MSC Backcountry Field Observations Team

Craig Sheppard
MSC Program Director & Lead Forecaster
CAA Operations Level 3
Wilderness First Responder 80 hrs
CSIA Level 2

Craig comes to Australia from beautiful Banff Alberta where he worked as an Avalanche Forecaster (at the Lake Louise Mountain Resort), Avalanche Educator for the Canadian Avalanche Association and Apprentice Ski Guide through the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides.

He now calls Jindabyne home and serves the MSC as the Program Manager where he co-ordinates the Backcountry Field Observations Teams, conducts training, and ensures the daily Backcountry Condition Reports are delivered to the highest standard.

Kyle Boys
MSC Assistant Program Manager
CAA Operations Level 2 & Professional Member
CSGA Level 2 with Touring Module 1
Wilderness First Responder 80 hrs
Snowboard Anwärter (Instructor - Austria)

A professional guide, forecaster and educator, Kyle is the owner of Blizzard Academy and teaches avalanche awareness and mountain courses when not guiding backcountry tours.

Starting as a snowboard instructor in Austria he quickly progressed to heli, cat and touring guiding and AST1 instructor for Hokkaido Backcountry Club in Japan for four winters. In Australia, Kyle gained experience as a backcountry guide for Thredbo Guides and Alpine Access Australia, where he also worked as an AST1 instructor for five seasons. He’s worked in Canada for Skeena Cat Skiing and Backcountry Snowcats and is currently a lead guide at Big Red Cats during northern hemisphere winters.

Tyson Rettie
MSC Forecaster
CAA Operations level 2 and Professional Member
CSGA Level 3
Advanced Wilderness First Aid 90 Hrs
CSIA Level 2
Advanced Weather

Tyson Rettie is a Canadian ski guide and a professional member of the Canadian Avalanche Association. He brings a wide range of experience in the avalanche industry, including heli- and snowmobile-based guiding, instructing avalanche search and rescue and guiding courses, and producing both public and industrial avalanche forecasts.

In 2025, Tyson will join the Mountain Safety Collective as an avalanche forecaster and field observer. His primary goal is to learn from the MSC’s forecasting strategies and operational practices, gaining new perspectives to strengthen Avalanche Canada’s public forecasting program. In return, he will share insights from Avalanche Canada’s approach to hazard communication, forecasting workflows, and public outreach—contributing to the MSC’s ongoing refinement of its own systems.

Owen Lansbury
MSC Field Observer & Assistant Forecaster
CAA Operations Level 1 & Avalanche Practitioner
Wilderness First Aid
APSI Level 3 (ISIA stamp)

Owen loves sharing his stoke for the mountains, whether it’s taking guests out in his role as Head Guide at Thredbo Backcountry Tours or being open with his time and knowledge off the slopes. Starting life as a skier with a 20 year diversion into snowboarding, he’s been back on planks in the backcountry for the past decade spending most spare moments hunting snow at home and abroad. He also volunteers on MSC’s organising committee.

Dylan Robinson
MSC Field Observer & Assistant Forecaster
CAA Operations Level 1
CSIA Level 1
Wilderness First Aid 80 hr

Documenting our mountains while learning about them is what has driven Dylan to build on his career as a seasoned photojournalist and filmmaker. Upskilling and becoming a well-rounded, mountain dweller has led him to pursue a snow safety and guiding pathway that only further piques his curiosity for the backcountry. Now aspiring towards ski guide qualifications, Dylan is also actively doing field observations for MSC. His passion for cameras will never die and the constant creative train rolls along, working on  personal projects as well as with Arc’teryx and ski resorts such as Hotham Alpine Resort and Whitewater Ski Resort in British Columbia.

Mimi Gee
MSC Field Observer & Assistant Forecaster
CAA Operations Level 1
CSGI level 1
ASPI level 1
Occupational First Aid 3

Starting in Japanese backcountry 6 years ago, Mimi began what she hopes will be a lifelong journey as a ski guide. She loves to share the beautiful Australian alpine with guests through her work as Thredbo Backcountry Guides’ team coordinator. Mimi also has experience tail guiding for a cat skiing operation in Canada along with working on the Fernie’s professional Ski Patrol team.

Taylor ‘Tay’ Rogers
MSC Field Observer 
CAA Operations Level 1
ASPA Emergency Care
ASPA National Ski Patrol Certification
Remote & Wilderness First Aid

To Tay, backcountry evokes all the best things: pure stoke for a big line, satisfaction from a tough ascent, mental clarity from a long sunny-day skin and a special connection to the Australian Alpine landscape. Having patrolled and guided, Tay values safety and responsible decision making in risky environments. He believes the more we know about the environments we are in, the safer we can play. Tay looks forward to sharing knowledge about the places he goes and the info he gathers, while also promoting respect and inclusivity among Australia's awesome BC community. 

Kelly van den Berg
MSC Field Observer
CAA Operations Level 1
Wilderness First Aid
Expedition Medicine UTAS

Kelly is a mountain and wilderness enthusiast that loves building community and bringing people together to enjoy the outdoors.  She is passionate about education, safety and fun whilst dividing her time between Mt Hotham and her farm in Sth Gippsland. In the summer she works as an outdoor educator and guide as well as enjoys whitewater sports, surfing and operating an equestrian coaching and sports mindset coaching business.

Callum Brace
MSC Field Observer
CAA Operations Level 1 
Avalanche Search & Rescue Level 1
Wilderness First Responder 80 hours 
APSI Level 1 

Callum has spent the last three seasons in the coastal mountains of British Columbia working towards his guiding certifications and qualifications. He is eager to put everything he’s learned into action this season. Cal also works as a guide for Alpine Access and believes that the best tool in any backcountry skier’s kit is knowledge.

Lachlan Short
MSC Field Observer
CAA Operations Level 1
NZ Avalanche Stage1 (Level 5)
NZ Certified Ski Patrol
Wilderness First Aid 80 hr
APSI Level 2
Diploma of Outdoor Leadership

Growing up in Far North Queensland was always a fine place to learn the fundamentals of snow science. It’s taken quite some time and lots of hard years of work but Lachlan is most happy sliding on ski’s or working professionally in the outdoors. Splitting his time between outdoor education, guiding, and snow science you will most likely find Lachlan this winter in the Victorian Alps following a formative season in New Zealand.

Matt ‘Coops’ Cooper
MSC Field Observer
Avalanche Risk Management L5 (NZ)
NZ Snow/Ice Guide
Fire + Rescue NSW

Whether it’s a blue bird day or the depths of August dark days, you’ll find Coops somewhere in the mountains. From Alpine climbing, sky running, backcountry skiing and paragliding… anywhere - anytime.

With a career of over 20 years in Fire and Rescue, experience as a guide in NZ/Australia, climbing, flying, running mountains all over the world… he still loves nothing more than spending time in Australia’s Alpine region, especially with his two kids.

Claudine Talbot
MSC Field Observer
CAA Operations Level 1
Occupational First Aid 3
APSI Level 2
Ski Patroller, Ski Instructor, Ski Bum

Retired Australian XC ski athlete, Claudine has now fully transitioned to the dark side and is sliding down hills. Our youngest MSC observer has spent the past 2 years in Canada honing her avalanche and backcountry knowledge whilst patrolling and instructing at Fernie Alpine Resort. She’s stoked to provide observations for MSC and encourage as many people at possible to safely play in the beautiful, untouched playgrounds in the Australian backcountry scene.

Alex Parsons
MSC Field Observer
CAA Operations Level 1, CSIA Level 1
Wilderness & Remote First Aid
Cert III Outdoor Recreation – Alpine Guiding
APSI Level 2

Since her first backcountry trip in Japan in 2015, Alex has been entranced by life beyond the boundaries and wants to share it with as many people as possible. With a background in marketing, professional writing, guiding and instructing – you’ll find her writing articles, featuring in films, creating social media and backcountry guiding. While she’s based in NZ this season she’s a long time MSC ambassador and Field Observer and is committed to ushering in a culture shift of safety, environmental protection and inclusion in the Australian snow community.

Luke Frisken
MSC Field Observer
NZMGA Ski Guide Level 1
Avalanche Risk Management L5 (NZ)
Wilderness First Aid

Luke has been part of the MSC Observervations team since 2022, and lives with his young family in Mount Beauty. A professional ski guide and member of the New Zealand Mountain Guides association, Luke currently splits his winter time between guiding in Australia for The Climbing Company and in New Zealand for Alpine Recreation. He recently helped to found the Avalanche Georgia forecasting service whilst living and skiing there.

Jimmy Collins
MSC Field Observer
Avalanche Risk Management Level 5 (NZ)
Cert. IV Outdoor Leadership – Alpine Guiding
Wilderness First Aid (80hrs) – Advanced Resuscitation & Oxygen Therapy

Jimmy has been climbing for nearly two decades and professionally guiding since 2021. Primarily based in the Blue Mountains, Jimmy makes the annual pilgrimage to Kosciuszko National Park for Winters, where he coordinates the Winter Program for the Australian School of Mountaineering. He has also assisted in search and rescue operations in Kosciuszko NP and other parts of NSW.

His mountain experience spans alpine climbing and ski mountaineering in Australia, New Zealand, the European Alps, USA and Himalayas. Jimmy is pursuing the NZMGA guide pathway and is passionate about helping guests develop the skills to make good decisions in consequential environments.

Dan Trevena
MSC Field Observer
NZ Avalanche Stage 1 (Level 5)
Specialist Anaesthetist, DiMM FAWM
Advanced life support instructor

Dan lives for long fast days in the alpine. Part time doctor, part time athlete… when not stuck in hospital he’s out training/racing or chasing down his kids in Bright. Runner/climber/skier, he races skimo world cup for Australia and will be getting plenty of vert in this winter.

Jacob Taranto
MSC Field Observer
CAA Operations Level 1
Wilderness First Responder (80-hour)

Jacob first wandered into the backcountry in 2019 and hasn’t looked back — he’s been chasing the freedom of the hills ever since. Cutting his teeth working seasons as a tailguide in the heli skiing and backcountry touring industries in the huge, often glaciated interior mountains of British Columbia, he’s now based in Australia with a “real job” but keeps the dream alive working with MSC and the Thredbo guide team in his spare time. Say g’day if you see him out in the field this winter — he’s hard to miss being one of the few tele skiers still out there "freeing the heel & skiing for real" and he’s always keen to share the stoke!

Paddy Timms
MSC Field Observer
Avalanche Risk Management L5 (NZ)
Volunteer Ski Patroller (Revelstoke BC, Mt Hotham)
Doctor - Rural and Remote Medicine
Grad Cert Healthcare in Remote and Extreme Environments (UTas)

Paddy has moved to Bright from Cairns and is looking forward to not having to worry about his ice axes getting mouldy anymore. He loves ski touring, mountaineering, paragliding and climbing. He has spent 2 winters in Revelstoke, BC, where he volunteered on the ski patrol. He works as a doctor (GP and emergency medicine) with experience in wilderness and expedition medicine.