Mountain Safety Collective Backcountry Conditions Report – Friday 11 July 2025

July 11th, 2025
MSC’s early season Field Observer training was held this week in NSW & Victoria.

Mountainwatch | Mountain Safety Collective

This week saw the start of back to back snow bearing weather systems that should see consistent snowfalls well into late July. The double edged sword of Australian snow storms is that they’re usually accompanied by extreme winds which has seen extensive lifts on hold in the resorts since Tuesday and blizzard conditions in the alpine making backcountry trips not advisable at higher elevations.

The week started with rain to all elevations on Monday that created a widespread ice crust when temperatures dropped below freezing on Tuesday July 8. This was followed by snow above ~1700m on Wednesday that loaded into wind drifts of 40-50cm deep on lee aspects. A second, much colder front impacted the mountains on Thursday seeing snowfalls below 1000m elevation and excellent quality cold powder across NSW and Victoria with wind loading of 20-30cm on lee slopes by lunchtime above 1800m.

For those following along, this means we now have 60-80cm of windloaded snow on a widespread ice crust. While this was stubborn to react in snowpack stability tests MSC ran on Thursday, exercise caution on steep wind loaded slopes over the next few days, as wind slab avalanches with substantial volume may be possible.

When visibility is a whiteout in the alpine, stay below the tree line for a better view

Winds will back off a bit on Friday but will still be in the moderate to strong range while temperatures become a bit milder, making the new snow heavier and denser. Visibility is likely to remain poor in the alpine, so stay below the treeline if you like being able to see. Be aware that the snowpack in the sub alpine is still relatively shallow with hazards like fallen trees still lurking and creeks flowing strongly.

A brief respite with light to moderate winds and sunny periods is expected on Saturday, so make the most of this before the wind and precipitation returns on Sunday. Pay very close attention to the weather forecast if planning any snowcamping.

You can keep up to date with free Backcountry Conditions Reports every day by visiting Mountain Safety Collective. We’ll also have MSC representatives at most of the east coast venues for the Arc’teryx Winter Film Tour if you want to watch some fantastic mountain movies.

Don’t forget that MSC’s Membership Drive is running with June’s winners just announced and over $6500 of prizes up for grabs in July!