Freeride in the Land of Kangaroos

When it comes to freeride skiing in Oceania, New Zealand often springs to mind as the go-to destination. However, Australia has much to offer as well.

Located between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean, Australia is both a country and an island, encompassing the entire continent as well as smaller outlying islands. As the sixth-largest country in the world by area of jurisdiction, it covers 7,686,850 km2 (2,967,910 sq mi), including Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island. To put that into perspective, it’s slightly smaller than the contiguous 48 states of the United States, but 31.5 times larger than the United Kingdom. The continent boasts a diverse geography, ranging from snow-capped mountains such as the Australian Alps and Tasmania, to vast deserts, tropical and temperate forests, grasslands, heathlands, and woodlands.

Australia has two prime locations for freeride: the Australian Alps and the mountains in the Central Highlands of Tasmania.

The Australian Alps are situated in southeast Australia, encompassing an interim Australian bioregion and featuring the highest mountain range in the country. The range spans across the borders of eastern Victoria, southeastern New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory, and it’s the only bioregion on the mainland where deep snow falls annually. It’s also home to Australia’s only peaks exceeding 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in elevation, covering an area of 1,232,981 ha (3,046,760 acres).

In the Central Highlands of Tasmania lies Mount Ossa, the highest mountain in the state with a summit elevation of 1,617 meters (5,305 ft) above sea level. It forms part of the Pelion Range within the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania.

If you’re looking for some stunning images of these locations, check out www.weareexplorers.co. This community of modern-day explorers aims to make the outdoors accessible for everyone, celebrate the natural world’s beauty, and inspire fulfilling and adventurous lives in connection with nature. With a diverse network of writers, photographers, and filmmakers, they produce high-quality content that meets the highest editorial standards.

Next, we will show you two videos created by We Are Explorers that perfectly describe off-piste skiing in Australia and the spectacular snowy landscapes of this vast country.