Five minutes can be a long time in the Australian backcountry. Most forecasts for weather, snow conditions and avalanche hazard cover a wide geographical area. It is common for conditions to vary from one part of the region to another. Regional variabilities and uncertainties in forecasts make verifying the conditions an important step in your daily process. The aim is to determine whether the conditions are different than expected and if so, make appropriate changes to your plan. These changes may range from aborting the trip to adjusting the plan to a lower risk option with greater emphasis on slope evaluation and maintaining good travel habits.
It is good to verify the conditions before leaving the trailhead, however unexpected hazards often only become apparent during travel, in which case modifying the plan to take these changes into account is a must. You may find few options are available and that you are already exposed to the hazard. Communication amongst your group becomes all-important and is key to implementing a change or retreat. Factors which can affect your plan include the amount of new snow, temperature, wind loading, visibility, snow conditions, snowpack instability, avalanche occurrences. As you travel, keep observing and evaluating, and communicating your thoughts to the others in your group. Stay alert and open to changing the day’s plan. No plan should ever be set in concrete in the backcountry! NEXT WEEK: STEP 5 USE GOOD TRAVEL HABITS
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The backcountry is not a place to find out your gear is not up to the task or that you’re missing something essential. Often what we experience in the backcountry is quite different to our expectations and it pays to be prepared for anything. Before you travel, make sure every member of your group is well equipped, knows exactly what gear they are expected to have with them and that they know how to use it. This needs to be communicated at the planning stage but checked before leaving.
We know it is not all about avalanche danger in Australia, but beacon, shovel & probe are the basis of any backcountry pack. They are like your seatbelt, you hope you don’t need them but never be caught without them. Besides, you won’t be welcome touring anywhere outside Australia if you don’t have your avi kit. An avalanche beacon needs to be a 3-antenna digital transceiver (the old two antenna and analogue transceivers still work but are inferior). Check your beacon battery life before every tour – and exchange for new batteries at 50% or less. Your shovel should be made from aluminium – plastic ones won’t do the job! You need to be familiar with using this gear – practise putting your probe & shovel together, and be familiar with all the functions of your beacon. Even the most experienced professionals regularly practise beacon searches - in the unfortunate critical moment where you have to save someone’s life, it saves vital minutes if you are dialled in using your gear. There are lots of different backcountry-specific backpacks in the market – choose one that fits the contour of your back and has an outside compartment for your avi gear. The contents of your pack is different for all but should include the basics:
Clothing should include waterproof outerwear with ventilation zips, a warm puffer jacket, warm beanie or helmet, a spare pair of gloves and goggles. Layering is critical, with layers coming off and on as you work up a sweat going uphill and cool down quickly once stopped. Moisture-wicking base layers are essential. Many backcountry tourers prefer lightweight items for climbing, such as thin gloves & beanie, and sunglasses, swapping back to the warm gear at the top. Store your skins in a cool dry place, and when you’re out in the backcountry make every effort to keep them dry. Wiping down your skis/board with a microlight cloth before applying the skins is helpful. Make sure they are folded glue to glue – you don’t want any glue on the skin surface. Checking each other’s equipment is a good idea and when guiding I always have a good look at everyone’s skis/board & bindings, skins etc and watch to see how familiar they are with their own gear. This tells a lot! Experience counts so look and learn from those you respect and don’t be a ‘she’ll be right’ Aussie! The more you tour, the more you will build your perfect equipment setup – all adding up to a better experience in the backcountry. NEXT WEEK: STEP 4 - VERIFY CONDITIONS
Planning your route, and taking into consideration your fitness, length of the tour, weather, conditions, forecasts and unforeseen challenges, will enable you to get the most out of your trip. People often find it hard to accept that our experiences in the mountains will be based on the conditions presented to us, not on our expectations or how good a rider we are. You can’t change the conditions – Mother Nature is in charge of that. Last week we discussed Step 1 in the Daily Process – Get the Forecast. You then need to select an objective that suits the conditions that you expect to encounter. In Australia we have a wide variety of potential hazards which demand our respect, including ice, avalanche, wind, visibility and varying snow conditions. Route planning should take into account first and foremost the overall abilities of the group, terrain, aspect, altitude, distance to be travelled, along with weather factors. How strong has the wind been and from what direction? What precipitation last fell, at what altitude? What impact will the sun have? - There is no point heading to a bullet-proof south aspect early morning after a melt-freeze cycle the day before. Consult a good topographic map (many online versions available these days).  Have a Plan B. If conditions deteriorate unexpectedly between planning and travel, be prepared to postpone or cut short your trip. From experience we can say, it is not worth battling a blizzard or other brutal conditions! Better to save the trip for a more favourable day. Also have a lower risk alternative route you can switch to if things are worse than expected while you are out there.  Human factors and group management have become a focal point of avalanche and backcountry skills training. So who is in your group? A larger group can become difficult to manage. What experience do they have, what training have they done, what equipment do they have, what are their expectations and objectives? Good communication at an early stage is essential. Make sure you are all on the same page! Be ready to deal with a self-rescue situation if you have an injury or a gear malfunction in your group. For that reason, it is best to travel with at least two others. Calling 000 should only happen when you cannot get back to the trailhead without external assistance. Emergency services will take many hours to get assistance out to a remote backcountry location. Always let someone who cares know your intentions and let them know when you are back safe. This includes your intended route, number of participants, expected time of return and description of the vehicle you will leave at the trailhead. A responsible friend who might be able to organise assistance rather than relying on emergency services is ideal. Submit an intention form online in NSW with National Parks https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/trip-intention-form and at Mt Hotham and Mt Stirling at their Ski Patrol HQ. Next week: Step 3 - Check Your Gear  The Daily Process is a structured approach to backcountry travel, stacking the deck in your favour to staying safe out there. We teach this approach in our Avalanche Canada AST1 course.  GET THE FORECAST – STEP 1 IN PREPARATION FOR A BC TOUR  A structured and systematic approach to the backcountry reduces the risk of human error.
It’s a good idea to start watching the avalanche and weather forecast a few days before your trip to get a sense of how conditions are evolving. Those of us living and working in the snow are constantly keeping up with the current conditions and forecasts. There are currently no qualified avalanche forecasters working in Australia, and therefore no official avalanche forecast. The backcountry user here has to make their own assessment, so it is up to you to find other resources which can help you put together a picture of the current hazards in the Australian backcountry. Resources available in Australia include Mountain Sports Collective (MSC) reports, Bill Barker’s Backcountry Report on the Hotham website and conditions reported on social media sites by other bc users, eg. Australian Backcountry Facebook group. Alpine Access will post relevant information through the season on our social media sites as it comes to hand. MSC offers a report based on observations from their experienced team, which details snowpack, snow surface and weather conditions. They will also have a portal on their website this season where the public can submit their observations. For weather forecasts, the Bureau of Meterology has detailed alpine forecasts, and check out their MetEye page. Windy.com is also a good weather resource. It takes time to be able to put all the bits of the puzzle together. Wind, precipitation, temperature, visibility, and snowpack stability are all important considerations when determining conditions and hazards and the difference between a good and a crap day. If you are unsure about how to apply this gathered information to make good choices, including whether to go or not, where to go and when, you should consider doing an Avalanche Skills Training (AST1) course. The AST1 provides training on how weather affects the snowpack and how to select your route when considering the conditions and forecasts. Know before you go!  We spend a few months every year in Niseko but had to cut it a little short this year due to the pandemic which was really starting to take hold in mid February. Back in Australia, reflecting on this beautiful region while in Covid-19 lockdown, the dominant image in my mind is the imposing, majestic Mt Yotei. Whether looking out our kitchen window, driving to the local service town Kutchan, riding in the Grand Hirafu resort or pretty much any activity in the region, Mt Yotei dominates the landscape. If you plan to go backcountry touring in Niseko, this is the box everyone wants to tick. The conical volcano has approaches from every side, and each approach offers a different riding experience. A mountain like this is not to be underestimated though – there is plenty of avalanche terrain on Yotei and human-triggered avalanches have occurred here. Best to go with a guide or study the topography carefully beforehand, so as not to get caught in one of the many canyon or gully terrain traps when avalanche hazard is present. Like all volcanoes, the climb gets steeper as you get higher, starting at only 250m above sea level and finishing at the crater at 1898m. Treeline is at around 1000m, and this is where a lot of tourers transition for what is usually an awesome deep-snow ride back down through well-spaced trees. If the summit is calling, then you can spend another few hours pushing to the crater, but be equipped with crampons and other climbing and safety equipment as this steep alpine zone can morph into ‘ski mountaineering’ with extremely variable snow and weather conditions. On the right day, you can drop into the crater for a few turns – as long as you leave yourself enough energy to get out of there and back down to the trailhead before dark... -Pieta Herring  I have been living and working at Casey Research Station since early November. This summer the weather has been particularly friendly with only the one blizzard first week of Feb, and an unprecedented run of calm and sunny days. This weather geek says possibly a product of last September's “Sudden Stratospheric Warming” (see link below to excellent article by Craig Brokensha and BOM explanations) and the resulting negative SAM that so dramatically impacted the conditions back home in Australia.  As a result the seasonal melt has gone to levels previously not seen by the long-time Expeditioners down here, and the run-off creating a myriad of small creeks and bigger crevasses across the moraine and down to the Ocean. With this I have been fortunate enough to do some ski touring out to some of the field huts, from short day trips to a recent overnight trip. Lightweight tool of choice around these parts is the pattern base Madshus Eon at 62 underfoot. So about 40mm less than my preferred. Great to hike and glide around on, but for a rusted on at the heel Alpine/AT - boy they were a nightmare when it came to turning. Especially on the blue ice that is such a large part of this Continent. To put it politely the self talk mantra was “pizza, pizza” among other more colourful words ! First tour was a day trip to the abandoned Wilkes Station which is about 18 km - a 6hr round trip. Previously a US Station which they handed over to Australia in 1959. As Wilkes had originally been built as a temporary station, rapid deterioration occurred in the extreme Antarctic environment. By 1964, the buildings had become a fire hazard due to fuel seepage, and the constant drift snow buried structures for most of the year. The deteriorated wooden buildings needed constant repair and in 1969 was closed and Australia relocated across the Bay to what is known as the Casey Repstat (or Replacement Station). Last week a group of us went out to scope the Cane Lines (travel routes) for potential to re-open the field for the usual weekend recreational trips. We skied to Robinsons Ridge, where there is yep, Robbo’s Hut!!! Was 40km round trip with an overnight stay at Robbo’s.
 Not long after this pic (above) we ended up removing the skis and walking to make better time, and ultimately safer progress over the unforgiving lunar-like surface. The resorts back in Oz would call it “firm and fast”…..   One of the GPS waypoints along the Cane Line. This one known as the R-line. The canes have to be core drilled into the ice, similar to ski race gates.  Official log on to VNJ Casey (Comms) for the duration of the trip was “Robbo’s ski party”. Mandatory “scheds” are done twice daily at 1900 and 0800 hrs. Advise Station of our position, welfare of members, weather obs, intentions, state of track and vehicles etc, and also confirm CO2 monitoring is on.  Robbo's Hut
Like all good backcountry trips I came home a tad battered and bruised, sore feet testimony to Station-supplied touring boots and the mileage, but otherwise intact. They say earn your turns tho this was a different kinda deal. Looking forward to getting that extra width, some serious edges and softer snow under my feet. Also now looking forward to flying home in a couple of weeks, when the weather allows, seeing my wife and family again after nearly 5 months away from home, the grass under my feet and some South Coast sand between the toes , and salt water back in my veins. Oh and longer than a 3 minute shower! What an adventure, what a summer! A big 10 days in Victoria, running several AST1 courses of 16 with two instructors. Hung out with a heap of awesome people, and got immersed in the backcountry stoke of the Vic BC Festival. The intensity of the terrain, the breathtaking views, the vibe - we loved it all. Here are some photos from those weeks.                  We were heading up to Thredbo for a tour when we received a message from a client with his report of being caught and buried in an avalanche at Etheridge Ridge the previous day. His description was so detailed and he truly thought his life was over, we changed our plans immediately and headed out there to view the site and try to understand how and why the slide happened. Below is an abridged account from the victim and the photos we took today. We are so grateful that the victim shared his story and hope it encourages others to share their observations and experiences so we all can learn and stay safe. At around 12:30pm I was buried in at least a class 3 avalanche at etheridge ridge. I estimate class 3 as there was more than 1000 tonnes of snow in the slide, perhaps many times that. My wife and I had already ridden several lines on the face during the morning, performing a hand shear test first up with no signs of instability. After several runs she decided she'd had enough so I began snowshoeing back up the face for one last line. I had chosen a small rock lined ridge line to follow up that was quite firm and wind scoured and felt like a safe route. About halfway up there was all of a sudden a thunderous boom and the ENTIRE face top to bottom about 150m wide began to slide. It happened in a split second. I tried to run? to who knows where, but was immediately pulled completely under into darkness and immense pressure. I was tumbled several times with snow pushed hard against my face, but was surprisingly completely calm with the realisation that I was about to be buried and this is how it all ends. As the motion began to slow the weight of the snow began to bear down and there was an eerie silence and with one last tumble I saw the light and I came to rest completely buried in an upright standing position with just my head and 1 arm above the surface. The sudden silence and stillness was deafening, even more suprisingly again I was completely calm and relaxed. I was able to dig my other arm out and reach my pack that had broken it's straps and was pushed up around my head. I took out my shovel and was able to slowly extricate myself. It's funny what a traumatic experience will do to you as once I had dug down to my waist I took my phone out and filmed myself still half buried and while I continued to free myself. Upon freeing my legs it was evident that I had a possible broken ankle but was able to pull myself up onto the debris field and slide on my back down and about 100m clear. During all this my wife performed amazingly, she was already on the phone to 000 and had her transceiver out and in search mode making her way back up the slope. Unfortunately she had been about 300m away waiting down the bottom and had not seen me go under and had not seen my last position. I can't even imagine what she has gone through witnessing the whole thing and having to put into action what we had only just learnt days prior. In the end, 000 had alerted Thredbo medical and they got a crew up on sleds to get us both out and back to safety. Now at home assessing my equipment, one pole is missing the other snapped in half, my snowboard that was strapped to my pack has a destroyed binding and severe gouges in the base and top sheet. There is no doubt the board on my back saved me from being crushed against rocks. Currently sitting at home sipping a scotch with my ankle in a moon boot, season over..... But ALIVE I'm happy for you to share this story as it's important for people to know. |
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May 2020
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