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Mt Hotham

Protect Our Winters film night at Hotham

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. Great speakers and two films. All welcome.

 

Featuring presentations from:

Josh Fletcher, lead advocate for Protect Our Winters (POW) Australia

Bill Barker, head of Hotham ski patrol, Patagonia ambassador

Niamh O’Connor Smith, 16 year old skier and student climate striker

PLUS

Home in the blizzard by Stephen Curtain

Skiing needs and gives balance. Feeling and understanding that helps to know balance and equilibrium in the landscape, even in the wildest blizzards. Antarctic and alpine film maker, guide and educator Stephen Curtain shares a bold map of hope and action for a snowier, cooling planet when we choose to ‘look for the gaps, not the trees’.

Treeline, the new film from Patagonia:

treeline‘Treeline takes us to the enshrined cypress groves of Japan, the towering red cedars of British Columbia, and the ancient bristlecones of Nevada, following a handful of skiers, snowboarders, scientists and healers as they move through these giants and explore a connection older than humanity.’

Entry by donation. All proceeds direct to POW Australia.

Plus a screening of 30 second stories on what protecting winter means, as created by participants from the POW film-making workshop and ski tour led by Stephen Curtain happening during the festival. There will be a people’s choice award for a prize from a POW Australia partner.

Facebook event page.

POWFollow POW on facebook.

Supported by Patagonia, and presented as part of the 2nd Victorian backcountry festival.

 

Continue reading “Protect Our Winters film night at Hotham” →

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Zoos Victoria launches campaign to help the Mountain Pygmy Possum

Each spring, Mountain Pygmy-possums wake up from their annual hibernation, hungry for nutritious Bogong Moths to eat so they can raise their young.

Bogong Moths normally migrate from Queensland, NSW and western Victoria towards Mountain Pygmy-possum habitats in the mountains. But for the past two years they haven’t arrived, which is putting extra pressure on the endangered possum.

Scientists believe the “astonishing” drop in Bogong Moth numbers is linked to climate change and recent droughts in areas where the moths breed.

Zoos Victoria notes that as well as other threats, such as drought and pesticide use, ‘bright lights from towns and cities are thought to lure and trap the moths along their migration route’.

With the crash in Bogong Moth numbers, Zoos Victoria has launched a program to help the general community to help the moths – and hence the Mountain Pygmy Possum.

Continue reading “Zoos Victoria launches campaign to help the Mountain Pygmy Possum” →

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Beacon search station at Mt Hotham

Rolf Schönfeld is a local from north east Victoria with a passion for backcountry safety. This winter he has set up an avalanche beacon search station close to the summit of Mt Hotham. It is located on the Great Alpine Road near the parking spot for The Cross, between Diamantina hut and the Loch carpark. If you’re traveling past and spot Rolf’s red land cruiser, drop by and brush up on your beacon search skills.

20190821_153957He is also offering avalanche beacon training as part of the Victorian backcountry festival, which will happen at Mt Hotham over the weekend of September 7 and 8 (check here for full details).

There is a crowd fund campaign to establish a permanent Avalanche Training Centre (ATC) at Hotham, which would be a permanent version of the system for training transceiver and probe search that Rolf sets up at The Cross. To find out more about this project to GoFundATC, check here.

Rolf runs a business called Rescue Technologies – you can find out more here.

20190821_152349
Rolf

 

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The ultimate backcountry festival guide

The second Victorian backcountry festival will happen at Mt Hotham over the weekend of September 7 and 8.

Here is a summary of what’s happening:

Highlights of the program

  • Meet at 8.30am on Saturday morning, upstairs at The General Store (just next to the Big D lift) for the festival opening.
  • Most tours start Saturday am.
  • Speaker’s program will run Upstairs at The General Store from 12 noon – 4pm. Great line up of speakers.
  • The outdoor bar will happen from 4 – 6pm on the Saturday, straight after the conclusion of the speakers program.
  • Kick on Saturday night at Blizzard Brewery at Dinner Plain.
  • Tours continue on Sunday.
  • Finish the weekend with a Protect Our Winters info night and films at The Bird in Hotham Central on sunday night.

[Full details are in the program, see below]

For details on tours that have just been offered, please check here.

Continue reading “The ultimate backcountry festival guide” →

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‘You can’t be what you can’t see’

The backcountry scene still tends to be quite ‘bloke heavy’: a lot of the people involved in BC riding and skiing tend to be white males. While demographics are changing in the resorts, with a wider range of people visiting than in previous decades, this has also been noticeable in the backcountry community. There are lots of women and gender diverse people who are out there, and as with the festival last year, we want to provide a platform for a diversity of voices in the program for the VIC backcountry festival, which will happen at Mt Hotham over the weekend of September 7 and 8..

As former Olympic skier Katya Crema said last year: ‘You can’t be what you can’t see’. We have worked to ensure a range of voices, including women, are strongly represented in the program. Here are some highlights:

Continue reading “‘You can’t be what you can’t see’” →

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Backcountry festival will be epic

The second Victorian backcountry festival will happen at Mt Hotham over the weekend of September 7 and 8. The program now has 28 sessions on offer. Most are free. They cover everything from cross country and tele skiing, split boarding, alpine touring, to avalanche safety, snow shoeing and fat tyre bikes.

Continue reading “Backcountry festival will be epic” →

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A fully supported winter trip from Falls Creek to Mt Hotham

For those who are wishing to experience one of the best alpine winter adventures in Australia, Alpine Walking Guides and the Mt Hotham Volunteer Ski Patrol are teaming up to offer small group, three day/two night ski/boarding tours between Falls Creek and Mt Hotham.

You will be carrying only a day pack, so you can get the most out of the skiing/boarding on offer. Alpine Walking Guides staff will be setting up and staffing camp sites and all your gear will be provided for warm and comfortable nights in the Alpine Wilderness. Food and wines from the North East will be prepared by quality chefs and cooks. No one goes hungry on these trips.

Continue reading “A fully supported winter trip from Falls Creek to Mt Hotham” →

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The MSC ‘Slay Safe’ backcountry academy

Mountain Sports Collective will be running a series of FREE Introduction to Advanced Backcountry sessions this season. These events are for participants who are eager to step beyond the patrol lines and learn the skills required to pursue extended ski touring (both skiing and split boarding). This is nominally everything you need to know to travel over a variety of alpine terrain (Skiing / Skinning and ALPINE Climbing) and overnight (the eDVANCED bit).

Continue reading “The MSC ‘Slay Safe’ backcountry academy” →

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Lets Split – 2019 tours

Lets Split is again hosting splitboarding tours this winter. There will be 3 days trips and 2 overnight trips in 2019, both in Victoria and NSW.

Continue reading “Lets Split – 2019 tours” →

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Backcountry festival speaker’s program

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.

Continue reading “Backcountry festival speaker’s program” →

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Winter 2019 is go!

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:

Continue reading “Winter 2019 is go!” →

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POW info night at Hotham

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.

Continue reading “POW info night at Hotham” →

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