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2019 Victorian Backcountry Festival at Mount Hotham

2019 Backcountry Ski festival

BSAR provided three skill shares at the Backcountry Festival at Mount Hotham on September 7 and 8 2019.

The festival is a grassroots, volunteer run event which aims to provide a safe place for new skiers and riders to explore beyond the ski runs while also providing a gathering for the backcountry tribe.

The program had 28 sessions on offer covering everything from cross country and tele skiing, split boarding, alpine touring, to avalanche safety, snow shoeing and fat tyre bikes.

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BSAR is 70 years old

BSAR is 70 years old on 6th May 2019.

BSAR search group near Marysville, 1952
BSAR search group in 1952 near Marysville, soon after BSAR was formed

We don’t know the names or the clubs of the 11 volunteer bushwalkers who left the Russell Street Police Headquarters in 2 trucks early on Friday 6 May 1949 for Port Welshpool. There they boarded a fishing ketch and were landed on the east coast of Wilsons Promontory to join the large search for a missing bushwalker.

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Victorian Backcountry Ski Festival at Falls Creek 1-2 Sep 2018

BSAR Ski training

I will be representing BSAR at the Backcountry Ski Festival at Falls Creek this weekend 1 – 2 September.

BSAR members participating are free to wear BSAR safety clothing if they wish. 

The program on Saturday includes intros to telemarking, backcountry snow shoe tours, snow camping, navigation and beacon searching with tours in the afternoon

The program on Sunday includes resort skiing (you’ll need a lift ticket)  and 4-5 hour backcountry tours.

I hope to see you there!

Regards, Peter Campbell
Convener, Bush Search and Rescue Victoria

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Peter Briggs AO leads successful search for missing submarine AE1

BSAR Field Organiser and Retired Rear Admiral Peter Briggs lead the Find AE1 team that found submarine HMAS AE1 103 years after it disappeared during World War 1.

The fate of HMAS AE1 had been one of the navy’s most enduring puzzles, sparking 13 different retrieval attempts since 1914.

The 800-tonne vessel was discovered under 300 metres of water near Duke of York Island in Papua New Guinea.

Casing of HMAS AE1 submarine wreck
Casing of HMAS AE1 in waters off the Duke of York Island group in Papua New Guinea. Photograph: Fugro Survey/AAP

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