We were in a two week dry spell when I left New Zealand for Australia. Strange enough they were having a solid season with a deep snowpack and awesome corn snow. Adam West was kind enough to invite me to put on a snowboard clinic as well as put on a slide show for the OZ Splitfest. This would be my third time to Australia and I was excited to see some good friends and hopefully ride some steeper lines this time around.
I landed in Sydney and Leigh was kind enough to pick me up from the Airport. Within 30 minutes of landing we were off to Jindyebyne, the Wanaka of Australia.
On my first day of touring in Australia I was fortunate enough to join forces with John Blankenstein. Our plans were to ride some steeps lines in the area.
People have the perception that it’s nothing but rolly hills in OZ. While this is mostly true if you know where to go there are some proper steep lines.
We made sure to work with the sun to give us the softest snow possible and it worked. While it does snow in Australia your best bet is going for corn snow.
After riding to the valley floor we transitioned to bootpacking and rode a another sweet looking gully.
After taking two laps in the zone it was time to head back. We climbed back up to the ridge before descending to the opposite valley.
Once there we skinned 8 kms back to the Gathega ski resort parking lot.
Day 2 ski touring in Australia
The next day I hung out with Graham and Adam Flemming while we had a fun day checking out local terrain. It is always surreal skinning through the gum trees.
We enjoyed a scenic day in the warm sun taking laps in the open slopes and taking in the views.
There was a few people out there and it was great chatting with like minded individuals. Occasionally we would run into telemarkers skier who decided they didn’t need skins.
As we made it back down into the valley I enjoyed taking photos of the unique landscape.
You could tell that the snow was starting to shed as we skinned back to the parking lot. The dam had released water and the snow was falling into the stream in blocks.
Day 3 Doing a little bit of guiding
I don’t like to say that I was guiding as I was teaching a small group how to efficiently skin. Lots of people are all about steep skin tracks but I believe in using the terrain and having low angle skin tracks. Yes you can go steep but it is not my thing and that is what the trip focused on.
I am super thankful to Adam at Firstlight, Lee for giving me a ride, Adam Flemming and Jamie for the awesome tailgate party and John Blankenstein for showing me his backyard.
Thank you for reading and If you enjoyed reading this and want to see more ski tours abroad check out this link