Avalanches (yea, really)

Victoria specific bushwalking discussion.
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Victoria specific bushwalking discussion. Please avoid publishing details of access to sensitive areas with no tracks.

Avalanches (yea, really)

Postby jdeks » Sat 22 Jul, 2017 1:15 am

Just a quick note for those out there getting into the snowhiking (now that we've finally got some up there).

As you probably know, we had a pretty late and lackluster start to the snow season, with barely a ruler's worth of snow up at hotham until around mid-month, and a lot of days well above zero to really melt/freeze it down into a slick layer

We've since had some weather systems move through and dump a bunch of snow on top of this, which is good news. But it is worth noting this is primo avalache conditions - big winddrifts of powder dumped on top of slick, brittle understrata. There was actually an avalanche up on bogong on the 10th, triggered by skiers, and Feathertop usually has a few each year too.

At the time of writing this, conditions are pretty safe now. Everything's had time to settle and freeze in since, so most slope aspects are safe. But just be aware that this can change overnight, and big dumps of powder can make for dangerous conditions.

Ive met more than a few folk who have the misguided idea that avalanches only happen on big mountains in Europe, and snow protocol doesn't really apply here. They might only be small hills, but they're still a lot biger than you, and if you're going out this time of year, you absolutely need to read up on how to spot the danger zones and traverse safely.

This site is a good resource, and worth a check before you set off: http://mountainsportscollective.com/index/
jdeks
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