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Great shirts for a great cause – the Mountain Pygmy Possum

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” →

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LETS SPLIT – trip to Guthega

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.

Continue reading “LETS SPLIT – trip to Guthega” →

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Avalanche Warning upgraded to ‘High Danger’

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’” →

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Kangaroo Hoppet 2018

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.

 

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Mt Wellington/ kunanyi cable car developer looking at a ‘Plan B’

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’” →

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Getting into the backcountry

The Victorian backcountry festival is proud to present

Getting into the backcountry

Katya Crema

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.

Tamara Hutchins

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?

For full details on the festival please check here.

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One month til the inaugural Australian backcountry festival!

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!” →

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Bringing the Mountain Pygmy Possum back from the brink

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.

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Falls Creek’s annual Ski de Femme

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.

Continue reading “Falls Creek’s annual Ski de Femme” →

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Thredbo to offset all of its lifting and snowmaking electricity

As we all know, resort riding and skiing is an energy intensive recreation. While resorts have generally been a bit slow off the mark to reduce their greenhouse emissions here in Australia, there are some heartening developments happening.

One example of leadership comes from Thredbo resort in NSW.

Continue reading “Thredbo to offset all of its lifting and snowmaking electricity” →

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Bright Community Energy Roadshow

Community energy gives local towns and regions power over how they generate and consume electricity. Locally generated renewable energy will create local jobs, cleaner energy and allow the community to control where their energy comes from.

Come find out how community energy can benefit Bright and our region. Three great speakers who are leaders in this field will outline what community energy is and how we can benefit from it.

Bright, August 2.

Continue reading “Bright Community Energy Roadshow” →

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Boothy’s Blog – 5 Ideas to Make Skiing in Australia Better

There are many good reasons to love Mountainwatch. From the snow season forecasts from The Grasshopper to the ‘every snow cam you need to see in the one place’ coverage of resorts, to lots of snow community news, there is always lots going on.

I recently spotted this post from Chris Booth, who asked five ‘snow personalities’ about what would make skiing in Australia better. The response I liked best was that we should tow Australia 15 degrees south towards Antarctica.

Continue reading “Boothy’s Blog – 5 Ideas to Make Skiing in Australia Better” →

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