Australian Backcountry Festival

01/05/2026

Expressions of Interest for General Festival Volunteer positions are now open (link in our Instagram bio or below)!

Want to be involved in the Australian Backcountry Festival but don’t have the time to commit to the organising committee? We’re looking for general volunteers to help us out over August 28th to 30th!!

You could be helping out with a range of tasks, from assisting with a workshop 🙋‍♂️, tour logistics 🎿, setting up events🔧, wrangling AV equipment🎤, selling merchandise🧢 or running competitions 🏅.

You’ll still have plenty of time to enjoy the events, tours and workshops of the festival, plus you’ll get a sneak peak of the behind the scenes work that goes into ABCF!

Apply here: https://forms.gle/6kndz2FYuN6eDA4a7

27/04/2026

Getting excited for some cooler weather and this Winter’s backcountry missions? 🏂⛷️⛺️Share the stoke and gather with some new (and old) backcountry pals at the Backcountry Film Festival on Tuesday, May 5th in Melbourne! 🎬

Back for its 21st year, the Film Festival starts at 6pm at the RMIT city campus. A program of 10 short films has been put together by and the event is hosted in collaboration with and . There’ll be info and merch stalls, and speakers throughout the evening celebrating all things winter backcountry!! ❄️

Proceeds go towards Friends of the Earth campaign work in the Victorian high country.

You can check out the films in the lineup, find out more info and buy tickets at the link in the ABCF Instagram bio! See you there!!

17/04/2026

The Australian Backcountry Festival Committee is looking for volunteer members for the 2026 festival and beyond, and we want to hear from you! 👋

No prior experience is necessary (although it doesn’t hurt!). We’re looking for passionate community members who are good communicators, and take initiative to complete tasks and ask questions when needed.

We’re actively recruiting for the following roles:

- LOGISTICS PRO🔧🚐📍
with 300+ attendees to the festival each year, there are lots of moving parts to manage when it comes to venues, vendors and transport. Are you familiar (or willing to become familiar) with the Hotham area, and good at thinking on your feet when Plan A doesn’t quite work out?

- SOCIAL MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS WIZARD 👩‍💻🌐📣
In the lead up to the Backcountry festival our social channels are key for promoting the festival, communicating with our attendees, and acquiring sponsorships. If you have creative flair and a way with words, we’d love your help promoting the ABCF. Bonus if you’re able to write newsletters for our email subscribers, and lend a hand with press releases!

- OUTDOOR BAR COORDINATOR 🍻⛺️❄️
Saturday night’s outdoor bar has long been a popular highlight of the Backcountry festival. Delicious food, flowing drinks, music, and party vibes bring the community together, and we need someone to help us bring the vision to life. If you have an idea of what a great night at the backcountry festival looks like, we want you involved!

Has one of these roles caught your eye? 👀 Email [email protected] and include a bit about you, why you’re interested in the role, and any relevant experience that sets you up for success. Applications open until May 4th.

Have a skill set outside of the roles mentioned above? Contact us anyway and let us know what you can bring to the team! 🤙

08/04/2026

If you’ve spent any time at the Backcountry festival in the last few years, you’re probably pretty familiar with these faces! Anne Chiew and Simon Wright have been driving forces behind the Victorian, and now Australian Backcountry Festivals for many years now.

We have Anne to thank for the continuation of the backcountry festival during the dark years of Covid-19 restrictions, and since then she’s volunteered for just about every role in the committee - from President, to general committee member, convenor and board secretary…and if you were lucky enough at the 2025 festival, Anne may have even guided you on a ski or splitboard tour! 🎿🏂

Simon is the legend behind the always-popular Saturday night Outdoor Bar at each festival. 🎉Wrangling vendors, permits, sponsors, changing weather forecasts, AV equipment, entertainment, decorations, and a team of volunteers, he’s pulled it off year after year! As if this isn’t enough, Simon has also volunteered as a tour guide over the years, sharing the stoke with those of you who venture out on tours over festival weekend! ❄️

Sadly for us, Anne and Simon are stepping back from the organising committee in 2026. The foundations that they have nurtured over the years allow us to continue growing and adapting the festival, and we are incredibly grateful for their contributions to ABCF and the backcountry community. While they may not be directly involved in organising the festival anymore, never fear, Anne and Simon will still be around and will remain valued members of the community - it’s hard to keep these two away from the backcountry!

Soon we’ll be looking for volunteers for organising committee roles, so if you fancy getting involved in the Australian Backcountry Festival in 2026, keep your eyes peeled on our socials… 👀

FROM ALL OF US AT ABCF - THANK YOU ANNE AND SIMON! ❤️

31/03/2026

📣SAVE THE DATES!!!! 📣

Grab your pals, tune those skis and start dreaming about human powered adventures in the backcountry again…. 💭 because the 9th Annual Australian Backcountry Festival is back and locked in for FRIDAY AUGUST 28TH - SUNDAY, AUGUST 30TH 2026! 🎿⛷️🏂

Keep an eye on our socials for details about the lineup of workshops, tours, speakers, films, sponsors, tickets, volunteer opportunities and so much more in the coming weeks and months. 👀

We’re so excited to be back, and we can’t wait to explore Hotham and surrounds with you once again! 🏔️☀️❄️

Design credit: Rita Liao

11/09/2025

IT’S OUR TURN TO SAY THANK YOU!! 🍻🙏🏼

To everyone who attended the 2025 Australian Backcountry Festival, we want to express our appreciation to you for being a part of the biggest and best backcountry festival yet! We had unprecedented amounts of snow ❄️, blue skies☀️, and incredible vibes for the whole weekend 🥳 - it’s fair to say this year’s festival was one for the books, and showed off the best of the Australian backcountry community! 🎿🏂🏔️

A huge shoutout to all of our volunteers - from setting up our evening parties 🎈, to running informative workshops 📝, selling merch👚, waking up at the crack of dawn to record field observations🪏, and guiding beginner, youth and intermediate tours in ever-changing conditions ⛷️- this year’s festival wouldn’t have run without you!

Our organising committee are already starting to brainstorm next year’s event and we need your help! 💭Do you have some feedback to make 2026 ever bigger and better?!
If you have ideas of what worked (or didn’t work) and changes you’d like to see to the festival moving forward, we want to hear them! We have a feedback form linked in our Instagram bio. 🔗

Keep an eye on our socials for 2026 festival dates 👀.. coming soon! 📣

📸: Andy tranter, Merijn kuiper, Cam walker, Rijan Young, Anne chiew, Charles sevior, Simon wright & Jess wu

10/09/2025

04/09/2025

Are you 13-18 and wanting to continue the stoke of the Australian Backcountry Festival by continuing to explore beyond resort boundaries? 🧭🏔️🎿
You’re in luck! In partnership with the festival, are running a Youth Development Tour THIS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH!! 🙌🏼

This is your opportunity to make connections with other young people and mentors in the Aussie backcountry community, learn about equipment and navigating simple backcountry terrain, and get some sweet turns in out on the Main Range! ⛷️🏂❄️

Link in the bio to book!

02/09/2025

Did you miss out on a sweet backcountry festival hoodie and t-shirt this weekend? 🧐

Good news, we still have merch items for sale via the link in our bio! Grab yourself a little something to remember the Australian Backcountry Festival 2025 🥲

31/08/2025

THE BACKCOUNTRY FESTIVAL WRAP UP PARTY IS TONIGHT AT ! 🎉

Patagonia has generously donated FREE FOOD 🌭🍕 & DRINK 🍻 for attendees from 5:30pm onwards. Plus, we have plenty of fantastic raffle prizes still to be won this evening! 🏆😄

Join us to wrap up a phenomenal backcountry festival weekend! 🌲🎿❄️🏂