Three large avalanches were reported to MSC on Tuesday 28 June, 2022. The avalanches occurred in the Main Range of NSW in the Sentinel Peak area. For the purpose of this article we have named the avalanches as Sentinel 1, Sentinel 2 & Sentinel 3.
As we discuss in the conclusion, rain with warmer (+0º) temperatures creates stress on the snowpack and means it’s time to avoid avalanche terrain.
Here at the Mountain Safety Collective (MSC), we sometimes get asked “What does being a Not-for-profit mean”? At its simplest level, MSC is a registered not-for-profit which complies with strict Australian Tax Office (ATO) requirements to ensure that all funding is spent on providing services to the community, which in our case is the Australian backcountry community.
As part of our professional development program, Mountain Safety Collective (MSC) is pleased to announce co-funding of the first ever Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA) Avalanche Operation Level 1 (Ops 1) course to be held in Australia.
Snowflakes are just ice crystals stuck together. The recipe is very simple: One oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms, add cold temperatures and you get ice. This seemingly trivial structure however is full of surprises, as no crystal is the same as another, ever!
Science differentiates between twelve different types of ice in our universe. On Earth only one type of ice exists, the one we all know and it can float on water. Ice on Earth has many faces: Ice streams at the poles, glaciers in the high mountains, permafrost, frozen waterfalls, snow, hoarfrost, hail, Jack Frost on the windows…
As reported on ABC News today (27 May 2022), the NSW NPWS has provided Mountain Safety Collective with $10,000 in funding to enhance the daily Backcountry Conditions Reports for the NSW Main Range.
Ski history would be very different without the influence of industry titans, Marker bindings and Völkl skis. Both companies started life in Straubing, Bavaria - Völkl in 1923 and Marker in 1952 - pioneering many of the innovations that we now take for granted in ski technology. We’d like to welcome their support for Mountain Safety Collective!
In Winter 2021 the Mountain Safety Collective set up the Southern Hemisphere's first Avalanche Training Center at Mount Hotham , Victoria Australia. Due to the various COVID restrictions and lockdowns the Mount Hotham Ski Patrol had plenty of opportunities to get to know the ATC and hone their transceiver and probe search and shovelling techniques.
Mountain Safety Collective is excited to be joining our friends at the Banff Mountain Film Festival (Australia) as their movies tour cinemas around Australia from early May.
Take any avalanche safety course and there’s one transceiver that the instructors are invariably using - the Mammut Barryvox. Ask them why and the answer is usually something like “If I’m trusting my own or my friend’s lives on a piece of avalanche safety gear, I want to know I’ve got the best”. Go into the draw to win one yourself by signing up for MSC’s membership drive.
Coinciding with MSC’s annual membership drive, the Alpine Education Series is the perfect place to sharpen your skills before winter. Designed for beginners and veterans alike, join us for drinks as we unpack backcountry etiquette and safety, avalanche forecasting and essential gear for your next touring trip. Complete with film screenings to keep the stoke high!