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Environment, news, culture from the Australian Alps

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Snowy Mountains

Managing development in the Kosciuszko alpine resorts

If you’re interested in the future of the alpine resorts in the NSW mountains and how they interact with the surrounding environment, you currently have an opportunity to comment on the management plan.

The Parks Service says:

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is looking at better ways to measure and regulate the environmental carrying capacity of alpine resorts in Kosciuszko National Park. Currently, carrying capacity is addressed using ‘bed limits’.

Continue reading “Managing development in the Kosciuszko alpine resorts” →

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National Parks Association calls for release of Brumby Management Plan

Wild horse (brumby) populations are causing major environmental damage across the Alps. But as a charismatic animal with strong cultural connection for some groups, the question of population control is a vexed and and emotional one.

Recently, the National Parks Association NSW has called on the NSW Government to release its plan for managing wild horses in the Snowy Mountains.

A draft plan of management due for public exhibition last year was delayed until December, and has again been postponed until early 2016.

Continue reading “National Parks Association calls for release of Brumby Management Plan” →

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‘Wanderlust’ festival, Thredbo

Wanderlust events are gatherings that bring together yoga and meditation, music, artists, and chefs (with a focus on local and sustainable foods) for a ‘transformational retreat’ in a beautiful location. It will also feature a range of outdoor activities like riding, running and hikes. Generally there is a Speakeasy – a series of lectures on a range of topics. Xavier Rudd is preforming on February 20.

There will be a Wanderlust event at Thredbo, described as being ‘a 4-day celebration of mindful living’ from 18 – 21 February.

For further details on the program and cost, check here.

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Splitfest 2016

The Australian Splitboard gathering will be held for the fourth year in the Snowy Mountains next winter.

August 21 – 23, 2016.

Chuck it in your diary. It will start with the usual gathering at the Banjo Patterson Inn in Jindabyne on the friday night. Facebook page available here.

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2015 Thredbo Cannonball MTB Festival –  Dec 4th – 6th

The Cannonball Festival is back for 2015. Hosted at Thredbo ski village, the organisers say it “promises dirt, vert and freewheeling action as some of the world’s best mountain bike riders mix it with rising stars and amateur enthusiasts to take home their share of the massive $45,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs”.

“Thredbo is Australia’s home of Gravity Mountain biking, and the five events across three days showcase the diversity of the terrain on offer in the Snowy Mountains. The line-up of events includes the side by side Sram Dual Compressor, RockShox Pump Track Challenge on Thredbo’s new look pump track, the ODI Whip Wars Big Air, Maxxis Flow Motion Cup and the jewel in the crown, the Toyota Australian Open Downhill”.

Full details can be found here.

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The Bundian Way

There has long been discussion about the trail that once linked the south eastern coast of NSW to the Snowy Mountains. It is called the Bundian Way. Prior to the invasion, Indigenous people moved between the coast, the Monaro Tablelands and the higher mountains. There are other similar stories from elsewhere in the mountains: for instance, the fact that early Gippsland settlers followed established trails from the Gippsland Plains to what is now Dinner Plain and Mt Hotham, and gold prospectors followed tracks up the Howqua Valley towards Mt Howitt.

Sadly, so much of this story has now been lost. In some good news, a book is due to be released shortly that looks at the Bundian Way.

Continue reading “The Bundian Way” →

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Ozlaska

Backcountry is the new black.

In the last few years, all things backcountry have come in from the fringe, and are now ubiquitous, featuring in films, magazines, books, and gear. I assume that for most people its slightly voyeuristic. People like to read about the amazing runs on offer in the backcountry without necessarily actually getting out there themselves. But there certainly is a new generation of skiers and boarders heading out for an adventure, and BC specific gear is one of the growth areas in the snow equipment industry.

Here in Australia, attention has tended to focus on two of our most spectacular BC destinations: Mt Bogong in Victoria, and the western slopes of the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains (yes, there is lots more on offer, often harder to access and perhaps less iconic. Then there’s Tasmania, which has some insanely good terrain on the rare occasion that it actually comes into shape for riding. But that’s another story).

Continue reading “Ozlaska” →

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Find Your Line

Few people are aware that backcountry Australia hides some big-mountain slopes, even less are willing to journey there for it. Yet the western slopes of the Snowy Mountains has some grand terrain for backcountry skiing and boarding.

Season 2014 delivers conditions of a decade for one splitboarder.

We are delighted to be showing this 8 minute film by Nicolas Rivers during the backcountry film festival this year.

This thursday May 21, RMIT in Melbourne.

Full details on location and the nine other films available here.

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ski mountaineering courses

Main Range Backcountry is offering ski mountaineering courses on the Main Range in the Snowies.

They say:

The rope can be a valuable tool for ski touring, but without any training in its use, can be dangerous or even provide a false sense of security. This course is designed to teach you basic rope handling and movement on snow and ice with crampons and ice axes. If you have a small group, the day can be customised to your needs, whether you want to access and ski big lines, with a larger margin of safety or are looking at getting into mountaineering from hiking or climbing.

Continue reading “ski mountaineering courses” →

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Perisher resort sold

The Australian is reporting that the Perisher resort has been sold to the US-based Vail Resorts conglomerate.

Crown casino chief James Packer and another private company have sold the Snowy Mountains’ Perisher Ski Resort to America’s Vail Resorts for $176.6m.

The sale, by Packer subsidiary Murray Publishers and Transfield Corporate, includes the resort areas Perisher Valley, Smiggin Holes, Blue Cow and Guthega, along with ski school, lodging, food and beverage, retail, rental and transportation operations, the New York stock exchange-listed Vail said.

The deal will need approval from the NSW government.

Perisher, Australia’s largest ski resort, holds a long-term lease and licence with the NSW government under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, which expires in 2048 with a 20-year renewal option. Mr Packer’s private company, Consolidated Press Holdings, inherited 75 per cent of Perisher in 1972 when it acquired Perisher Smiggins and the Perisher Hotel through its purchase of Murray Publishers.

Full article here.

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Winter may be over, but the beauty and wonder of the mountains rolls on…

Some photos from Andrew Stanger, taken in late October “out the back on the Main Range of Kosciuszko National Park as the first flowers were unfurling to clear, sunny skies.”

Enjoy.

Continue reading “Winter may be over, but the beauty and wonder of the mountains rolls on…” →

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In Memoriam, Mike Moore

MG-cover-156-350hIn late summer 2010, I was stuck in the doldrums of endless heat and lack of rain, and winter seemed like it was light years away. I’d sought some shelter from the oven like air outdoors, and retreated to the coolest, darkest room in the house. I sought refuge in a cold beer and one of my favourite magazines, Mountain Gazette.

The Gazette was a lovely journal, described by its founder as being “generally about the mountains” that was produced in Colorado. It was often rambling and lateral, and seemed to cover everything from drinking and drugs to outdoor adventures, to politics in the ‘mountain states’, to musings on mountain culture. Leadville is not Miami (thankfully).

It got me thinking. I love the mountains here in south eastern Australia. And I love the culture that’s developing, growing from the thousands of people who are drawn to the hills to ski or board, to walk or paddle, to work and live. Not just the glossy consumer lifestyles of the rich and banal, but the real lives of people putting their roots down in a place that they love.

And so Mountain Journal was born. It never made it into print form. The logistics and costs were too great, and my time too limited. But it’s clearly filling some need for some people, and here we are four years later.

I just found out that Mike Moore, the founder of Mountain Gazette, passed away earlier this month. MG has long been a place of inspiration for me and I felt sad to hear of his passing. The Gazette itself transformed into an on-line journal several years ago and still publishes excellent writings and observations about mountain life. The following are some excerts from a reflection on Mike’s time as editor of the Gazette, by George Sibley.

Continue reading “In Memoriam, Mike Moore” →

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