Mountain Safety Collective Backcountry Conditions Report, Friday August 2nd

August 2nd, 2024
Mt Kosciuszko and the Main Range looking good this morning. Photo: Perisher Snow Cams

Mountainwatch | Mountain Safety Collective

We’ve had an amazing run of backcountry conditions over the past week after another good dump of snow last Sunday backed by cold clear days. This is tempered by the fact that the new snow was accompanied by strong southerly winds early in the week, so snow surface conditions have been highly variable depending on location, aspect and elevation.

In the NSW Main Range, the softest snow through the week has been below the treeline on sheltered aspects, with exceptional powder reported in areas like Bogong Creek. In the alpine above 1900m, the snow surface has been a mix of smooth wind-packed strips interspersed with exposed rime crust and sastrugi.

As temperatures warmed up on Thursday, lower sun facing slopes softened and will have refrozen overnight in the very cold temperatures, so expect to find a melt freeze crust that may require crampons on the ascent and present a slide risk on steeper sun facing slopes on the descent. Temperatures are forecast to rise above zero on Friday, so these sun facing slopes should soften through the day.

The snow depth in the Main Range is now well over 3m deep on wind-loaded aspects in the alpine, with thinner but navigable cover from lower elevation trailheads.

Victoria’s lower elevation has seen a more widespread ice creating a firmer crust on southerly aspects, resulting in a considerable sliding hazard. Caution is advised as this will likely not soften in the alpine. On northerly aspects, there is a breakable crust that should soften with strong UV input, leading to great corn riding conditions. Watch out for sastrugi and variable snow conditions. For safe travel, boot/ski crampons and an ice axe/whippet are required.

In all regions, the lower snowpack has been very stable with no reports of avalanche activity.

As we move into the weekend, the pattern of cold clear nights followed by milder sunny days is forecast to continue, with high cloud expected to move in through Saturday and Sunday. This weather is a great opportunity to get out on longer tours and snow camping missions.