[updated 16 June]
Thanks for your interest in the Beginners ski tour day trip, originally scheduled for Sunday 29 June. Now that we're getting close to that date here is an update.
Going by the long range forecast at https://www.snowatch.com.au/long-range-forecast/ there is nothing on the horizon for the next little while, so it would be best to assume that this trip will need to be postponed by at least a week. I have therefore changed the notional date on the trip calendar to Sunday 6 July.
For those who have signed up, I will be in touch when the snow conditions improve to the extent that I can confirm a new date. At that point I will ask you to re-confirm your availability and interest.
Can I also mention our ski gear situation. There are 18 people who have signed up to this trip. The club has 9 sets of alpine touring skis, but only 4 sets of skins. We are looking to buy more skins, but for the time being that means that only 4 people can go on a club trip using AT skis at any given time. There is obviously a lot more interest than that, so you might need to be patient!
There are some alternatives to AT gear that would guarantee you could participate:
• Use the club's telemark skiing gear. If you have telemarked before you will know what this involves, and I'd invite you to think about doing so again.
• Hiring AT gear elsewhere. Options include Straight Line or Mont in Fyshwick, Rhythm in Cooma or Wilderness Sports in Jindabyne. Renting commercially would be a fair bit more expensive than club gear (which is extremely cheap to hire). I encourage you to look at the gear hire rates for different outlets and make your own decision.
• If you are a snowboarder, you might decide to use some of the club's many snowshoes to travel uphill while strapping your snowboard to your backpack ready for the downhill portions. In the next little while the club is looking to acquire a small number of splitboards, which would give you another option.
Finally, can I encourage you if you are not already on the ANUMC Skiers 2025 Whatsapp group to please join at this link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/EpBnBQv6QQH2JAwIRbbYiD
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[Original trip post]
This is a chance for folks who've not been skiing in the backcountry to get out there on touring skis. Or a splitboard, if you have made poor life choices.
The club has a limited but decent number of touring skis/boots/poles you can hire. If we exhause supplies (depending on demand) then there is also the possibility of hiring your gear from Rythym in Cooma, which happily does discounts for club members. Hiring on the day is not ideal though because it requires a start time even earlier than the perhaps unpleasantly early time of 5am.
The timing of this trip is dependent on snowpack conditions and the weather forecast, so be prepared for things to change in the week prior.
The plan for where we will ski can't be confirmed until a few days prior. If the snowline is low enough we will aim to start at Guthega or at Dead Horse Gap, but if things are more sketchy we will get the Kosziusko chairlift up from Thredbo and start our tour from there.
If we get really lucky and there's a good start to the season, I will bring the date forward to earlier in June. That is unlikely but it's good to be optimistic.
Total numbers will depend on the number of experienced skiers who end up joining. We may have multiple small groups, depending on interest.
If you are interested in skiing this season but you are not on the ANUMC Skiers 2025 Whatsapp group, please send me a text message with your phone number and I will add you to that group. This will mean you're more likely to hear about ki trips that get organised at late notice this season.