Search

Mountain Journal

Environment, news, culture from the Australian Alps

Open Search
Tag

winter-sports

Dark Days while we wait for the White

I love my backcountry trips and my traditions of getting into the Big Wild. The annual multi day walk in lutruwita/ Tasmania with some mates, the new years eve wander and camp out on Mt Stirling, the road trip to the Snowy Mountains in May. I notice sometimes that half the enjoyment comes from planning and then reflecting on the trip (especially when the actual trip ends up being Type 2 fun).

But this year has been different. After two grim winters, I’ve been obsessing over the forecasts for this season. And as we know they aren’t great. I know that we will get a break at some point, that we will continue to get good and bad winters. But as we pass through another warm autumn, it really does feel like we have crossed some invisible tipping point. As happened with bushfires in the mountains, which suddenly did a ‘step change’ in intensity in the early 2000s, you have to wonder if we have stepped over into a new world where, in Australia at least, our snow pack resembles the boom and bust cycles that have long dominated mountain snow in Tasmania, and less like the consistent snow pack we have generally relied on here on the mainland.

Continue reading “Dark Days while we wait for the White” →

0

Late start to winter expected

As we wait for winter snows, every skier, rider and winter enthusiast is scanning the weather and reading the pre season forecasts.

As was reported recently on Weatherzone here April was exactly 1°C warmer than the long-term average across Australia, but the warmth was even more pronounced in Victoria, where temperatures were 2.37°C higher than the long-term average.

That made it Victoria’s warmest April since national record-keeping commenced in 1910, while for Australia as a whole it was the 14th-warmest.

With sustained warm weather and clear skies, no one is really banking on a great season. But after two dire winters, we all need a break, especially the businesses who rely on good snowfalls and a long season.

Continue reading “Late start to winter expected” →

0

Mountain Journal magazine #5 now available

The Mountain Journal magazine is now in its 5th year of production. We print 1,000 copies and distribute it for free through mountain and valley towns between Melbourne and Canberra during autumn each year. This year we had a guest editor – Anna Langford, who has produced an absolutely gorgeous magazine with the assistance of designer Tess Sellar and beautiful images from a range of people including Matt Tomkins.

The theme delves into what is happening to Winter. As Anna says in her introduction: “Long, deep winters are fast becoming folk tales of the past. But there is still so much to love, and so much we can do to act. To talk about our alpine winters is to lament what we’ve lost, celebrate
what we still have, record it for collective memory, and impel each other to step up and take action“.

Continue reading “Mountain Journal magazine #5 now available” →

0

Winter 2024 – the washup

If you were in the Victorian mountains during that amazing storm that passed through in the third week of July, you will have experienced winter at its best. In the Victorian backcountry we had already lost much of the base and the fresh snow was unconsolidated, but it didn’t really matter because there was so much of it. That wonderful and particular sound of fresh dry powder creaking underfoot as you weave through the trees on the uphill and that weightlessness as you head back down truly is magic (it always reminds me of that opening scene in the Valhalla film from Sweetgrass – When you’ve seen the season’s first great snow through the eyes of a child—you’ve known true happiness).

Then the blow drier was turned on, and we all know what happened next. Despite the amazing efforts of the resort groomers, the resorts started to close – the lower elevation ones like Mt Selwyn went first (consistent with what we expect from climate change). As of September 8 there is still cover in the Main Range and a few lifts are still going in places like Falls Creek. But basically the season is done – a whole month early.

This is obviously a huge blow for the businesses who are on their second short winter and everyone who was reliant on a full winter working in a resort or valley town. And, of course, it’s a drag for everyone who just wants to go skiing or riding.

Continue reading “Winter 2024 – the washup” →

0

2024 Backcountry film festival Melbourne screening – April 22

The annual Backcountry Film Festival is put together by the Winter Wildlands Alliance (WWA), screens around the world, and is hosted locally by Friends of the Earth and RMIT Outdoors Club.

The 2024 season will screen in Naarm/ Melbourne on Monday April 22.

It will be screening a collection of short documentaries and ski movies about the pursuit of adventure in the mountains, artistic vision, friendship, and how the snowsports community is adapting to a changing environment.

Continue reading “2024 Backcountry film festival Melbourne screening – April 22” →

2

Heatwave Dreaming

It’s Labour Day Weekend. It’s March and, across the state, outdoor events are being cancelled because of the heatwave (even the Moomba parade in Melbourne!). Much of the state is on high fire risk. There is even a heatwave warning for lutruwita/ Tasmania. It’s a weekend to hunker down and stay out of the heat. And possibly day dream about colder weather and winter adventures.

I recently posted a short video about a group of women who rode their pushbikes through a section of the European Alps, climbing and then skiing/ riding mountains along the way. That got a response from various people including Tom Wainwright, who shared the details on his first trip to the Bogong High Plains, which included a bike ride and ski. They rode to Mt Fainter going along the Fainter Fire Trail.

Continue reading “Heatwave Dreaming” →

0

2024 Backcountry film festival lineup announced

The 19th Annual Backcountry Film Festival is put together by the Winter Wildlands Alliance (WWA). It will be screening a collage of short documentaries and ski movies about the pursuit of objectives and ideals in the mountains, artistic vision, friendship, and how the snowsports community is adapting to a changing environment.

We are yet to set the date for the 2024 festival: it will happen in Melbourne in late April or early May.

We normally start with some speakers from local backcountry groups and feature a couple of short locally made backcountry films, then get into the WWA program.

Continue reading “2024 Backcountry film festival lineup announced” →

1

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑