Adventurous Activities

Recently over a period of five days the National Alpine School was conducted in the Mt Stirling area of Victoria. From around Australia, thirty participants joined the weekend adventure for a selection of Day Ski Touring, Overnight Ski Touring and Overnight Snowshoeing activities.

Participants were allocated sessions to participate in and to take a leadership role with their allocated groups. Skills varied from novice (not being on cross country or snowshoes before) to very experienced alpine members, who had done several stints in Antarctica. It was a great opportunity for networking and sharing knowledge and skills.

Participants planned their menus, on a self-catering basis, and packed and carried all the equipment necessary for them to camp out overnight in alpine conditions for a multi-day event. Over the course of the school, various exercises were run, including topics of search & rescue, navigation skills, and building of snow shelters such as igloos.

Finally, thanks must go to Lachlan Shield and his team from Victorian Branch for running a well-coordinated event with a very successful outcome Nationally. Speaking after the event, David Walsh, the National Chief Instructor, celebrated it as a successful weekend. “It is my view from the weekend that the targeted National Schools’ approach is the best way to upskill and build capacity, with networking opportunities, that provide a standardised National rollout to adventurous activities.”