Become a backcountry festival volunteer
The festival is about education and inclusion. That means we want to introduce as many new people to the backcountry, and at the same time, train up and give working experience to aspiring guides.
Our goal is to accomodate as many tours as we have volunteers, and tours run on both Saturday and Sundays, catering to all skill levels, from beginner to advanced.
Tour group leaders.
Tour leaders will work in groups of two, with seven participants per group. Each tour group is overseen by our Region coordinators, who are on standby and ready to assist if needed.
The minimum requirement for tour group leaders are:
AST1
First Aid
Region Coordinators
Our designated touring zones around the mountain will be divided into regions, with a region coordinator in each to support the tour groups. Our region coordinators also help out with snowpack assessments throughout the weekend.
The minimum requirement for Region Coordinators are equivalent to ski guide accreditation:
AV-Ops 1
Wilderness FA
Both our tour leaders and region coordinators will be working with Simon Murray from Mountain Safety Collective, who knows the Hotham backcountry like the back of his hand.
Simon will give volunteers a collection of Gaia GPS routes and photos of the Hotham backcountry tour lines for you to follow and test run, and facilitate a ‘Guides training’ weekend to refresh essential backcountry skills in the lead up to ABCF.
Further support is provided through a WhatsApp ‘Tour volunteer’ chat, where you can ask questions, and meet new backcountry buddies!
