Trip Planning
Before heading anywhere plan your trip. The degree to which you plan your trip will depend on how many days you’re planning to be away, how far you are travelling and wether or not you’re familiar with the area you are visiting. If you’re going out for a day trip from the top of Thredbo the planning stage may be as quick as checking the weather forecast, deciding on a destination and letting someone know where you are going, and/or the different areas you plan to ski, and when they can expect you back. A little more detailed planning may be required for an overnight trip. Usually you should look at the weather forecast. Based on the predicted conditions choose a location to camp and a backup location if the weather is worse than expected or you aren’t able to make it to the preferred location. Make a record of the areas you may ski during your trip.
If you’re heading on a multi day / multi stage trip you’re going to need a pretty detailed plan and you’re probably going to have to do a bit more research before you head out. You’ll want to plan the route you’re going to take, planning camping areas and back-up plans in case you cop some feral weather.
Wherever you are heading it pays to have a good look at a detailed topographic map. Take note of places of interest such as huts and snow poles. If you are planning to use these check that they still exist – you’re likely to be able to find this info somewhere on the net. If you use a GPS enter as many waypoints as possible before you head out and ensure your GPS is set up on the same map grid as your topographic map.
In every case you should provide someone close to you with your trip plan, back-up plans and as much detail of your trip as possible. Be as specific as you can with camping/skiing locations as possible and use descriptors that will mean something to a search party (eg. grid coordinates and map grid they are based off). Most importantly you should tell them your expected return date/time and a panic time (ie. if we are not back by 7pm on X day please send a search party).
There is mobile phone coverage in lots of the popular backcountry areas. If possible call or send a message to someone to let them know how your trip is going. If possible send them the coordinates of your camp site.