Adventure
Go on, Shoe! Explore the Snowys by Snowshoe
Whatever the season, Jindabyne is a great base for you to explore the Snowy Mountains. While most people visit in winter to ski or snowboard, snowshoeing is another great way to explore around and beyond the resort areas. In this article, we’ll give you some handy tips and resources to get you started on your first, or next, snowshoeing adventure.
Where to go
A great place to get started is the Rock Creek Snowshoe Trail at Perisher Valley. It’s a well signposted gentle 3km snowshoe walk that starts opposite the The Man from Snowy River Hotel. It’s a winter-only walk and only available when there is sufficient snow cover, due to the sensitive landscape underneath.
Rock Creek Snowshoe Trail Map. Image: NPWS
The National Parks and Wildlife Service has a handy guide you can view and download, which includes that map you see here.
Also, this great article from bushwalk.com provides a detailed description of the trail, along with a map and images to help you familiarise yourself before you set off.
Getting Started
In Bushwalking Australia Magazine, Bruce Easton published the guide Snowshoeing – Getting Started. It provides a thorough overview of the gear you’ll need and the places you’ll want to go, including a heap of places all accessible from Jindabyne: Perisher, Guthega, Thredbo, and Mount Selwyn, plus Cabramurra and Victoria.
He also published Ten Tips for Backcountry Snowshoeing and Winter. We recommend you check them out for all the details, but here is a snapshot of things you need to consider:
- Planning is everything
- Hone your skills
- The right gear
- Food and eating
- Wild camping or huts
- Tech gear
- Light is right
- Sound information
- Be inspired
- Remember to have fun
So what are you waiting for? Whether you want go for an extended backcountry hike, or just want to break up your snow season holiday with a day off the skis, take a look through this info head into Wilderness Sports in Jindabyne for a chat with one of their experienced staff.
Thanks to bushwalk.com and NPWS for this info. Go ahead and explore their sites for more useful info.
Discover beautiful scenery like this when you snowshoe in the backcountry. Kosciuszko National Park. Image: Lisa Hogben
The Snowy Ride: Registration Now Open
Registration for the 2017 Snowy Ride opened on Saturday 1 July. This year’s Snowy Ride is on Saturday 4 November 2017.
The Snowy Ride is a motorcycle event run annually in the Alpine Region of NSW since 2001 and has helped the Steven Walter Children’s Cancer Foundation (SWCCF) raise in excess of $6 million for research into a cure for childhood cancer.
It’s an opportunity for riders to enjoy a weekend away with friends and family and to ride some of Australia’s best and most picturesque roads. Snowy Ride checkpoints are located at Adaminaby, Dalgety, Berridale, Jindabyne, Cooma, Bombala, Charlotte Pass and riders are to be at the final checkpoint in Thredbo by 4pm on the Saturday.
All monies raised by SWCCF goes to childhood cancer research programs and support of children with cancer. The aim of the Snowy Ride was to involve the motorcycle riders of Australia into raising money for research into childhood cancer and its side effects and to give the local volunteer organisations of the Snowy mountains area the chance to raise money for their own communities.
There’s some awesome prizes up for grabs: the winner and runner up will each receive a Honda motorcycle, with a combined value of $25,000.
Register now for the Snowy Ride.
Plan the rest of your Spring visit to Jindabyne and check out other events in Jindabyne around the same time.
Local Charity Helps Men “Explore. Cast. Discover. Recover.”
~ by Matt Tripet of The Fly Program
‘He had been sitting there with his legs shaking in the cold water, eyes wide open looking blankly through tears into a blue sky but nothing registered internally. His senses were numb.
That moment on that mountain stream turned from minutes into hours as he continued to be attacked with feelings of insecurity, guilt and brokenness; feelings that were once sporadic after ‘those events’ but had now become a part of his everyday life.
Many of those close to him tried to reach out but were only hurt as he continued to shut them out of his life. He hated the idea that something was wrong and any reference to the word ‘depression’ just seemed a total cop-out to his character.’
We have grown up with the idea that Australian men are an open book, and are pretty easily understood. However, even our mainstream health services struggle to understand and know how to engage successfully with our male counterparts. The most telling evidence of this is reflected in male suicide rates, with males accounting for nearly 78% of all suicides in Australia. A very real and staggering statistic that has not declined in the last 20 years.
Like many others, I learnt first-hand the impact mental illness can have on an individual and our community. I was that guy in the opening paragraphs, someone who had recently wrestled with the ‘black dog’ and was now digesting the news that a brother was gone because of suicide.
The heart-break and the pain of losing a family member is always difficult to grasp but losing a family member in these circumstances is impossible to comprehend. The weeks and months would pass and we would slowly learn to deal with the raw nature of the pain but the questions would never end.
Although we couldn’t always find the answers there was an enormous motivation to change the outcome for others, hence The Fly Program was founded.
The Fly Program is a registered Health Awareness Charity endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office entitled to receive income tax deductible gifts and deductible contributions seeking to raise the awareness and combat the impacts of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide in the Australian adult male community.
Our programs are aimed at facilitating environments where Australian men can find a release and increase their quality of life, whether directly, or indirectly touched by the threads of mental illness, instituting a new outlet – participation in the natural world through recreational fishing and mountain biking as a reprieve from the day-to-day challenges too many face in our community.
We are very proud to be located in the Jindabyne region and share our magical backyard with Australian men.
The restorative benefits of walking one of our trout streams, or riding one of the many mountain bike trails has the means to provide respite and support for those impacted by mental illness.
Community donations and fundraising initiatives are essential to help us continue the work we have started, facilitating world-class programs that are saving and improving the lives of Australian men.
For more information on our work in the community, or to make a tax deductible donation please visit our website www.flyprogram.org.au
To sponsor a man into a program, or to host a fund raising event from your outlet please email info@flyprogram.org.au
Matt Tripet – CEO and Founder
The Fly Program
Froome to Ride in 2017 L’Étape Australia
Tour de France legend Chris Froome at Lake Jindabyne in 2016. PHOTO: Steve Cuff/Snowy Mountains Magazine
~ by Steve Cuff of Snowy Mountains Magazine.
To coincide with the opening of Early Bird Registrations for the 2017 L’Étape Australia, Tour de France reigning champion Chris Froome has announced he will be riding in L’Étape Australia by le Tour de France in the NSW Snowy Mountains on 2 December 2017.
For the second year running, the biggest name in world cycling will ride with thousands of amateur riders on 157km of fully closed roads in the Snowy Mountains. While fans can watch Chris Froome ride in professional races or on TV, this is the only opportunity to actually ride with him.
John Barilaro, Deputy Premier and Member for Monaro said, “The NSW Government is proud to once again support L’Etape Australia by le Tour de France which will provide a huge boost to the local visitor economy. I encourage cyclists across the country to register to be part of this exciting experience in the Snowy Mountains which provides the opportunity to ride with three time Tour de France champion Chris Froome, one of the giants of world cycling.”
L’Étape Australia by le Tour de France is a unique road cycle event that provides an experience as close to riding in the Tour de France as it is possible for an amateur to get.
Staged in the Australian NSW Snowy Mountains on 157km of fully closed roads and run under professional Tour de France Race conditions, the route includes a 350m Sprint section and two challenging King of the Mountain sections.
Of the 3,500 riders in the inaugural event in 2016, 96% said the event was good or very good and 95% said they would recommend the event to their family and friends.
The course is described by Tour de France Director General Christian Prudhomme as “providing a very similar experience for riders to a mountainous stage of the Tour de France; traversing through a multitude of stunning landscapes and topographies and truly challenging climbs”.
There are two distances, The Race of 157km and The Ride of 126km. The ride includes the Sprint section in Berridale and the infamous first King of the Mountain section Col de Beloka, but excludes the final push up Col Kosciuszko to Perisher.
The local communities have truly embraced the Tour de France coming to the Snowy Mountains. The entire route is decorated with cycling paraphernalia, some exquisite works of art. The towns and villages have adopted the colours of the Tour de France: yellow (Jindabyne), green (Berridale) and polka dot (Dalgety). Last year thousands of locals lined the route with their cow bells, flags and encouragement; the welcome from the local community was extraordinary and created a wonderful ambience throughout the day.
Individual riders vie for Tour de France jerseys, the genuine articles presented at the Champs-Elysées; Yellow for the overall male and female Race winner, Green for the fastest male and female in the Race in the Sprint section, Polka Dot for the fastest male and female in the Race on the combined King of the Mountain sections and white for the fastest male and female rider in the Race under 25 years of age.
Riders can enter as individuals, teams of nine or larger groups.
Early Bird Registrations opened 6pm, Wednesday 24 May, CLICK HERE.
Snowy Mountains is EPIC for biking!
~ by Vanessa Knee of Jindy Girl Riders.
It’s pretty typical to hear the locals of any town raving about how good their bike tracks are. No matter where you go you will always hear the positive banter about the local trails. Sometimes the riding is what it is talked up to be and sometimes the talk is a bit hyped up. Of course that all depends on your riding ability and your expectation of “awesome”. Whether you are an advanced rider, or seeking a ride for the whole family or perhaps a crew of gals looking for some flowy intermediate trails, your demographic impacts on your choice of destination and the maximum trail enjoyment for you and the group’s ability. What is good trail for some might not be all it’s cracked up to be for others. So it’s often hard to find the one place that will be suitable for the ripping riders who also want to ride with their family.
So when we as local Snowy Mountains residents rave about our trail network it is of course because it has something for everyone and I mean for all levels and all ages. So when you hear us raving, it really is true! As a long time local who has biked in the area for over 20 years, it is only in the last few years that the Snowy Mountains really has stepped up and onto the bike destination stage. With big money being injected into the area, creating new and sustainable trails across the Jindabyne to Thredbo corridor and beyond, coupled with more access for bikes further into the Kosciuszko National Park, this area is now arguably the best destination in Australia for mountain and road cycling.
This area caters for all level of rider and is enjoyed by tens of thousands of riders in summer not only because of the massive trail network but because of the raw spectacular beauty of the NSW High Country. More and more bike enthusiasts are flocking to the Snowy Mountains over summer to enjoy riding in this unique part of Australia and it is quickly becoming apparent that our so called ‘sleepy summer towns’ are fast becoming bike destinations.
As an advanced to strong intermediate rider you will want to head to the Gravity trails in Thredbo, taking the chairlift and descending down the mountain via Australia’s best Gravity network. Offering three super fun trails, the Cannonball Downhill, the Flow Track and the stunning All Mountain Trail, these will be some of the best fun you can have on two wheels. Perhaps not the best choice for a rider with limited skills, but this is where the area provides our signature dish, the 10 million dollar Thredbo Valley Track. Known as the TVT, rated to a strong beginner to intermediate level, it caters to riders with some basic mountain bike skills winding 17km down the Thredbo River to Lake Crackenback Resort. This track is simply stunning, flowy and enjoyable for all levels and as an advanced rider its reasonably effortless flow with a few punchy uphill bites through beautiful alpine fauna will put a massive smile on your face.
As a family with some riding ability this is the track for a half days adventure, crossing five spectacular bridges and through two stunning campgrounds, which make for a perfect lunch stop and a dip in the river. The TVT also rides really well up to Thredbo and back from Lake Crackenback for the fitter riders. With easy access from the highway, the campgrounds provide a good start and finish point to break the trail into smaller snippets for those wanting a shorter ride. As the track is dual directional and shared by walkers, be sure to ride with caution. Shuttles from Lake Crackenback to Thredbo are available daily in high season.
The lower TVT has been under construction during the last two summers and the first section opened this April. Start by crossing over the Ski Tube Bridge and continue down river approximately 7kms. This brings you along the most stunning parts of the Thredbo River and by far the most picturesque part of the track so far. At the moment this section is an out and back to the Ski Tube, but upon completion the track will continue another 10kms to Gaden Trout Hatchery. The completion date is yet to be confirmed. This section of track is not for the faint hearted and has been built purposefully harder than the upper TVT to a strong intermediate skill level. There will be no exit points on this portion of trail and is quite remote so a good level of fitness and skill is required.
The TVT will finish at the Trout Hatchery making this entire Thredbo Valley track 35kms. But it doesn’t stop there, the trail network continues (if you still have some legs left) to the recently constructed Hatchery Bay Track extending from Hatchery Bay itself winding 5kms into Snowline Caravan Park, joining the shared bike path another into Jindabyne town centre. The Hatchery link is one of the best additions to the Jindabyne network as it is incredibly scenic, hugging the shores of Lake Jindabyne, is the perfect trail for beginners and families and a great place to start on your first single track ride with great line of sight and tons of places to pull over and pass each other on the track. For the better riders the Hatchery link provides perfect terrain for fun rolling and pumping, working on technique and power training. A super fun blast!
Once the final section of the lower TVT is completed, this track will become the jewel in the crown and considered one of the greatest trails not only in Australia but in the Southern Hemisphere. Riders will have the pleasure of riding from the Top of Thredbo, descend down the spectacular All Mountain Trail, connecting to the TVT in Thredbo Village riding all the way to Jindabyne. This will equal approximately 50kms of single track from top to bottom and become an IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association) EPIC Silver status. For example, Mt Buller in Victoria is EPIC Bronze status and Whistler Bike Park is EPIC Gold status. This will rate this incredible track by world standards and have biking through our spectacular Snowy Mountains corridor rated with some of the best trails in the world.
As if that isn’t exciting enough, we have approximately 50km of single track around the Jindabyne area combing the Tyrolean to Jindabyne network which has a host of super techy lines off the main Mill Creek intermediate trail and Bungarra Alpine Centre which is a private bike park very suitable to all levels of riders, including a skills park and a pump track. All of these trails will keep you occupied for days, combining the shared cycle way along the shores of Jindabyne for an easy connection between trail areas. More trails are set to be constructed by local trail builders over the next 18 months which will lead to further development around the lake towards East Jindabyne.
Lake Crackenback also has about 15kms of tracks designed for beginner to intermediates which becomes maximum fun for the advanced riders as the soil is grippy making the tracks flowy and fast, winding down river like a super luge course. This network has been made famous by hosting the World Off Road Triathlon Championships in November 2016. All the networks in the area have been used for local, National and International events, school camps, social rides, kids and women’s clinics so this makes the versatility of the Snowy Mountains network second to none.
With an array independent operators like Jindabyne Girl Riders offering guiding and skills sessions and businesses like Gravity Sports and Lake Crackenback offering top of the line rental bikes, including downhill bikes, all mountain bikes, kids bikes, commuters and pedal assist bikes, there is nothing to stop you experiencing the most magnificent and fun riding our country has to offer no matter what your level of riding. So come on up to the Snowy Mountains and see what all the hype is about, it is everything we rave about and more!
