Australian Backcountry Festival x Fieldcraft
Ski Touring Pathway

The Fieldcraft Backcountry Touring Pathway is a two-level guided program that helps skiers and riders build skills to travel farther, make safer decisions, and tackle bigger goals on their own in Australia’s alpine areas or when guided overseas. Australia’s mountains offer a wide mix of conditions—occasional snow instability, fast weather shifts, freeze-thaw cycles, wind scoured slopes, and varied terrain—making them an excellent place to train.

How we play the conditions game.

Trips run Tuesday to Friday (arrival in the valley accom Monday night preferable). Backcountry progress comes only from time spent there; there’s no shortcut. We expect most people to have a “week at the snow”: arrive for resort laps on the weekend, prep Monday, then join the field trip Tuesday–Friday (possibly extending to Saturday if conditions require). If desired, guests can tour or do resort laps the next weekend.

The ABCF tour program director built the forecasting logic, and conducted the hazard research for MSC and can reliably predict likely conditions up to five days out. By the Friday before your field trip you’ll know the probable program plan. If conditions are unsafe, we cancel and refund. Obviously, if the snow level is too low, we don’t go… and the trip is also refunded.

We won’t complete the entire curriculum for level two in one trip; two trips (about eight days) is more realistic.

What you need to know

Programs are built with the ABCF Framework (also used in the Victorian Backcountry Companion) and follow MSC map terrain ratings for progression. The course helps you move between levels (for example, intermediate to advanced). In Australia, big ski objectives or long traverses require overnight survival skills — that’s a basic rule. We call this “extended”: parties may be on a big day but should be prepared to shelter and rest, or for expeditions lasting up to 4+ days. See below to match suitability for you and your crew.

1. Hydration

• Water bottles or bladder — minimum 2 litres

2. Nutrition

• Breakfast (provided)

• Dinner (provided)

• Lunch

• Snacks / power gels

• Emergency food

• Hot drink supplies

• Permanent emergency food stored in pack

  Lunch: 2,500–3,500 kJ / 600–840 Cal
  Trail snacks: 4,000–6,000 kJ / 960–1,435 Cal
  Emergency food: 500–2,500 kJ / 360–600 Cal
  Total 6,500–9,500 kJ / 1,555–2,270 Cal

3. Insulation & Clothing

Base layers

• Thermal top

• Thermal bottoms

Mid and outer layers

• Mid-layer top

• Warm synthetic light puffy jacket

• Waterproof / breathable shell jacket

• Waterproof / breathable shell pants

Cold weather insulation

• Down puffy jacket — carried in pack for rest stops, emergencies, or extreme cold

Hands, head, FEET and face

• Waterproof / breathable warm mittens

• Working gloves

• Light inner gloves

• Balaclava

• Beanie

• Goggles

• Helmet

• Sunglasses — AS1067 labelled

• Ski specific socks / Warmer socks & Bivvy/hut boots for night

Rest and overnight comfort

• Sit mat

• Sleeping bag — overnight trips

• Sleeping mat — overnight trips

4. Shelter

• Emergency bothy bag - Provided

• Emergency bivvy bag - Recommended

• 30L backpack (daypack)

• Snow Shovel (also for avalanche safety)

• Tent (provided)

• 70L overnight backpack

5. Fire & Cooking - (Provided)

• Jetboil or similar stove

• Waterproof matches

• Lighter & Firelighters

6. Repair Kit - Guides wil have:

• Tie wire

• Zip ties

• Duct tape

• Tenacious tape

• Sewing kit / dental floss

• 10 m parachute cord

• Voile straps

• Multitool

• Spare pack buckle

• Sleeping mat repair kit

• Tent repair kit

• Ski pole repair kit — clamps, pole sleeve, baskets

7. Illumination

• Head torch

• Spare head torch

• Spare batteries or charging cable

• Cyalume stick / emergency glow stick 8. SunSmart

• Wide-brimmed hat

• Sunglasses — AS1067 labelled

• SPF50+ broad-spectrum, water-resistant zinc / sunscreen

• SPF50+ broad-spectrum, water-resistant lip balm

9. First Aid & Hygiene

• Appropriate first aid kit — bandages, wound care, etc.

• Blister kit

• Personal medications — Ventolin, antihistamines, etc.

• Toileting system — (Supplied)

• Hand sanitiser (Supplied)

10. Navigation

• Phone with offline maps / Gaia GPS

• Power bank

• GPS / inReach

• Map (supplied)

• Compass

• Watch / GPS watch (optional)

11. Communications & Signalling

• Phone

• inReach / PLB / Spot / satellite phone (Supplied)

• Radio (Supplied)

• What 3 Words App

• Whistle

12. Ski / Travel Gear

• Splitboard / alpine touring skis (no pattern base skis without fitted skins also)

• Skins

• Touring bindings

• Touring poles / tele poles

• Ski / split crampons

• Boot crampons (recommended)

• Ice axe (Supplied)

13. Avalanche Equipment —

• Avalanche transceiver

• Probe

• Snow science kit (optional)

Level One — Extended Touring

For skiers and riders ready to go beyond resorts, sidecountry, or simple day tours and travel further into the Australian backcountry. Held in intermediate alpine terrain, the course develops uphill and downhill touring skills, snow and ice awareness, and group decision-making. Australia’s variable alpine conditions build skills useful for trips in New Zealand, Japan, Europe, and North America. The course goal is a supported traverse or summiting an intermediate peak while building technical, teamwork, and on-the-ground skills for longer tours.

Entry: Comfortable skiing/riding at resorts and willing to travel uphill with a pack. Some prior touring helpful but not required.

By course end participants will be able to:

• Prepare for an extended ski tour

• Use hazard forecasts and surface conditions to shape a tour plan

• Spot macro and micro hazards

• Do basic route planning and timing

• Move efficiently uphill and downhill

• Know when to use ski crampons, boot crampons, or an ice axe

• Take part in group decisions

• Manage food, water, warmth, and energy

• Debrief the day and plan the next step in their progression
  
  
  

Level 2 — Expedition Touring

Development towards advanced and expedition-style ski touring

For experienced touring skiers and riders wanting to move into guide-level thinking for big alpine goals, advanced Australian touring, or international expeditions. The course uses more committing terrain with longer days, greater vertical gain, firmer snow, trickier weather, and higher group-management demands. Training in Australia’s alpine environment builds the judgment, adaptability and self-management needed for expedition conditions overseas.

Field goal: plan and complete an alpine objective in challenging terrain with 1,000 m of vertical gain.

Requirements: able to ski or ride variable snow with a pack, manage your own touring gear, and have experience on extended or overnight tours. Minimum prerequisite: AST1.

By course end you will be able to:

• help plan objectives

• create route plans with timing, escape options and turnaround points

• assess changing snow, ice and melt‑freeze surfaces

• read and reassess public hazard forecasts

• use ski crampons, boot crampons and an ice axe where appropriate

• manage longer climbs and descents with a pack

• support head/tail group systems

• communicate clearly in complex terrain

• adapt objectives as conditions change

• manage fatigue, food, water, warmth and recovery over long days

• review performance against an advanced touring objective