As soon as the snow starts to fall, at least a few UNSWOC members can be found in the Snowy Mountains (about 6 hrs south-west of Sydney) nearly every weekend: either skiing or snowboarding at Perisher and Thredbo, snow camping and backcountry skiing on the Main Range, partying in Jindabyne or ice-climbing at Blue Lake. It’s easy for beginners to get involved in the alpine section of the club, with many trips suitable for people who have never skied, or even seen snow before. Longer snow-camping trips and ice-climbing trips are aimed at more experienced skiers, who want to find challenging, wild terrain.
Cross-country touring and snowcamping
Beginners cross-country ski trips may involve camping below the snow line, and doing day trips around the Perisher trails or to Charlottes Pass and the Porcupine to hone your skills, before going on more challenging trips to the Main Range and Kosciusko.
Snow camping trips occur throughout the winter, for anywhere between 1 and 6 nights. There’s nothing quite like camping out in the snow and being able to go midnight snow shovel racing…Twynam Creek is one of our more frequent snowcamping locations, but we also go to the Ramsheads, the Main Range and various huts accessible from Guthega.
Alpine Touring
Alpine Touring, or AT, is skiing done with special bindings that allow the heel to be released for hiking uphill, and then locked back down when you get to the top, for full downhill skiing performance. For those who have skied in a resort before, it's easiest way to take your skills out to the backcountry.
AT bindings come in two styles: frame bindings such as the Marker Duke or Salomon Guardian, which are DIN compatible with standard (but heavy!) downhill skiing boots, and the ultra-lightweight tech bindings such as Dynafit and Plum, which require specialized boots.
Splitboarding
For keen snowboarders, the best way to tour is with a splitboard. These two-part snowboards split into a pair of skis, and allow the bindings to be slid into a cross-country skiing configuration. This may seem crazy at first, but they work great, and beat snowshoeing any day!
Splitboards are available for hire (or purchase!) from First Light Snowboards in Jindabyne. For the budget conscious, many keen boarders in the club have made their own splitboards, with a circular saw, steady hand, and a DIY binding kit.
Telemark Skiing
Telemarking is a graceful style of free-heeled skiing, which can be done on skis with cable bindings, or now with fancy modern NTN bindings. It's a popular and versatile way to ski in the backcountry.
Whilst it is possible to learn to telemark in the backcountry, there is no better way to quickly improve at telemarking then by spending a day (or few) skiing on the resort. There are a number of telemark workshops run at Perisher each year which are great to improve your skills.
Nordic and XC Skiing
Australia's rolling terrain and snowgum forests make for some great nordic skiing opportunities...when the snow is there. Generally, waxless pattern-base skis are used, as it's mostly too warm for traditional wax.
Groomed and marked trails exist around Perisher Valley (which has a Nordic Shelter facility open to the public) and Charlotte Pass, as well as many places in Victoria including Falls Creek, which is the spiritual center of nordic skiing in Australia and hosts the annual Kangaroo Hoppet.
The club has lots of gear available, in condition ranging from brand new to ancient. We also have a couple of pairs of roller-skis, for training year round. If you are a keen XC skier and interested in helping manage our inventory, please get in contact with the exec!
Snow Shoeing
For those with a hiking background, and who don't have an interest in skiing, show shoeing is an easy and accessible way to see the beautiful high country in winter. The club has a few pairs available, and hire down at the ski fields is easy. The main trailheads are Perisher for day trips, Guthega for overnight trips, and the main Thredbo chairlift for accessing Mount Kosciuszko.
While snow shoeing is straightforward to learn, we generally find that once people start learning to ski or board, they don't go back...it's faster, less tiring, and more fun!
Ice climbing
Ice climbing opportunities in Australia are limited due to our lack of suitable ice-climbing locations and rarely favorable conditions. It is usually possible to ice climb at Blue Lake in Kosciusko National Park, and there is challenging mixed climbing on Mount Bogong in Victoria. However, these trips are generally only for those with prior climbing and snow camping experience.