Mountain Safety Collective Ambassadors
A core part of MSC’s mission is to ensure the awareness of alpine hazards is as broad as possible within the Australian backcountry community. Our ambassador program is designed to harness the skills, experience and profile of active people within our community to help share MSC content, so follow them on Instagram to see what they get up to in the mountains!
Simon Murray - MSC Founder
Without Simon’s passion for the backcountry and years of work to get Mountain Safety Collective up and running, none of what you now see here would have happened.
Simon kicked this whole thing off in the wake of the 2014 Bogong fatalities and generally in response to that season, with 14 other people requiring rescues in the Vic alps alone. The ‘collective’ started as a small group of recreational backcountry enthusiasts issuing observations and ratings for weather, ice and avalanche, via the website Simon built. After 6 years on the MSC committee and untold hours of voluntary contribution, he’s taken the opportunity to scale back his formal involvement whilst still assisting MSC with his graphic design talents and spreading his interminable FROTH as an MSC ambassador.
Michaela Davis-Meehan
Australia’s most accomplished freeride snowboarder, Michaela has been a fixture on the Freeride World Tour since winning the qualifying tour in 2019 and securing second and sixth place finishes on the world tour in 2020 and 2021 with frequent podium finishes. She’s also the first Australian snowboarder to receive a wildcard for the FWT in 2023.
Having endured injury and relished triumph through a professional career spanning more than a decade, Michaela knows all about the resilience required to sustain yourself in the backcountry. MSC are proud to have her support on the world stage!
Drew Jolowicz
There’s a rumour that no photos of Drew Jolowicz exist without ski goggles on, which is likely true given he’s skied every winter since the age of four. Starting his skiing life as a racer, he spent his teens jibbing in the park before his adult years as a professional freeride skier.
With his home base at Mount Hotham, you’ll often see Drew featured slaying the local backcountry as the resort’s ambassador or gracing the pages of ski mags on his frequent international adventures. We’re excited to have Drew on board with MSC as a voice for the Victorian backcountry.
Tim Macartney-Snape
Tim Macartney-Snape sets the bar high in terms of what’s possible in the mountains. You might know him as part of the first Australian team to summit Everest - on a new route, without oxygen. And when that wasn’t hard enough, he climbed Everest again, this time by himself, again without oxygen, and walking 1200km from sea level before even reaching the Himalayas to start the climb.
Off the back of this experience, Tim co-founded Sea to Summit outdoor equipment - an Australian success story that is known for its quality and innovation around the world.
Since then, Tim’s remained a committed adventurer and recreationalist and has kept climbing and skiing, with his focus often close to home in NSW’s Main Range. A supporter of the Mountain Safety Collective since our early days, it's a great honour to have Tim as our founding Ambassador.
https://www.timmacartneysnape.com
https://www.instagram.com/timmacartneysnape
Alex Parsons
Alex is a splitboarder on a mission. Since her first backcountry trip in Japan in 2015, she has been entranced by life beyond the boundaries and wants to share it with as many people as possible. With a background in media, professional writing, guiding and instructing – you’ll find her writing articles, featuring in films, creating social media, speaking at events and backcountry guiding. Alex has snowboarded in Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the US but is in love with the Australian mountains. She continues to drive culture change in the realms of safety, environmental protection and inclusion in the local snow community.
https://www.instagram.com/lexparso
Dylan Robinson
Undecided between beanies and hats, Dylan Robinson marries the backcountry and cameras in the same manner.
With over a decade as a photojournalist shooting news, celebrities and longer form projects, a shift in passion led him to resort media/marketing at Hotham Alpine Resort and Whitewater Ski Resort in British Columbia. Over the past 5 years, Dylan shifted to filmmaking and documenting backcountry mountain life in the Australian alps and abroad.
Feeling a need to level up he is now CAA Avalanche Operations Level 1, Wilderness First Aid and is working towards ski guide qualifications in Canada. The ability to learn about, experience and document the ever-changing conditions of the backcountry is a constant allure for him and being able to pair snow science knowledge brings a greater understanding and love of the mountains.
https://dylanrobinson.au https://www.instagram.com/dylrobinson
Chess Smee
Francesca “Chess” Smee started her career with Thredbo Ski School and took her instructing to Japan where she was introduced to the backcountry of Niseko and Central Hokkaido. It was here that she developed her love for the mountains whilst empowering people to safely enjoy the outdoors. She now balances instructing in Thredbo with backcountry guiding for K7 Adventures during the Australian snow season and currently spends northern winters in Canada as a practicum heli-ski guide and race and freeride coach in Revelstoke.
Chess places a lot of emphasis on her own professional development and currently holds certifications for Level 3 Ski Instructing, Level 1 Avalanche Operations, Wilderness First Aid and Cert IV Alpine Guide. She loves building appreciation of nature in young people and is humbled by the beauty of the mountains and the challenges they provide her with.
Matt Wiseman
Matt has worn many hats in the snow - writer, photographer, reporter and ski guide. While he might have completed a double Journalism and Law degree and could have found a stable desk job after graduating, he too was lured by the mountains and cut his teeth working as a photographer and ski guide in Niseko, Japan.
Matt worked at Mountainwatch for a number of years writing and reporting on deep Japanese powder, but despite also being a cat-ski tail guide in one of the snowiest places in the world, he still has a soft spot for hard packed Australian turns and touring.
When he’s not taking every opportunity to get on the NSW Main Range, he’s a senior contributor to Chillfactor Magazine, Media Manager for Lé Bent and Gear Editor for We Are Explorers.
https://mattwisemanmedia.com
https://www.instagram.com/mattwisemanmedia