Thredbo Offers Guided Backcountry Tours This Winter
Adam Kroenert slicing some beautiful snow on Mount Etheridge
Mountainwatch | Reggae Elliss
Thredbo has announced it will be offering guided backcountry tours this winter, ranging from short three and half hour tours to Signature Hill, just outside the resort boundary, to all-day seven-hour tours to Leatherbarrel Creek, Mount Etheridge, Mount Kosciuszko and Twin Valleys.
The enthusiasm for backcountry skiing has grown in recent year and backcountry equipment is one of the fastest growing segments of the snow industry. The Main Range in Kosciusko’s National park offers some of the best and varied backcountry terrain Australia and is easily accessed from Thredbo’s top lifts.
There will be six tours available, catering for intermediate to expert skiers and boarders and backcountry experience is not necessary. Participants will learn backcountry skills from the guides who are all very experienced with training in first aid, avalanche certification and will be carrying the appropriate emergency equipment.
Gearing up for a day out the back of Thredbo
The guiding team is impressive, and all have extensive experience and local knowledge:
Lead Guide – Jake Iskov – highly experienced former SAS soldier with extensive experience leading and training Army groups in the Australian Alps.
Guide – Jennie Milton – Backcountry ski and snow kiting enthusiast. She grew up skiing Thredbo, has guided in Alaska and has over 20 years’ experience touring in the Australian Alps and knows every little nook and cranny of the Main Range.
Guide – Doug Chatten – Doug is a Jindabyne local who has been skiing in the Main Range for over three decades and knows the Kosciuszko backcountry better than most. He is also a former Perisher pro patroller who has stopped patrolling to focus on leading groups onto the Main Range.
It is another world out there.
Guests will be provided with a North Face Backcountry backpack that contains a beacon, probe and shovel. If you don’t have your own gear, touring skis, split boards and snow shoes are available for rental.
While it is easy to head into the backcountry from Thredbo’s top t-bars, it is also easy for the inexperienced to get lost or to do it in the wrong conditions. These tours offer the opportunity to explore the backcountry safely and to learn something in the process.
Big mountain snowboard legend Jeremy Jones heading into the Thredbo backcountry last August
For more info, go to:
https://www.thredbo.com.au/activities/backcountry-adventures/backcountry-tours/
