Figure 3

Figure 4

Storm Cycles

This past winter had many precipitation events throughout June, July, August and September, but generally speaking, there were three major snowfall events while MSC was operating.  Firstly in July, a significant East Coast Low pressure system delivered over 70cm of snow..  This snow fell with ‘atypical’ SE winds and as such wind loading around the Main Range was predominantly found on north westerly aspects.  Unfortunately this storm finished with rain and the 70+cm of snow had a one cm rain crust on top that proceeded to strengthen with rime ice accretion and we entered a period of ‘widespread ice’ conditions.

Secondly, in August, the big snow of the season occurred with the Main Range receiving over 100cm of precipitation in approximately 6 days.  This storm began with NW winds that changed to SW as the storm ended.  From this system several wind slabs were reported and cornice growth was exponential.  

Lastly, in late September a storm delivered over 45cm of snow with NW winds creating wind slabs on lee aspects.  Although there were no reports from the Main Range of any avalanche activity, it was this system that led to a skier triggered avalanche in the Hotham area in which the skier lost their gear but was fortunately not buried and uninjured.

As mentioned, there were many other precipitation events between these three major snowfalls.  Several times throughout the winter 5-10cm of snow fell with NW winds making for good skiing in isolated areas.  On the flip side, there were also several rain events that ate away the snowpack particularly in the subalpine.  Indeed, just before the big snow in August the rain had “decimated the lower elevations”.  

Communications Traction and Reach - Simon Murray / President

Website: MountainSportsCollective.org

2020 saw the continued growth of visitation to the ‘Backcountry Conditions Report’  platform. In July we published the long awaited NSW Main Range map. Fortunate timing given the only population of backcountry participants allowed to access the backcountry in Australia under Covid-19 restrictions was in that State. In addition to this, NSW participation in backcountry activities grew, we believe through both the continued growth we’ve witnessed year on year, and through a general apprehension by participants toward recreating in crowds for fear of contracting the novel Covid-19 virus. 

Meanwhile in Victoria we had to cease reporting at the behest of our partners such that we did not promote participation in light of Victoria ‘second wave’ Covid-19 restrictions. So all things considered the metric by which we gauge our reach was up by 10% year on year, which is actually staggering given we had half the audience. This is undoubtedly the result of Craig Sheppard’s consistent and relevant daily bulletins for the NSW region. Based on scant reference analytics this 12% rise in unique visitors is actually representative of a 50%+ increase in NSW site visitation in the absence of a Victorian audience. As reflected in the membership surge. As of 2019, NSW visitation we estimated only accounted for a third of the 11,200 unique visitors that year.

Over the duration of the service to date we have accumulated a backcountry audience of 42,000 unique visitors. We all know that that’s a lot more people than the active participants. We can see here that the reach is significant and that the breadth of the ‘eaves dropper’ audience is massive over the last four years. The flat top this year is representative of two things. That we have a frequent ‘check-in’ culture which is important, and that at this core 2,500 / 3,000 visitation ‘week in week’ out is this year is a majority NSW participants. As such only half of what we can expect in a normal 2021 of around 6000 weekly check-ins.

Social Media

Following last year’s AGM and further feedback from members, we have increased our activity on Social Media.  Given COViD restrictions in Vic, the focus has been squarely on NSW conditions this year.  In future seasons we hope to engage additional subcommittee members to help with Social Media engagement. 

Victoria Developments 2020 - Simon Murray / President

In early June MSC instigated and chaired a forum in Harrietville bringing together the Backcountry Professional Community. This included any person or operation with any vested interest in the participation and safety of backcountry sports. Land managers such as Parks Vic and NSW NPWS were in attendance, various commercial operators from both Vic and NSW as well as backcountry safety professionals engaged in providing backcountry safety training. Last but not least was Sport and Recreation Victoria and Outdoor Victoria, alongside ski patrol heads from Hotham and Mt Stirling. 

The concept that MSC was striving to distill a ‘day rating’ based off three cumulative hazards - weather, surface condition and avalanche - was well received and a general consensus was garnered around it being ‘unique, as unique as aussie snow conditions’. Minutes for this forum are available as a download from this link. [LINK HERE]

With the advance of the pandemic, coupled with a lethargic start to the snow season things got complicated. In Victoria the service ceased yet the research continued. The key developments for this season have largely been the product of the Program Directors input:

• We have established strategic study plots and begun to understand their correlation to the various backcountry regions. 

• We have developed a template for time profiles of the season, recording wind direction, strength, temperature and precipitation daily. This has shown the convergence and divergence of weather and snowpack trends. Figure 6.

• Extensive iterations took place in the communications both graphic and strategic. This was largely informed by the forecasting work that was taking place in NSW yet washed against what conditions prevailed even in the absence of public bulletins. The ‘Day Rating’ is now conclusively a robust metric for communication using a 9 interval score. The basis for the field reporting and forecasting of the hazards and their respective scores is available here at this link:

NSW Developments 2020 - Pieta Herring / NSW Regional Director

In 2020, NSW was fortunate to have a snow season, unlike Victoria. Not only were the resorts able to stay open despite the threat of Covid-19, the snowfall did come, albeit late and intermittent. It was clear that with restricted resort operations, there would be more backcountry users than ever before, many of whom would be backcountry first-timers. Anecdotal evidence suggests this was indeed the case, with the easy-access locations such as Dead Horse Gap and Guthega dam being heavily used, and backcountry tour operators inundated with enquiries and bookings.

From July through to late September, MSC issued daily snow conditions reports. Craig Sheppard, MSC’s avalanche forecaster, in addition to his own observations, received regular observations from MSC’s NSW volunteer team of observers, as well as members of the public, and put out avalanche advisories during avalanche cycles. Craig enabled the report format to be fine-tuned in line with Canadian best-practice standards.

Craig and members of MSC’s committee met with representatives from NPWS and other NSW stakeholders to discuss MSC’s activities and objectives and how we may be able to assist each other in improving safety in the backcountry.

Preparations for 2021 Season

Victoria- Simon Murray / President

We have challenges that impede the delivery of the service to an ISO31000 risk management standard. In Victoria we have two major action points that need resolve prior to the 2021 season. 

The Program Director has sighted significant limitations: Field Observations and Sparse Data

Field Observation

We rely on a handful of volunteers with the required experience and qualifications to conduct systematic and reliable field observations. This is a challenge to be addressed in the ‘Professional Development’ section below. On an operations level we have significant latency in the process from the field to the public due largely to legacy technology which will be replaced by 2021 with the bespoke tech mentioned above. Secondly the provision of profile and field data in the absence of a central headquarters, somewhere that shares geographic proximity to the field operations. Literally a desk to sit and enter the data generated. A solution for this has been tabled to Mount Hotham Resort Management Board in the granting of permission to use the former Murray Valley Ski Club lodge, at the junction of the razorback and the the great alpine road known as Diamantina Springs. Detail around this proposal is available here

Sparse Data

Four key actions have been researched to help improve the forecast picture.

• Installation of Automatic Weather Stations at two locations, both within the Alpine National Park. One at Cleve Cole Hut, the other at the Cresta Top Station at Mt Buffalo. With the view to providing data in the current sparse data ‘holes’ 

• Collaboration with SES Falls Creek unit to develop a field observation program integrated with the routine training exercises. 

• Roving Patrols as a unit of Ops Level 1 paid professionals who routinely conduct field assessments across the two forecast areas. 

• All this data is collected and shared in a reciprocal platform with the three key Ski Patrol Units across the two regions Mt Hotham, Falls Creek and Mt Stirling, incorporating NSW operations also. 

NSW- Pieta Herring / NSW Regional Director

In preparation for 2021, MSC will be continuing to lobby government agencies to receive funding so that our snow conditions reports and avalanche advisories may continue for NSW. MSC will apply for any grants available and undertake a fundraising event prior to next season. We will also be working on improving communications between our observations team and forecaster/operations officers. Another important initiative will be to continue increasing our NSW membership base and our profile in NSW generally. Additionally, MSC will seek to build on our relationships with business owners and community groups in Jindabyne, Perisher and Thredbo.

Professional Development: Craig Sheppard / Program Director

As the MSC continues to grow as an organisation, it is important that the members involved also continue to grow their skills both as field practitioners and industry stewards for alpine safety in Australia.  There are three key elements that MSC will use for the National Professional Development.

Firstly, it is recommended that at the beginning of each season the MSC operations team participate in a field training session.  This operational field training is designed to bring the team together to discuss industry best practices and changes, to get everyone onto the same page, and to create a sense of team unity whilst improving individual technical skills. 

Secondly, it is strongly encouraged that all members of the MSC operations team actively seek opportunities for their individual Continued Professional Development (CPD).  

There are several ways to garner CPD:

• Formal Learning Activities

  • Avalanche Specific Courses from Canada, NZ, Japan or other regions

  • Weather Courses

  • Tertiary Educational Programs in avalanche related fields

• Informal Learning Activities 

  • Workshops

  • Webinars

  • Conferences

  • Podcasts

  • Publications

• Mentorship

  • Providing mentorship

  • Receiving mentorship

• Public Speaking

  • Community outreach events

• Field Days

  • Actively collecting information to feed into the Backcountry Conditions Reports

  • Attending field training sessions

Lastly, to ensure accurate communication, MSC will use the Observation Guidelines and Recording Standards for Weather Snowpack and Avalanches (CAA 2016).  This document will be discussed during the early season training and be referred to throughout the season.  

Funding and Membership statement: Simon Murray / President

Funding

We received a sponsorship from Outdoor Victoria, who in conjunction with various interested Victorian state government agencies deemed that the work we’d done in communicating hazards was a worthwhile exercise and thus invested. With this we have undertaken extensive field assessments and research on both avalanche and ice hazard events. A three part process, we are currently in a review stage of which this document stands in part to reflect findings, with a view to distilling this into bespoke communication technology and more robust processes and workflows. This work is squarely focused on Victoria. We hope that off the back of the project, NSW agencies and users will both benefit and collaborate in practical and financial terms. 

Unfortunately other partners and sponsors have had to step away from participating in the platform due to the financial constraints born of the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Current Membership

The churn is high in membership turnover at 72/73% and a ‘dead set’ of renewing members at 28%. A good and bad thing, obviously renewals are important and we need to galvanise this support.

Interestingly the NSW membership has grown from roughly a quarter to now over half in 2021.

Current Situation Financial - Narelle Waters / Treasurer

Grounds for motion to change name - Nitasha Randall / Secretary

Largely a case of stakeholder optics, the need to clarify our undertaking has arisen. Some of the cause to perceived confusion and conflict has been pointed that this association is a ‘sports’ organisation. Safety is always number one, and while yes, we are a sports association what we have become is a ‘safety’ organisation. Hence we are putting forward a motion to change these two words and instate Mountain Safety Collective as our new title. 

Revenue Streams

We have approached the Victorian Emergency Services Infrastructure Authority for consideration in funding some of these initiatives. Whilst not technically an ‘emergency service’ we are hopeful that in the data and communication we generate we serve as an enhancement to the work place safety of emergency service workers operating in the alpine regions , a position supported by SES and Ambulance Victoria, and no doubt every other agency that works in wild snow.  https://esia.vic.gov.au/

We are seeking brand sponsorship for cross promotion and merchandise collaborations. Unfortunately the pandemic has hit this sector hard so we aren’t holding out for it for now. That said we will likely produce another range of MSC merchandise as fundraising for 2021.

MSC will continue to develop our existing relationship with government and private sector stakeholders through sponsorship and collaboration respectively. If you are interested in collaborating then the opportunity is available. 

Community Engagement

The 2020 Victorian Backcountry Festival was a success for participation albeit it was an online webinar which was a disappointment. Most of the MSC board and many members turned out as speakers or organisers. The on-mountain events such as the Slay Safe Academy were cancelled due to the Covid-19 restrictions, as were the various community / speaker events in Melbourne. We strive to reinstate all of these to their former glory for 2021. 

We are preparing to produce a guide to backcountry skiing in the Victorian Alps: a 74-page A5 publication starting with easy day trips and finishing with the demanding multi-day traverses. We are trying to provide alternative itineraries to the ‘Big Two’ Mounts Bogong and Feathertop. These two venues are serious backcountry theatres and their tractor beam of attraction results in far too many rescues of which inevitably the cause was underestimation and misunderstanding the scale of the objectives. Through a guide book not only can we impart the hazard rating ‘day score’ but also describe the tours based on our already established terrain rating system. Important stuff. Almost as though you can’t have one (the guide) without the other (the forecast).

Contents:

Mount Stirling Day Tours: Terrain Games / Stanley’s circuit
Falls Creek Day Tours: Dirt-Bag Gap / Watchbed Creek / Big McKay Day / Rocky Knolls / Rocky Knobs

Mount Hotham Day Tours: Telleson Point Tour / Dipper Tour / Baldy Hollow via Dargo Bowl / Northern Exposure / WDH and the Brides Spur / Cobungra Headwaters (lift assisted)  / Machinery traverse

Mount Buffalo Day tours: Horn alt route / Skeleton Cresta loop / The Plake route / The Old Road

Mt Baw Baw: St Gwinear alt route / Mt Erica 

Falls Creek extended tours: Mt Fainter and the Jaitmathang. BHP Northern Traverse. BHP Southern Traverse

Mount Hotham: Feathertop via the Razorback. Mount Hotham to Falls Creek Traverse. 

Mount Bogong: Eskdale Spur / Mulhauser Gap / Quartz Ridge

Southern Traverse: The Bluff / Mt Howitt / Crosscut saw and beyond
The Vic Haute: Harrietville to Glenn Wills. 

Board and Committee structure:  Nitasha Randall / Secretary