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Avalanches kill people in the Australian backcountry. Not frequently — but they happen, and they happen to people who thought they were making safe decisions. Understanding why, and how to make genuinely safer decisions, starts here.
How Avalanches Form
An avalanche is a mass of snow moving rapidly down a slope. It happens when the stress on a layer of snow exceeds its strength — either because new load is added (fresh snowfall, wind deposition, a rider's weight) or because an existing weak layer loses strength over time.
The snowpack develops in layers over the season, each corresponding to a snowfall event or weather period. The relationship between these layers — how well they bond, how much stress exists between them — determines avalanche risk. A weak layer buried under a stronger slab is the classic recipe.
The three variables that determine avalanche risk on any given slope: terrain (angle, aspect, shape), snowpack (layering, bonding, weak layers) and weather (recent snowfall, wind, temperature changes). Reading all three simultaneously is what avalanche training teaches you to do.
The Australian Snowpack — What Makes It Different
The Australian alpine snowpack is shallow compared to the continental snowpacks of the Alps, the Rockies or Japan. A depth of one to two metres is typical in Victorian high country during an average season. A shallow snowpack creates specific problems — ground features interact with the snowpack in ways that don't occur in deeper environments, creating stress points harder to identify without experience.
The Australian snowpack also sees significant temperature variability. Warm spells — common in both Victoria and NSW — produce surface melt that refreezes as ice crust when temperatures drop. This crust can become a weak layer if subsequent snowfall buries it before it bonds. Crust-based weak layers have caused a number of significant avalanche events in the Australian alpine area.
Reading Terrain — The First Line of Defence
Terrain management is the most effective avalanche risk reduction tool available. Avalanches most commonly release on slopes between 30 and 45 degrees. Slopes below 25 degrees rarely produce avalanches.
The Australian backcountry has avalanche terrain — slopes in the 30 to 45 degree range exist at Falls Creek, Hotham, Feathertop and throughout the Main Range. It also has a large amount of sub-avalanche terrain — gentle alpine meadows, moderate slopes, the wide open Bogong High Plains — accessible and rewarding without requiring you to cross steep terrain.
For beginner and intermediate Australian backcountry riders: stay in terrain below 25 to 30 degrees. Build training and experience before assessing steeper terrain. Start conservative.
Red Flags — When to Turn Around
Recent avalanche activity: if you can see or hear avalanches running, the snowpack is unstable. The clearest red flag.
Cracking or whoumpfing: cracking that propagates across the snowpack, or a whoumpf sound underfoot — both mean the snowpack is failing at a weak layer. Elevated instability.
Recent significant snowfall: 30cm of new snow in 24 hours significantly increases risk on wind-loaded aspects.
Wind loading: wind deposits dense snow on lee aspects that can fail more suddenly. Check wind direction before choosing terrain.
Rapid warming: rapid temperature increases or warm rain on snow significantly weaken the snowpack and increase wet avalanche risk.
Companion Rescue — The Skills That Determine Survival
Survival rate drops rapidly after 15 minutes of burial. After 30 minutes, survival rates are below 50 percent.
Beacon search: every unburied group member switches to search mode immediately. Move to the last seen point and begin systematic search. Modern three-antenna digital beacons guide you to within one to two metres of the burial.
Probe: confirm the exact burial location. Insert at a slight angle downslope of the beacon signal. When you strike the body, mark the probe and leave it in place.
Shovel: use the V-conveyor method from the downslope side. Two or more rescuers working together extracts a buried person two to three times faster than random digging.
AST 1 includes practical field practice of all three stages. Take the course. Practice with your group before going into the field.
The Australian Avalanche Forecast
The Snowy Mountains Backcountry Network publishes an avalanche forecast for the Kosciuszko region during the Australian season. Victorian alpine terrain does not have a formalised forecast service — Victorian riders must rely on their own snowpack assessment, terrain reading and weather observation. This is why AST training is relatively more important for Victorian riders than for those in regions with comprehensive daily forecasting.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Avalanches occur in the Australian alpine backcountry — in Victoria around Falls Creek, Hotham and Mt Feathertop, and in NSW throughout the Kosciuszko region and the Main Range. They are not as frequent as in major international alpine destinations but they do happen and they have killed riders. Understanding avalanche terrain and snowpack assessment is essential for any backcountry travel in Australia.
Avalanches most commonly release on slopes between 30 and 45 degrees. Slopes below 25 degrees rarely produce avalanches. Slopes above 60 degrees tend to lose snow frequently in small amounts and rarely accumulate enough for a significant slide. For beginner and intermediate Australian backcountry riders, staying in terrain below 25 to 30 degrees is both safer and more achievable while you develop the training to assess steeper terrain accurately.
Recent avalanche activity visible or audible is the clearest red flag. Cracking that propagates across the snowpack as you walk signals an unstable weak layer. A whoumpf sound — sudden subsidence underfoot — means the same thing. 30cm of new snow in 24 hours significantly increases risk. Wind loading on lee aspects. Rapid warming or rain on snow events. Any of these conditions is reason to reassess your terrain plans and stay conservative.
Immediately: every unburied group member switches their beacon to search mode. Move to the last seen point and begin systematic beacon search. Your beacon guides you to within one to two metres of the burial. Next: probe to confirm the exact burial location — strike the body and leave the probe in place. Finally: shovel using the V-conveyor method from the downslope side — two or more rescuers working together extracts a buried person two to three times faster than random digging. AST 1 includes practical field practice of all three stages.
The Snowy Mountains Backcountry Network publishes an avalanche forecast for the Kosciuszko region during the Australian season. Victorian alpine terrain does not have a formalised avalanche forecast service — riders in Victorian backcountry must rely on their own snowpack assessment, weather observation and terrain reading, which is why AST training is particularly important for Victorian riders.
The Australian alpine snowpack is shallow — typically one to two metres in Victoria during an average season. A shallow snowpack interacts more with ground features like rocks and logs, creating stress points harder to identify without experience. Australian snowpack also sees significant temperature variability — warm spells create surface melt that refreezes as ice crust when temperatures drop. This crust can become a weak layer under subsequent snowfall and has caused significant avalanche events in the Australian alpine area.
