The Australian Backcountry Festival is Back! – Mt Hotham, August 29th-31st

July 18th, 2025
Drew Jolowizc,  dropping into a nice line in Hotham’s sidecountry. Photo: Dylan Robinson

Mountainwatch | Press release

The 8th Australian Backcountry Festival (formerly known as the Victorian Backcountry Festival) is back for another year at Mount Hotham, on August 29th to 31st!

General Admission, Tour tickets and Workshop Registrations go on sale  this Sunday, July 20th at 10am. Save the date and set your alarms – you won’t want to miss out!

Purchase your tickets here.

Psst – Uni students are eligible for a 25% discount on tickets (both general admission and tour tickets) to this year’s event! Simply register for general admission using your Student email to unlock the discount for tours. Limited to once per person.

Photo: Dylan Robinson

What can you expect at this year’s festival?

The 2025 Australian Backcountry festival is jam-packed with an incredible line up of speakers, workshops, tours, films, competitions and prizes in store.

Workshops include:

* Familiarisation with Avalanche Equipment

* Mountaineering basics

* Backcountry Navigation skills

* Tele, split and ski touring fundamentals

* Snow shelter building

* The art of the perfect backcountry coffee

* Leave No Trace Principles

* Meal prepping for the backcountry

* DIY your own skins bag (or other backcountry item!)

* Improvising rescue sleds

* The essentials for day-touring

* Nature conservation walks through the snowgums

Our tours this year cater to skiers and split-boarders of all levels. Plus, we’ve got a huge lineup of Films, Speakers, Competitions, Giveaways and plenty of opportunities to socialise with fellow backcountry enthusiasts and find your next backcountry touring partners!

Keep an eye on our social channels for more information about who you can meet and what you can learn at this year’s Australian Backcountry Festival.

We can’t wait to see you there!