we have.
You need to pre-order by August 30.
You can purchase the tshirts here via the Mountain Sports Collective website.
Continue reading “Great shirts for a great cause – the Mountain Pygmy Possum”
Lets Split is a recent development in the Australian backcountry scene. They have just started to offer trips in NSW and Victoria for people to experience split boarding. They describe their trips as being different to guided tours: ‘rather they are an opportunity for like minded folk to come and experience Splitboarding, with people who are experienced on that terrain’.
The following report on their recent trip in the Snowy Mountains comes from Amine Yasmine.
UPDATE. WED August 8, 2018
MSC have issued a ‘High Danger’ warning.
They say:
“The current conditions on the range are about as bad as we have seen in the four year span of running the program. Equal to the various ‘Blizzards of OZ’ in 17 and the various other events of triggered slides swept riders and buried them, and as of the time of writing there have been no incidents. We aren’t out of the woods yet, and that’s the real cut and thrust of this message. This event will linger for the next 48hrs+ so hold the charge, and urge the rest of your immediate pow chasing mates to heed the warning until the snow has settled.”
Additionally, Mt Stirling ski patrol has closed Stanley Bowl:
‘Traditionally Stanley Bowl is considered safe from avalanches. But the conditions we have observed which include a cornice with a large fracture through it are severe enough for us to feel the need to close it’.
Bill Barker from Mt Hotham patrol says:
There is ‘considerable avalanche danger in the back-country again today. There was several reports of skier triggered avalanches yesterday, and the weak layer that produced these still exists today but it is now buried deeper in the snowpack which will result in larger avalanches if it releases today.
Continue reading “Avalanche Warning upgraded to ‘High Danger’”
The Kangaroo Hoppet is Australia’s International Ski Marathon. It will happen out of Falls Creek resort on saturday August 25.
There are three races:
The 7km Joey Hoppet course is a single anti-clockwise loop into Sun Valley.
The 21km Australian Birkebeiner is the Sun Valley loop followed by the anti-clockwise Heathy Spur loop.
The 42km Kangaroo Hoppet course is 24km lap consisting of the Sun Valley loop and the Heathy Spur loop with a diversion to the right at the Park drink station. the second lap (18km) consists of another Sun Valley loop then the Langfords loop and return along the Two Pauls track.
For full details (and to register) check here.
There has been a long running campaign by a developer to build a cable car up the face of Mt Wellington/ kunanyi in Hobart. The ‘vision’ experienced a major setback in June this year when Carlton United Breweries (CUB) ruled out selling or leasing land next to the Cascade Brewery to the Mount Wellington Cableway Company (MWCC) for the base station of the cable car.
Now there are news reports that MWCC is seeking permission to use land owned by Hobart City Council near to the brewery site.
Continue reading “Mt Wellington/ kunanyi cable car developer looking at a ‘Plan B’”
The Victorian backcountry festival is proud to present
Getting into the backcountry
An informal session with Katya Crema and Tamara Hutchins, who will talk about their experience of learning to be comfortable in the backcountry.
This informal chat is targeted at women who are starting to explore outdoor environments. Melbourne Girls Outside is a network of women who have built a community around supporting each other and breaking down barriers when it comes to exploring the outdoors. Katya will talk about her transition from an Olympian ski cross racer to backcountry adventurer. This will be an informal chat and Q & A.
Windy Corner Nordic Centre, Falls Creek.
4 – 5pm, Saturday Sept 1.
No need to book.
The outdoor bar will be happening outside the shelter from 4 til 6, so why not grab a drink on the way in?
Media release. August 1, 2018
Ski / Ride Hard. Do Good.
The Backcountry festival will happen at Falls Creek, over the weekend of September 1 and 2, 2018.
It aims to celebrate all things backcountry – telemark, split boarding, cross country, snow shoeing and alpine touring.
Festival organiser Cam Walker said “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 winter backcountry, you should be there. Beginners to advanced, all are welcome.
Continue reading “One month til the inaugural Australian backcountry festival!”
The Mountain Pygmy Possum (MPP) is Australia’s only hibernating marsupial. It has been declared by the IUCN Redlist as being Critically endangered. In 2000, the population estimate was less than 2,000 individuals from the three combined isolated populations that exist across the Australian Alps.
A number of ski resorts have been running possum recovery programs. They are delivering some excellent results and represent true good news stories for this critically endangered species.
Georgina Boardman is the Technical Services and Environment Officer at the Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board, where she and the rest of the Environmental Team work to protect the Mountain Pygmy Possum population on the mountain.
You can read about her story and work to protect the possum here.
Since its early beginning, Falls Creek’s annual Ski de Femme has evolved into a very popular day. In 2018, it will be held on August 11.
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