Table of contents for Issue 192, Winter 2024 in Wild

High on the heady exposure of Malte Brun’s East Face—and perched on an eagle’s eyrie, my ski tips hanging over thousands of feet of cold air—I snapped this over-the-shoulder shot of the ever-graceful Jim Ryan as he laced turns down a hanging panel above the first crux on our descent, a short rock choke. Having only picked up a camera in the six months prior to this descent (as one aspect of a desire to expand my methods of self expression and creativity), I find it rather amusing to have already landed a cover shot—and surprisingly, it’s Jim’s first as well—especially considering my precarious position and a lack of any photographic technique or style; absolutely zero thought went into shooting it. It was the very definition of being in the…

School holidays approach, and they’re packed full of type-two family fun: Experiences that range from uncomfortable to miserable while you’re doing them, but leave you with good memories (and lessons) for life. It starts tomorrow when I drop my 14-year-old off for a ten-day program at Mittagundi. This Victorian outdoor-education centre has been operating for more than forty years, plonking groups of young people in the mountains; giving them time, challenges and purposeful work; then seeing what happens. There will be multiday walks, rafting, abseiling, farm jobs—ten days without devices or the world beyond. I am unreasonably excited for her. Two days later, a friend and I are heading up to NSW’s Blue Mountains, taking our 12-year-olds for their first overnight, pack-carrying bushwalk. We’ll camp by a river, take cards…

(RRP $64.99) *LIMITED TO FIRST 200 SUBSCRIBERS ONLY WILD IS NO ORDINARY MAGAZINE. Since its establishment in 1981, Wild has been the inspiring voice of the Australian outdoors. It is a magazine of self-reliance and challenge and sometimes doing it tough. While it is not necessarily hard-core, what it certainly is not is soft-core. It is not glamping. It is not about being pampered while experiencing the outdoors. Wild does not speak down to experienced adventurers. And Wild does not look on conservation as a mere marketing tool. For over four decades, Wild has actively and fiercely fought for the environment. Campaigning to protect our wild places is part of our DNA. Show that you care about stories that matter by subscribing to Wild. Discover unparalleled comfort on your next adventure…

With the rising costs of lift passes and the call of the wild beckoning, people are looking outside resort boundaries for a taste of winter adventure, and the numbers of ski tourers, splitboarders, and snowshoers are growing steadily. But getting all these new participants out there safely becomes a mammoth task. Enter the volunteers. Over recent years, Wild Mag has done stories on two volunteer organisations that have made a tangible difference in terms of safety in the Australian backcountry: the Victorian Backcountry Festival (VBCF)—run entirely by volunteers—and Mountain Safety Collective (MSC)—primarily run by volunteers. The Victorian Backcountry Festival—a three-day event offering participants not only the chance to meet other backcountry enthusiasts, but also to learn skills and to ski terrain outside the resort boundary—has been hosted at Mt Hotham…

An image a friend shared of a foggy mountain landscape with an imposing ridgeline poking out of the fog wasn’t all that alluring, but the location’s name was another matter: “Valhalla Ranges”. Any place named after the mystic hall where Nordic warriors feast in the afterlife must be nothing short of spectacular, right? So when it comes time to plan a trip to Canada to explore British Columbia, the Valhalla Ranges’ name resurfaces, as if out of another fog, this time the metaphorical fog that’s everyday life. When I say, however, plan a trip to Canada, this should be qualified. As always for us, holiday preparation turns out to be limited to booking flights and making a hire-car reservation, and little more. Tent, shoes and a summer sleeping bag into…

ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S LAST BASTIONS OF TRUE WILDNESS, the Kimberley’s red-rock playground is distinct in every way: raw, rugged and undeniably remote. A harsh and frequently testing environment, the Kimberley attracts around two million visitors every dry season, but few find their way onto its toughest trails to discover the five fingers of Piccaninny Gorge or to stand atop Wunggurr’s sacred falls. It’s not all sweat and spinifex though. Some of the Kimberley’s best wanders are short ones, leading you through chasms full of rock art and plunging you into palm-fringed rock pools and on daring wet walks too. In fact, the biggest challenge the Kimberley throws up is actually getting there. Arrive after April, when park borders reopen, with a loose itinerary. Most trails (even the short ones) are…

I GENERALLY RUN COLD and have struggled to find a good sleep system that provides the trifecta of warmth, comfort and portability. The Sea to Summit Sleep System—a modular system that includes the Spark Down Sleeping Bag (-1ºC), the Aeros Ultralight Pillow, the Ether Light XT Insulated Sleeping Mat, the Silk Blend Liner, and the Reactor Extreme Liner—proved itself under the starlit chill of Arapiles in autumn. Let’s start with the Ether Light XT. At 10cm thick, it’s a plush sleeping mat, and good for both back and side sleeping, but despite its high volume, inflation was a breeze. The mat not only comes with an Airstream Pump—it took about 3.5 sacks of air to fill the mat—its multi-function valve has a one-way option so that air doesn’t escape during…

I WAS LAUGHING THE OTHER DAY with Sam Smoothy (who’s written this issue’s cover story about skiing NZ’s 3,000m peaks) about how there’s no ski mountaineering in Australia. And yes, while he’s right, that doesn’t mean there’s no place in Oz for ski-mountaineering-oriented ice axes or lightweight crampons. It takes just one sketchy boot-pack up hard, high-angled snow—and there’s plenty of this in Oz if you head into the right terrain—for you to be crying out for both. The thing is, or at least was, I’d largely stopped taking out crampons with me because my old steel ice-climbing ones were just too heavy. But Black Diamond’s updated Neve Pro crampons are—despite being heavier than their claimed weight of 394g; mine weigh in at 466g—just so light that I brought a…

PAST OUTDOORS: A PASSION FOR THE OUTDOORS, CONSERVATION AND CREATIVITY PAST Outdoors offers a carefully selected range of hiking, camping and expedition equipment tailored to meet the needs of your next adventure. They also manufacture a range of ultralight shelters that can be heated with a titanium wood stove. They also have exclusive distribution of the innovative Hardside Hydration Swig Rig (pictured), which turns any Nalgene or PET bottle into a hydration system. Get personal, expert advice from Dave and the team by visiting the retail store south of the Royal National Park in Helensburgh NSW, or shop online at PASTOUTDOORS.COM WILD & CO GEOQUEST ADVENTURE RACE Mountain Designs GeoQuest 48hr Adventure Race is the ultimate test of your physical and mental limits. There is no question, the race is…

“A self-portrait of me riding in the backcountry in the very deep snow of Madarao Kogen in northern Nagano, Japan. It was one of those kind of regular epic days, where a metre of snow fell overnight halfway through a 3+ metre storm. Days and days of fresh lines were to be had by those who wanted a bit of adventure, and wanted to quench their thirst for pow.”DAN SOLO Castlemaine, VIC Dan wins an awesome Osprey MUTANT 22 climbing pack. It features integrated rope carry, a wide-mouth zippered opening, customisable options for carrying crampons/other items on the front of the pack, a secure and easy-to-use ice tool carry system, and the webbing hip belt won’t get in the way whether worn, buckled behind you, or removed. osprey.com SEND US…

[Letter of the Issue] BROTHERLY LOVE (Re: Georgia Doherty’s article in Wild #191 ‘Are Boardwalks Disconnecting Us from Wild Places?) Dear Editor, While I agree that the little nip and tucks on our national parks may result in death by a thousand cuts, largely infrastructure in our national parks is a direct result of conservation efforts. Royal National Park is going to have a lot more infrastructure than the Budawangs, because more people use it. Boardwalks and infrastructure do keep our national parks wild. It’s just that people want to visit our most beautiful spaces, and it comes with an impact. Environmental checklists are written in line with legislation to address any potential risks to our parks including threatened species, European and Aboriginal heritage, migratory routes, visitation, construction methods and…

Here down under, the volatile days of summer are a receding memory, and the gentle mildness of autumn is settling in. The first frosts are crisping the high country, gardens are splashed with the warm tints of turning leaves, and fireplace smoke hangs in the valleys. Meanwhile, over in the Nepal Himalaya, the spring climbing season is well underway. Multiple guided expeditions have crowded into the 8,000m peak base camps. For lucrative wages (relatively speaking), hard-working teams of locals are risking their lives to fix lines and camps while their clients have begun jostling on their upward plod to add famous summits to their tick lists. While numbers this year are down, perhaps due to inflationary pressures, there’s little doubt that the attraction of bagging 8,000-ers will continue to see…

An approach to assessing individuals facing mental-health challenges in the outdoors, the ACCE model involves four key elements: Assess Communicate Calm  Evaluate to Evacuate Here are some questions to ask as part of the assess step: - What happened? - How does the patient appear to be feeling?  - How do you rate the patient’s distress level? - How far are you from help? - What resources do you have? - What are the conditions like?  - What is the level of exposure and relationship other group members have to the patient or incident?  - What requirements do the group have? - Do the total group requirements outweigh your resources?…

One of the best things about getting outdoors in winter is getting great imagery or footage to capture the beauty. Wild Earth Ambassador Jamie Parker gives some tips on how to deal with the wet and cold. Early in 2022, as Australia basked in summer warmth, winter—as ever—was unleashing itself for another year in British Columbia. Many found themselves retreating indoors, seeking a comfortable refuge from the biting cold. For me, however, it was a little different. I was at the beginning of what has been my biggest adventure yet. Pursuing a career as a visual creative, I’d just moved to Canada … from Queensland. Working in a cold, wet climate like this—a snow- and mountain-chaser’s paradise—presented vastly different challenges compared to where I’d come from, and I’ve had to…

I’ve read too many of Dan Slater’s columns. I’ve become I a UL convert. Well, almost; there are some things I refuse to compromise on. Like a decent shell jacket, one that’ll reliably shelter me regardless of the conditions. Normally, this means carrying a heavier, bulkier product. But now I don’t need to, thanks to the Outdoor Research (OR) Helium AscentShell, which at 326g (men’s medium) offers a tantalisingly lightweight build without sacrificing quality. Over the last five months, the Helium AscentShell has become a mainstay in my bushwalking kit. Between walking in the notoriously cold and rainy mountains of Tasmania, Kosciuszko and the Victorian Alps, it’s copped a battering. It’s held its own, however, thanks to three main technologies. The first is OR’s proprietary AscentShell fabric and the second…

At some point or other, I’m sure all of us have had an issue with a piece of outdoor gear and had to take it back to the store. To set up a hypothetical situation, a keen bush-walker, let’s call him Rodney, purchases a pair of hiking boots from his local outdoor store. (Not online though, because he needed expert advice before trying on a range of boots to find the correct model and fit). A month later, he returns with the boots and asks a staff member, let’s call her Leticia, to replace them under warranty. For the purposes of this exercise, the actual issue doesn’t matter. Rodney isn’t happy with his boots. It’s at this point the timeline can split into multiple alternate realities. Let’s assume that Rodney…

Whether you’re a recreational adventurer, a professional guide, or an athlete, there are some common tips that can help if you or a team member experiences a mental-health issue on an adventure. 1. KNOW YOUR OWN UGLY: If you have a condition such as anxiety or panic, think about worst-case scenarios and articulate to your teammates what you’d need if the situation arose 2. COMMUNICATE OPENLY: In the same way that you’d discuss managing a physical injury or limitation, incorporate mental-health planning into risk management and strategies 3. THINK HOLISTICALLY: If mental-health issues emerge due to trauma on a trip, always assess everyone who could be impacted—it’s not always the person at the centre who’s most at risk 4. FAMILIARISE YOURSELF with basic calming techniques: breathing, grounding and distraction all…

“Lighter. Stronger. Better. It’s hard to argue the Overland 60 hasn’t achieved that and then some.” OVERIN THE US, largely influenced by its substantial thru-hiking community, the trend to ultralight gear has been going strong for some years now. Australia has been slow to follow suit, in part due to gear conservatism here, and in part due to our spiky, hard vegetation that can rip insubstantial gear to shreds. Tassie, especially, can be brutal, but it’s not alone; there are shrubberies at walking height all over Oz that just love to tear and puncture and generally just give gear a very hard time. But up in NSW’s Blue Mountains, Summit Gear—which has been constructing packs locally since 1981, yes, the very year Wild first launched—has quietly been going about making…

“When you’re backcountry ski or snowboard touring … staying organised really counts.” ALL TOO OFTEN WHEN I head into the backcountry, I tend to be struggling to cram everything in. Partly, well, mainly in fact, it’s because I often lug out a DSLR camera body, two or three lenses (one of which alone weighs about 1.5kg), batteries etc. And partly, it’s because I usually carry a few redundancies safety-wise. Even for short tours, this means not only the standard avvy gear, skins and so on, but also a down jacket plus a survival bag, headlamp, etc. Basically, I want to know that if I have to spend an enforced night out that I’ll make it through it, even if uncomfortably. Enter Osprey’s Soelden 42. It’s the largest in the Soelden/Sopris…

We get it; we know ads aren’t the primary reason you read Wild. But without our supporters, Wild simply wouldn’t exist*. If you love what we’re on about here at Wild, if you’re passionate about both adventure and protecting our natural heritage, if having a magazine that’s full of well-written, crafted stories means something to you, a magazine that fights hard for our environment, then support our supporters; without them, Wild wouldn’t exist. We know that our advertising supporters aren’t, of course, your only options when it comes to choosing what gear you purchase. But if you’re in a situation where you have a few cool options to choose from, and one of them happens to be from one of our advertisers, then show them their support means something by choosing…