Mountain Safety Collective Backcountry Conditions Report – Friday 4 August

August 4th, 2023
Cameron Wood and Theo Lansbury out for a sunset tour earlier this week.

Mountainwatch |Mountain Safety Collective

It’s been another week of clear skies in the mountains with a brief respite from the persistent strong westerly winds on Tuesday evening as we approached the full moon.

Ambient temperatures have hovered around 5 degrees or higher most days, softening snow on sunny slopes and providing some nice spring-like turns for those venturing out. The wind has kept exposed slopes colder and surface conditions firm through the day, so carrying pointy tools like ski and boot crampons has been essential.

While it’s now early August and we haven’t had any significant new snow for a month, if you do head out with a spring skiing mindset you can still have enjoyable days in the backcountry. Approaches at lower elevations, windward slopes and exposed ridgetops have thinner cover but the snowpack is still deeper in the alpine and there’s plenty of terrain to explore.

Woody and Theo taking in the tors.

The “Friday Front”, which seems to have been a pattern in recent weeks, is approaching again today and the BOM has issued a Severe Weather Warning due to Damaging Winds and gusts of up to 130 km/hr in the alpine. If you are going out today, watch for trees overhead and debris on the surface as the weather and visibility deteriorate through Friday afternoon with the incoming front. In the alpine, the surface conditions have improved with the recent warm temperatures, but localised ice still exists and exercise caution on steep shady aspects.

Precipitation is associated with this system and we should see 20-30mm of rain overnight into Saturday morning, reducing the snowpack at lower elevations. This front should ease quickly through Saturday, with winds abating and skies clearing into Sunday.

As always, pay close attention to any weather warnings and always fill out your trip intention forms for NSWor VIC. If you’re keen for some transceiver training, Mountain Safety Collective have set up Avalanche Training Centresat Hotham and a new one at Thredbo.

For more information on staying safe in the backcountry, visit Mountain Safety Collective.