Mountain Safety Collective Backcountry Conditions Report – Friday 9 August 2024

August 9th, 2024
Jake Iskov gazing out across a sea of fog above the Western Faces from the summit of Mt Twynam earlier this week

Mountainwatch | Mountain Safety Collective

With no substantial snowfall for the past twelve days, it’s been a case of hunting out rideable lines in the backcountry in amongst highly variable surface conditions. From afar, the snowpack still looks incredible, with deep snow cover across the alpine that should see backcountry touring possible well into October.

Get up close, and it’s a big mix of surface crust intermixed with pockets of windblown snow, patches of rime, ice and rippled sastrugi. Combine this with generally stable and clear weather and it’s still been a nice week to get out and explore, with enough slivers of smoother surface conditions to ride enjoyable lines in the sunshine.

In NSW, backcountry access from the main trailheads at Dead Horse Gap and Guthega is still good, with enough cover to skin out to the higher peaks from lower elevations. A dusting of snow last Monday morning has been wind loaded onto easterly slopes, with pockets of dry skiable snow at higher elevations and the potential for triggering smaller Size 1 avalanches in isolated pockets this weekend.

Mt Kosciuszko at sunset on Wednesday afternoon. Photo: Perisher snow cams

The wind and sun have created a thin breakable crust in many places, making for cautious skiing on the descent and it’s important to carry ski or boot crampons if skinning up steeper exposed slopes. Be very cautious of riding steeper icy slopes on the descent, with an elevated risk of sliding very present. Snow at lower elevations, particularly on sun facing slopes, is softening quickly in the milder day time temperatures.

Victoria saw a bit more snow than NSW last Monday providing about 5cm of “dust on crust” to ski earlier in the week. As this has settled, highly variable surface conditions have persisted there too, so carry crampons on the ascent and take care to pick lines with reduced slide risk on the descent, with ice axes or whippets advised if accessing steeper slopes.

The weather is forecast to clear through Friday into a mostly clear weekend accompanied by light winds and mild day time temperatures. While it’s not the time to be hitting the bigger backcountry lines, it’s a perfect weekend for getting out for a snow camping tour and exploring lower angled terrain and slopes that are softening in the sun. Very mild spring-like temperatures are forecast through next week that will likely result in some fun corn snow to ski on sun facing slopes.

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