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Splitboard festival 2013

8238024_origFirstLight Boards have organised the second Australian splitboard festival for this winter. This year it will happen in both Victoria and NSW.

A splitboard is a snowboard that can be separated into two ski-like parts, which are used with climbing skins to ascend slopes the same way alpine touring or telemark skis are. The two halves can then be connected to form a regular snowboard for descent. This set up enables snow boarders to get into the backcountry.

NSW

The NSW Splitfest DownUnder will be held on weekend of the 23rd of August in the NSW main range.

We will be holding the Friday night entertainment at the Banjo Paterson Inn Starting @ 6pm
1 Kosciuszko Road Jindabyne Snowy Mountains New South Wales 2627

Please register here.

These are free events, there are no guides, so you must be able to make your own terrain decisions.

VIC

The VIC Splitfest DownUnder will be held on the weekend of the 6th of September at Mt Hotham.

We will be holding the Friday night entertainment will be at “The General” starting @ 6pm
Lot 1 Great Alpine Rd Mt Hotham

Register here.

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The gnarliest runs in Oz

Mt Carruthers. From Huck & Dyno.
Mt Carruthers. From Huck & Dyno.

This is a great resource: the ‘gnarliest runs in Oz’, from the Huck & Dyno website (in two parts – Victoria and the Main Range in NSW).

The NSW feature has all the obvious things, and Victoria includes excellent coverage of places like Mt Buller, Feathertop and Bogong, and also some gems which are off the beaten track, like Mt Howitt.

A few years ago I put a lot of effort into expanding the ski wiki posts on backcountry skiing in Australia (mostly the VIC and TAS sections) but a big failure with this is the lack of images. In contrast to my effort, James and Sam, who are behind Huck & Dyno, have some gorgeous pictures of the mountains and general terrain, plus many of the actual runs. Visually beautiful.

I like their intro:

When you get down to it, Australia is the flattest driest continent on Earth. By definition, the skiing here is the worst in the world. … So it’s easy to write the place off as a land of sunburnt sweeping plains. Or, if you’re a skier, patchy cover, ice and crud, short shallow runs and snowmaking.

Even the highest mountain, good old Kosciuszko, is a hill with a road to the top… The very first time I ever went XC skiing, we made it to the top! Snowboarders were drinking beer up there! Fun for the whole family!

The enthusiastic might even bother to look over at the ‘Main Range’, hoping to see a craggier peak. But nope, Mount Townsend and Northcote and Lee all look pretty tame over there.

But then one day you’ll bother to climb the second highest peak, Mount Townsend, and have a look from the top of there and, HOLY CRAP, there it is…

So begins our investigation into the gnarliest lines in Oz.

With winter finally bearing down on us, I hope this inspires you. Get out there and enjoy!

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rainforest species in the Alps

The following story comes from the Summit Sun. Its good to know that pockets of Sassafras are hanging on at higher altitudes in  the Snowies.

7457055298_e2b9d0a59d_zEnvironment specialists took to the skies recently to successfully confirm the presence of Southern Sassafras in the Bogong Peaks Wilderness in Kosciuszko National Park. The rugged mountainous country required a survey by helicopter to locate plants in forested gullies that flow towards the Goobragandra River.

Southern Sassafras or Atherosperma moschatum is a fire-sensitive tree. It has long been clouded in mystery regarding its existence in high altitude and cool temperate rainforest pockets like those found in the Bogong Peaks.

The survey was made possible thanks to a generous bequest by Kenneth Milburn to Landcare Australia, who have partnered with Greening Australia and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to identify and map the distribution of the Southern Sassafras rainforest tree.

Shane Norrish, Farming and Major Projects Director at Landcare Australia said, “This is an outstanding opportunity to learn more about the ecology and distribution of high country vegetation communities. It is often difficult to obtain funding for projects such as these, and the generosity of the Milburn bequest will make a significant contribution to the protection of important species such as Southern Sassafras.”

Opportunistic surveys undertaken in 2011 by Greening Australia in the Bogong Peaks Wilderness Area confirmed the presence of Southern Sassafras further north-west than previously thought, but the extent was unknown.

“Identifying and broadening the known population boundaries of Southern Sassafras will have significant benefits for the species survival, and has important implications for park management activities including prescribed burning” said Matt White, NPWS Ranger for the Bogong Ranges.

Up until the time of the 2011 surveys, only a few populations were known to occur between 700-1300m altitude, and were usually found with Alpine Ash in sheltered gullies on the western fall of the main range of Geehi and Leather Barrel Creek, and in the Pilot Wilderness.

Further examination of remote sensing imagery had revealed additional potential occurrences in the Bogong Peaks, but limited access in the rugged terrain meant confirming these locations was almost impossible.

Greening Australia Project Manager, Nicki Taws, said, “The aerial survey enabled us to confirm the presence of Southern Sassafras in many locations that we couldn’t have reached on foot. We are very grateful to Landcare Australia for supporting this critical work.

Looking to the future, Nicki said, “We look forward to continuing our work with NPWS in this area, determining the presence and extent of Southern Sassafras and progressing collaborations to include community engagement in the protection and enhancement of this stunning tree.”

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Pest trees in Kosciuszko reinvented as mulch

This news release comes from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage.

Image: NSW National Parks – Office of Environment & Heritage

Media release: 10 September 2012

Field staff have been converting pest trees into valuable mulch to improve native animal habitat and suppress invasive blackberry and briar weeds in parts of Kosciuszko National Park.

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Senior Field Supervisor Danny Matthews said the mulched trees, mostly poplars, had been spreading at an alarming rate.

“Five field staff recently spent 26 days removing and chipping hundreds of trees over an area of six hectares at the Talbingo Landslip Quarry near Talbingo Dam wall,” Mr Matthews said.

“During the construction of the Snowy Scheme, and particularly between the 1950s and 1970s, exotic trees were planted for erosion control and this had unintended consequences for native ecosystems.”

Mr Matthews said European species including willow, broom and poplar were planted in parts of Kosciuszko National Park and in many cases they had spread and become weeds.

“Replacing exotic trees with native vegetation will not only protect soil stability, it will have broader environmental benefits.

“And chipping these trees has produced about 800 cubic metres of mulch, which we have spread to boost organic levels in the soil and help stop weed infestations in the undergrowth.”

This major woody weed eradication program in Kosciuszko National Park is tackling exotic trees on Guthega Road, reducing Scotch Broom in the Snowy River, and removing kilometres of willows in the Tumut River.

More work is planned this year, including the removal of thousands of willow stems in the Eucumbene River and helicopter-based work in the upper reaches of the Tumut River between the T2 power station and the Elliott Way.

Weed eradication programs like the one underway in Kosciuszko are one way the Office of Environment and Heritage enhances the care and management of National Parks for a healthy environment.

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Australia’s first Splitboard festival

The inaugural OZ Splitfest DownUnder will be held in late August and September in the NSW Main Range.

There will be all the usual trimmings, T-Shirts, give a ways, raffles and loads of fun. Possibly some riding too.

You have the option to stay in Jindabyne, camp in the National Park or out on the peaks.

There will be demo boards and rental gear available to those who need it.

Jump on board and meet some new touring partners, the more the merrier!

We will be screening “Freerider” on the Friday night prior to the weekend. Venue to be confirmed.

This is a free event. There are no guides so you must be able to make your own terrain decisions.

T-shirts will be avalabile Pre-order only, designs will be released soon. $22.00 (All proceeds go to POW, Splitboard.com and Kosciuszko National Park)

Hosted by First Light Boards.

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Electricity agency admits using herbicide in Kosciuszko national park

The following comes from the Sydney Morning Herald and Age newspapers, journalist is Ben Cubby. March 30, 2012

THE state electricity agency TransGrid has admitted its contractors sprayed herbicide across a swathe of wilderness in the Kosciuszko National Park, scarring the landscape and killing thousands of alpine plants.

Patches along a 17-kilometre stretch of power line, amounting to about 20 hectares, were affected by the herbicide, and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage is investigating the electricity agency.

Contractors were undertaking ”routine vegetation management” on behalf of TransGrid along the route of the transmission line in rugged country between Khancoban and the Guthega ski fields last year, when an ad hoc decision was made to spray the area without approval.

In December, National Parks and Wildlife Service staff spotted what one described as a ”moonscape” of dead vegetation in some areas. TransGrid had not reported the herbicide use to government agencies.

It is not the first time TransGrid has been caught destroying vegetation in the area’s protected wilderness. In 2001, it was found to have mown down trees along cable routes in the Brindabella, Namadgi and Kosciuszko national parks, and was eventually fined $130,000.

This week the electricity agency said it had approval to clear some vegetation from around the power line but conceded herbicide should not have been used.

”TransGrid acknowledges … its contractor undertook vegetation management using a method which was not approved under the specifications of the [environmental impact assessment],” a spokeswoman said.

”TransGrid has investigated the incident and is working closely with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage to implement a specific and targeted rehabilitation plan.”

The agency said about 2 per cent of the area, which forms a corridor about 17 kilometres long and 60 metres wide, was affected. No threatened species of plant or animal was affected, it said.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service said it was contemplating further action.

”NPWS considers vegetation damage of this type to be a serious potential breach of the National Parks and Wildlife Act and regulations,” said the regional manager, Dave Darlington.

”NPWS asked TransGrid for a comprehensive report into the incident and for their remediation proposals … the report forms part of the investigation by NPWS into the Transgrid incident and that investigation is ongoing.”

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Bogong Moth migration

Image: CSIRO

I keep hearing reports of Bogong Moth’s moving through Canberra, and thought I would add this link to a great overview of this iconic species.

Bogong Moths, Agrostis infusa, migrate over 1,000 km each year from the black soil plains of Queensland and western NSW to the Australian Alps, seeking refuge from the summer heat. Along the way, they travel by night and then in the morning, drop down to the ground to rest in the shade during the day.

This article was written by Abbie Thomas and is available here.

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‘Tourism hope for ancient Aboriginal pathway’

crossing the headwaters of the Snowy River

This news report comes from the ABC.

Tourism hope for ancient Aboriginal pathway

Traditional owners from the New South Wales south east have completed a major on-ground survey of an ancient Aboriginal pathway.

The Bundian Way stretches 300km from Mt Kosciuszko to Fisheries Beach, near Eden.

A team of 20 people have walked the track this week to explore the potential for a new tourism venture.

The Project Officer with the Eden Local Aboriginal Land Council, John Blay, says it has a lot to offer.

“It’s like thousands of backyards one after another,” he said.

“There are so many different places along the route.

“It was amazing to find massive yam gardens in wild country as well as along the Monaro.

“The beauty of some of those landscapes across the Monaro is awesome, just as when you come down into the coastal forests.

“It’s quite wonderful what you get to see.”

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More rare possums found in Snowies

The following report comes from the ABC.

Mountain Pygmy-possum (Burramys parvus). Source: Department of the Environment and Heritage

The surprise discovery of a rare possum colony in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains has been hailed as a major step forward in the study of the species.

An Ecologist, Doctor Linda Broome, has surveyed the animals for 25 years, and has found 59 Mountain Pygmy Possums at Cabramurra, north of Thredbo.

Dr Broome says they are 30km north of existing colonies, at an altitude 450m lower than previously thought possible.

She says the find was possible through advanced technology.

“The beauty of what we have now, compared to 20 years ago, is we’ve got a good geographic information system with all the aerial satellite photos,” Dr Broome said.

“We can look at the aerial photos and scan in.

“I did that, and low and behold, there was a huge boulder field outside Cabramurra.

“I thought ‘wow, that’s where we should be looking’.”

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Main Range outing

So, with spring cover holding across a fair bit of the main range and recent top ups, it seems the seasons not totally finished yet. Some very recent images from Bruce Easton, of Wilderness Sports in Jindabyne.

“Went out Wednesday for the day to Blue Lake to do some ‘gear testing’ and photos and the snow was really good. On the way out walked about a kilometre before putting skis on. On return skied to around 200 metres of the Snowy River ford with a shorter walk….The glacial lakes are all still completely covered with snow/ice”.

snowshoe tour to Kosciuszko, Saturday (16/10)

To contact Bruce:
bruce@wildernesssports.com.au
http://www.wildernesssports.com.au

crossing the Snowy River

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Lake
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Geoff Mosley

Geoff Mosley has worked for decades to protect wild places in Australia. He helped establish wilderness zones and parks across the south east of the mainland and Tasmania, and has recently released a book on Antarctica. He is active in the field of steady state economics, a keen walker, and widely published activist and thinker.

Perhaps he is best known for his efforts to see a major national park established across the Australian Alps. Much of this vision has now been realised, although he continues to work to see an extension of the Western section of the Alpine National Park and to get World Heritage listing for the forest ecosystems of the south east corner of the country, where Gippsland and NSW meet.

Check here for an interview with Geoff.

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Everest women’s seven summits eco-action tour

In July 2010 a team of nine Nepali women have begin the first international leg of a tour that will see them climb seven of the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. On successfully climbing all seven summits they will be setting a world record for being the largest team to do so.

The team will be using their expedition to highlight the urgent issue of climate change, and they are currently in Australia.

Check here for extra information and itinerary.

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