Mountain Safety Collective Backcountry Conditions Report – Friday August 15th 2025

August 15th, 2025
Taking in the view from North Ramshead earlier this week

Mountainwatch | Mountain Safety Collective

The past week saw the tail end of a long run of high pressure over the mountains creating a spring-like melt freeze cycle of cold clear nights and mild days with snow softening on sun facing slopes. The name of the game during these periods is to be aiming for the terrain you want to ski by late morning in time for the morning crust to release into soft corn snow.

With morning ice comes an elevated sliding hazard, so carrying ski and splitboard crampons is often essential for early ascents whilst utilising self arrest tools like whippets or ice axes and maintaining caution on steep slopes should you slip and fall.

A weak trough crossed the mountains on Wednesday that delivered a few millimetres of precipitation, falling as snow in the high alpine. We then saw low cloud lock in against the NSW Main Range on Thursday creating white out conditions despite most weather forecasts expecting a blue bird day.

Cloud moving in over Signature Hill above Thredbo this morning.

As we move into Friday, a cold front will bring increasing winds through Victoria early in the morning, with NSW being impacted from around lunchtime onwards. This system will bring snowfalls from late Friday night and throughout Saturday with most forecasts indicating flurries continuing until Monday resulting in 15-20cm of cumulative new snow. Winds are forecast to abate through Sunday while freezing levels could fall as low as 800m. This should provide a welcome top up, but venture out cautiously until there’s clarity on how well this new snow has bonded to the firm crust.

The sun should return by Tuesday with a run of clear days expected through the middle of next week providing potentially great conditions for longer backcountry missions after some fresh snow.

You can keep up to date with free Backcountry Conditions Reports every day by visiting Mountain Safety Collective and MSC’s Membership Drive will be releasing a load of new prizes up for grabs in August! If you’re in Mount Hotham on Friday 15 August, check out the Film Night.