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Victorian Alps

The Epicenter

The Epicenter is a great new cafe, opened in December 2014, that’s operating out of the ski school building at Telephone Box Junction on Mt Stirling.

Epicenter 2The Epicenter has a strong focus on mountain biking, and will be open throughout summer and autumn, then for the snow season as well. Along with Mountain Kitchen at Dinner Plain, this new operation is a stand out amongst alpine cafes: it’s small scale and friendly, with an authentic feel and commitment to adventure and mountain living.

Co-owner Hjalmar Arnold (Yully/Dingo) describes it as “the Riders Lifestyle in a shop, year round” and “the Gateway to the Alpine Backcountry”. There is no doubt that the MTB trails developed in recent years on Mt Buller and Stirling are some of the finest in the country. Yully helped build them, and is a great source of knowledge for first time riders.

They have great food, much of it made on the premises, and excellent coffee. Please drop by and support this great initiative.

There are additional renovations going on to extend the facilities at TBJ, which will be ready for winter 2015.

You can find their facebook page here.

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Scientific research from alpine cattle grazing trial ’inconclusive’

The following comes from Rob Harris at The Weekly Times. It’s always amusing to see the mountain cattlemen’s association representative bemoaning the fact that the issue has become ‘political’. Does he honestly want to say that it wasn’t a ‘political’ act when the Coalition originally rushed cattle into the Alpine Park in secret without having an actual scientific plan around the grazing trial? Of course not, its been about politics from day one.

What is telling from this report is the fact that the Coalition government classified the first year’s grazing results as being “cabinet-in-confidence”. This makes it difficult for the findings to be put into the public domain. If the results supported the argument that ‘grazing reduces blazing’ why wouldn’t they have made them public?

Continue reading “Scientific research from alpine cattle grazing trial ’inconclusive’” →

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Victorian government stops Alpine grazing trial

In the latest development in the decades long saga over cattle grazing in the Alpine National Park, the new Victorian government has confirmed it has stopped the grazing trial established by the previous Coalition government.

For background on this issue check here.

The following comes from Rob Harris at The Weekly Times.

Continue reading “Victorian government stops Alpine grazing trial” →

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Victorian Government’s alpine cattle grazing policy heads to court

The following comes from The Weekly Times, and is written by Rob Harris.

THE “lawfulness” of the Victorian Government’s alpine cattle grazing policy will be challenged in the Supreme Court today.

The Victorian National Parks Association, represented by Environmental Justice Australia, is attempting to test the validity of the cattle grazing trial under Victoria’s National Parks Act.

The Wonnangatta Valley, in the Alpine National Park, was the site of a three-year cattle grazing trial which began in April this year.

The former federal Labor Government had blocked an original attempt to return Victoria’s mountain cattlemen to the high country when the Ted Baillieu’s Coalition came to power in 2010.

Cattle would return to the site in January 2015 if the Coalition wins the Victorian election on Saturday.

“The prime purpose of national parks is for conservation, not cow paddocks,” VNPA spokesman Phil Ingamells said today.

He said in recent weeks the VNPA had commissioned an expert ecological assessment of the Wonnangatta Valley, the site of the Coalition’s proposed three-year cattle grazing trial.

“They have been irresponsible in locating their cattle grazing trial in the remote and beautiful Wonnangatta Valley,” Mr Ingamells said.

He said the Coalition had “grabbed at least $1.5 million of taxpayers’ money for this so-called scientific trial” which he said was “primarily designed to buy votes in East Gippsland”.

“The grazing trial won’t give us any new information. Comprehensive research already shows that cattle have greatly damaged the Alpine National Park, and that grazing doesn’t significantly reduce fire risk in the high country.”

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Running Wild’s 2014/2015 running program

Running Wild is “a series of spectacular runs in some of Victoria’s best national parks. Our motto is great runs – great places – great people. We do not run “races” as such, we are about the running experience, enjoying the country, experiencing what nature has to offer – weather, terrain and your ability to push yourself and get to know your body and your limits, and the social experience.

That is what running and wild running is all about, however if you want to run fast and race, that’s fine too”.

Their summer season starts in early February. There are a range of mountain runs, including the Lake Mountain Alpine Marathon, the Delatite Dash and the Razorback Run.

The Dinner Plain Mountain Running Festival is a new for the 2014/15 season.

Check here for full details.

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Parks Victoria volunteer track ranger program

For people with solid outdoor experience who want to share their love of wild nature with others, this is a great opportunity.

Parks Victoria is calling for volunteer track rangers who can be available to stay in key areas in the Alpine National Park on peak weekends, to be available to support people who are out walking.

The Track Ranger Program was established in 2005 and has volunteers hiking and camping at popular walking trails and campsites in the Victorian Alps during peak periods. Track Rangers will spend time hiking the trails of Mount Bogong, Mount Feathertop or the Bogong High Plains over 3 to 5 days. The program runs over the new year period, Labour Day weekend and Easter.

You will receive support and training from Parks Victoria.

Check below for a full description of the role.

Continue reading “Parks Victoria volunteer track ranger program” →

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uranium mining in the Victorian Alps?

Now, here’s a serious blast from the past (apologies for the bad pun). While looking through some old files I found an article from 1978 from the Friends of the Earth (FoE) magazine, Chain Reaction (number 4(1), 1978) about the threat of uranium mining in the Victorian Alps.

Back in the mid 1970s, a German company called Urangesellschaft had exploration rights to a very large area of the Alps, from near Tolmie near Mansfield, right down almost as far as Bairnsdale. They had a total of almost 6,000 square kilometres of land under license and this included the Avon wilderness area and large sections of the Wonnangatta valley.

Continue reading “uranium mining in the Victorian Alps?” →

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winter 2014

The winter that was. It started late. But, as they say, better late than never. And it’s almost over.

To quote snow forecaster Grasshopper, who writes for Mountain watch.

It’s been quite a season. You can say one thing for certain, it’s been a winter of extremes and the weather has kept us guessing. Possibly more so than in recent years, in my opinion anyway. We started, of course, with a very dry situation during early June. The official opening date of 7 June was once again, a tad optimistic, and around 12 June folks were getting a little panicky. Then POW. Snowmageddon hit, and nearly two metres of snow in a fortnight had the snow base sitting on around 130cm by early July.

That base saw us all the way through August and well into September in the higher country. And yes, there’s still lots of good turns to be found out there. Enjoy.

Here’s some images from my winter. Please feel free to send me your own for inclusion, or share them on the mountain journal facebook page.

Continue reading “winter 2014” →

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Dinner Plain Mountain Running Festival

The run is to be held on 23 November 2014.

The following comes from Running Wild.

The Dinner Plain Mile High Trail Run forms the cornerstone of the Dinner Plain Mountain Running Festival along with the Great Alpine Road half marathon and 10km fun run. Set in the picturesque alpine village of Dinner Plain at 1569m the course takes in a range of run distances from entry level runners to the more experienced trail runner, offering opportunities for mum, dad and the kids to get out and experience this pristine alpine environment.

Short course distance of 4km and 7km are great for the kids and those just wanting to stretch their legs allowing scenic walking trails. For the more experienced, the 21km and 32km courses take in more challenging and historic runs through the Alpine National Park, Mt Hotham Village and the historic Cobungra Ditch.

Soak up the pristine alpine environment and challenge yourself to run at an altitude above 1600 metres (one mile) and join the Dinner Plain Mile High club.

“The alps offer a different environment for runners, not only is the air thinner at a mile high but the water is fresher and temperatures cooler”, said Gary Battershill, owner of Peppers Rundells Alpine Lodge.

Check here for full details and to register.

 

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Mt Hotham land grab

The Mt Hotham Draft Master Plan has been released for public comment until September 12.

It maps how the resort management would like to see the ski resort develop in coming years. It proposes the creation of a series of ‘activity hubs’ in different parts of the resort, including a substantial increase in the footprint of infrastructure on the south eastern side of the resort in the snow gum forests that stretch towards the township of Dinner Plain.

There are some worrying suggestions in the plan relating to a potential expansion of ski runs and associated infrastructure into three new areas adjacent to the existing resort. All of these (identified as ‘areas to be investigated’) would see destructive development in sensitive alpine environments.

Continue reading “Mt Hotham land grab” →

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A half century of change in the Central Alps

Anyone who has hiked and skied the mountains between Buller and Stirling, and from The Bluff to Howitt and Cobbler and is over 30 probably knows the wonderful maps of Stuart Brookes.

Stuart has produced maps of the Alps and other popular walking areas since the late 1940s. As a teenager on my first walking, snow shoeing and skiing adventures in the area around the Howqua River, I fell in love with Stuart’s black and white map ‘Watersheds of the King, Howqua & Jamieson Rivers’. It had basic landform details shown through shading and all the features that a walker needed: good campsites, places where you could get water on the high ridges, routes and cairned trails rather than just the marked roads. I would get a new version every couple of years, and later versions were in multi colour and had contours. But they still had a sense of richness that are rare in modern maps. This was country that Stuart knew intimately and the maps evoked a rich sense of place.

Continue reading “A half century of change in the Central Alps” →

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rescue of walker on Bogong hampered by extreme weather conditions

The second rescue operation on Mt Bogong in a week has been slowed by ‘horrendous’ weather on the mountain. As of 8am this morning (9 July), The Age is reporting that police are currently waiting for better weather conditions before they extract a lost hiker on Mount Bogong.

The Border Mail had also reported that:

8.27AM: RESCUE workers have been forced to take cover as wild weather hampers efforts to rescue a hiker who got lost on the mountain last night.

Mount Beauty’s Leading Sen-Constable Peter Johns said the man, who had set off alone, had phoned triple-0 about 4.30pm yesterday after becoming disoriented in the bleak mountain conditions.

He had food, water, clothing and a tent.

Rescue crews set off about 10pm for a four-hour climb to the summit from Eskdale Spur and it has been confirmed that they located the man last night.

However, wild weather has since moved in and the group have been forced to take cover.

Wild weather, with gusts of wind up to 100km/h and a snowstorm, were expected in the area about 3am.

The mission follows two hikers spending Saturday night on Mount Bogong in freezing temperatures.

A Bendigo North man, and his friend, 33, from Box Hill, Melbourne, returned to Mount Beauty about 2pm Sunday after a 12-hour search for them.

 

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