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Backcountry film festival – Melbourne, May 2

We now have a date for the Melbourne showing of the Backcountry film festival:

Monday May 2

‘Public Lecture Theatre’ in Old Arts Building

Melbourne University, Carlton.

Map available here.

Suggested donation: $8 conc & students/ $15 waged. Tickets at the door. There will be plenty of room.

All proceeds go to the Friends of the Earth climate campaign against new coal and gas drilling in Victoria.

7 – 9pm. Films start at 7.15pm. There will be a short intermission.

Hosted by Friends of the Earth and Melbourne University Ski Club.

Facebook page for the event here.

For a listing of the films (and details on the April 30 show in Sydney) please check here.

For further information: Cam Walker 0419 338 047 cam.walker@foe.org.au

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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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SnowSurf premieres in Australia

A new snowboarding and surfing film will have three premiere showings in Australia next week.

BIGFISH_01_lFilmed in the powder capital of Hokkaido, and focusing on the legendary Gentem Family, who have pioneered the ‘Snow Surf’ revolution epitomised by Gentemstick, this film features some of the very best Japanese and western Snow Surf riders.

Many of the key players in the movement are featured in SnowSurf, which was filmed over two years by Australian surf photographer, Shane Peel.

It features: Taro Tamai, Gerry Lopez, Ken Miyashita, Alex Yoder, Osamu “Om” Okada, Beau Young, Hideki Takeda, Hidehiko Wajima, Forrest Shearer, Makato Yamada, Par Dahlin, Timo Paarvala, Kazushi Yamauchi, Alex Lopez, Takuya Harayama, Tomomi Kuwahara, Toru Kuwahara, Toshiya Kasuga, Jarrkko Kauranen, Haruna Kito and the Gentemstick Family.

Patagonia, the major sponsor of the film, will be screening Snowsurf at their Sydney, Torquay and Byron Stores next week.

23rd September. Sydney store – 6pm (93 Bathurst St, Sydney)

25th September. Torquay store – 6pm (116 SurfCoast Hwy, Torquay)

26th September. Café Byron – 6pm (Shop1/ 58 Jonson st Byron Bay)

You can see the trailer here.

You can rsvp for the events on Facebook.

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Snow Sense

As we all know, backcountry is the new black. The ski and boarding magazines are full of stories about the western faces of the Main Range, Bogong and Feathertop. And while there are lots of new outdoor enthusiasts who are getting a good all round experience of conditions and terrain, as well as sound BC skills, we have probably all seen the 20 something (mostly male) boarders who are fresh out of the resort and ready to shred, but lacking in BC experience. This is all great. But what it does mean is that we are finding ever more good resort riders and skiers getting out into backcountry areas and big terrain, without having done any apprenticeship in the mountains. What this means is more rescues, injuries and other incidents.

As recently noted on Mountain Journal, there is now a site that reports on snow conditions for backcountry users in the Snowy Mountains, called Snow Safety Australia.

There is also a site that covers conditions right across the mainland Alps, called Snow Sense.

Snow Sense is the mastermind of Simon Murray. It seeks to cover weather as well as snow conditions across three key regions: the Kosciusko area, north east Victoria and the Central Victorian Alps. Regular updates are made, called in by ski patrollers, generally after the dawn patrol. It is a fantastic resource for all backcountry skiers, riders and snow shoers who like to get out into the higher country.

Continue reading “Snow Sense” →

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Snow Safety Australia

Anyone who backcountry skis or rides outside Australia will know about the need to be careful of avalanche risk. Many regions around the world with lots of backcountry or mountaineering terrain will have online or phone service avalanche information which can be consulted before heading out into the hills.

With our moderate sized mountains and lower avalanche risk, many Australians are not aware that there are actually dangers to be found in our backcountry.

Now we have our first avalanche/ conditions info service: Snow Safety Australia.

Continue reading “Snow Safety Australia” →

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Splitfest 2015

The NSW Splitfest DownUnder will be held on weekend of the 21-23rd of August in the NSW main range.

You can
Register here.

We will be holding the Friday night entertainment at the Banjo Paterson Inn in Jindabyne, Starting @ 6pm
1 Kosciuszko Road, Jindabyne

The weekend will be spent out on the Main Range.

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

There will be rental gear available to those who need it. Jump on board and meet some new touring partners, the more the merrier!

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

Further information available here.

 

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The Wait Is Over, up to 50cm inbound

After a good, early start to the season, the dreaded El Nino influence has seen very ordinary conditions across the Alps since opening weekend in early June…. Most resorts are getting by with very limited terrain being open, and snow making being the source of the skiable stuff. The backcountry, at least in Victoria, is bare, and the Main Range looks pretty basic.

So, this report from The Grasshopper at Mountain Watch is bringing hope to lots of folks:

“The good news: “The best hope of some decent snow is still 11 to 14 July, but unfortunately there’s a bit less agreement amongst the various computer models today. Cold air does not look like it will be an issue; with high pressure to the west and low pressure to the east we’re assured of several days of cold south-west to southerly flow.”

“The big question is whether we get the moisture to combine with that cold air to create snow. Yesterday, I was getting good signals wherever I looked and so 30 to 50cm was the call if those forecasts could hold. Today I’m just seeing a couple of uncertain wobbles in the weather pattern which means I’m going to hedge my bets a little wider and call this 10 to 50cm. Long story short, the upside potential is still very much in play, but a bit more downside has crept in. It happens.”

Check MountainWatch for updates as we get closer to the 11th.

And if you’re getting out amongst it, why not post some photos on the Mountain Journal facebook page?

[Header image: fantastic early snow on Mt Thetis, Tasmania, April 2015]

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Backcountry Information Night

Event Details

The love of mountain sports invites you and all to an Australian Backcountry Information Evening. The night is hosted by Watkin McLennan and presented in association with Marker Bindings, Rhythm Snowsports, Mountainwatch.com and Chillfactor Magazine.

When: Thursday 16th July from 7:30pm

Where: Banjo’s Back Room. 1 Kosciuszko Road, Jindabyne.

The evening is for Australian backcountry skiers and snowboarders of all levels of experience and ages. The night kicks off with a short film shot on The Roof of Australia.

Following the film Bill Barker will talk about the hazards unique to the Australian mountains. Bill has been patrolling for over 20 years, is a certified guide with the Canadian Ski Guide Association, and a member of the Canadian Avalanche Association. He is the director of ski patrol at Mt Hotham and runs epic backcountry trips to Gulmarg, India. Visit www.billstrips.com. Continue reading “Backcountry Information Night” →

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Backcountry film festival showing in Canberra

The ANU Mountaineering Club is hosting the Backcountry Film Festival.

Thursday, 23 July 2015 – 6:30pm to 8:30pm

A chance to get together and more importantly fire up the stoke for the ski season. We’ll be showing the Backcountry Film Festival put together by the Winter Wildlands Alliance.

The screening will be in the Haydon Allen Tank on ANU, starting at 6:30pm, Thursday 23 July.

We ask for a $5 entry donation from members and $10 from non-members with proceeds going to the Australian Himalayan Foundation.

Further information available here.

For details on the films, check here.

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Climbing The Sentinel – from the west

Photo:The Sentinel, by James Morrow, OZBC.net

The western slopes of the Main Range in the Snowy Mountains are the premier backcountry ski and boarding destination in Australia.

And while people have been riding out there since at least the 1940s, the slopes have been getting a lot of coverage in recent years.

While the classic book is still Skiing the Western Faces of Kosciusko, by Alan Andrews, there are lots of other reports and even films coming out about skiing and boarding these impressive slopes. John Blankenstein has written a number of great trip reports from the Slopes, and Nic Rivers recently released a short film, called Find Your Line, of John snow boarding Watsons Crag.

There’s a brilliant front cover story in the current edition of Transfer magazine, the upcoming Roof of Oz film project, and a number of other magazines have covered the western faces. Stephen Curtains classic telemark film, Winter Dreaming, has a lot of action from Little Austria and other sections of the Slopes.

No matter which way you get to the western slopes, the main drop of mountains from Abbott Peak to about Mt Tate, you’re in a for a few hours of work. The shortest routes are from the top station at Thredbo or via Perisher to Charlotte Pass. You can also skin up via a number of routes from Guthega or, if you’re hard core, Dead Horse Gap.

But who would think of climbing from the west side? The views from The Alpine Way (the road between Thredbo and Khancoban) are some of the best alpine vistas in the whole country, but the slopes of the western faces sit so far above the road that they feel like they’re on another planet.

Enter Jack Skilbeck.

Continue reading “Climbing The Sentinel – from the west” →

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Backcountry film festival showing in Sydney

Patagonia is hosting a showing of the Backcountry film festival, at 6pm on wednesday June 3.

At the Patagonia store. 93 Bathurst Street, Sydney.

We will be showing all nine films (full list here).

This is a free event. You’d be most welcome to make a donation, which will go to the Friends of the Earth climate campaign.

There is a facebook page for the event available here.

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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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