Backcountry Tour Information
Thinking about registering for a Beginner or Intermediate Backcountry tour at the Australian Backcountry Festival?
You’re in the right place!
Photos: Dylan Robinson, Andy Hardy
2026 Tour Costs
Beginner tour: $55
Intermediate tour: $80
Our backcountry tours are a great way to step beyond resort bounds for the first time or develop your technical skills while accompanied by trained volunteer guides, but there are a few things to keep in mind…
1.
Backcountry tours are great for beginners to the backcountry, however they are NOT suitable for beginner skiers.
What does this mean? If you want to participate in a backcountry tour at ABCF, you will need to have resort skiing or snowboarding skills first.
You need to be able to ski or ride in a variety of conditions, and be comfortable on 'Blue' runs in a ski resort for our beginner tours, or 'Black' terrain for intermediate tours.
Take a look at the diagram below for an idea of the skills and experience you should have to participate in backcountry touring.
IMPORTANT
If you attend a tour and our team decides that your ability level is not suitable for the conditions, you may be removed from the group for the safety of yourself and others.
2.
The minimum age for participation in our Beginner, Intermediate and Women’s backcountry tours is 18. If you are under the age of 18 and interested in participating in a tour please express your interest by contacting us at hello@backcountryfestival.com.au
3.
If participating in a tour, pattern based skis/splitboard alone are not sufficient and you will need to carry skins.
Ski and splitboard crampons (or boot crampons) are also strongly recommended.
For a list of gear that is required/recommended for tours, visit ‘What to bring’ here.
Photos: Matt Howe, Jacob Guse
4.
Backcountry touring involves both uphill and downhill travel, and unlike resort skiing/snowboarding the uphills in touring are human-powered. We recommend having decent aerobic fitness to participate in backcountry tours.
The pace won’t be fast, and the group will take breaks for food and water (and photos!) throughout the tour, but as a rough guide you should be prepared to travel the following vertical distances uphill:
Beginner tours: approx. 150m over 3.5km
Intermediate tours: approx. 300m over 3.5km
These distances are a rough guide. You may end up touring more, or less than the above.
Please note that after uphill travel, you should also be prepared to ride/ski similar distances downhill.