The Best Backcountry Skiing Routes in Thredbo and Kosciuszko

A gentle gradient and completely different to the skiing in all other directions, the eastern slopes are long and flat, which are best left for the run home to Charlotte's Pass....

Most easily accessed from Thredbo from skinning North for about a kilometre from the top of Merritt's, then another 2 km North East and you will end up near the top of the Southern Twin Valley, from here the Southern Valley provides some nice snow quality lower down (away from the exposed wind scoured areas) and some nice pitches....

The South Ramshead is often overlooked in favour of it's northerly counterparts, but in fact the area holds some, short, yet good quality skiing, with the area holding some great quality snow when other areas are either tracked out or iced over....

The Southerly Ramshead is located straight up the hill from Dead Horse Gap, thus is one of the most accessible areas on the Main Range and a great entry run for those looking to get into backcountry skiing....

From the top of the Ramshead you will find that the spur is relatively narrow, and although there is steeper terrain to the north of the marked run, it can hold less sun as a result of the northerly aspect, meanwhile the runs to the south of the spur holds the snow better as well as more sporadic vegetation....

Centre Gully is a mellower run which leads down to Blue Lake. This run is often used to warm up and scope out the other runs before tackling them head on....

After skiing/skinning along the ridgeline to the south of Kosciuszko for about a kilometre, avoiding the large cornice to the skiers left, the southern face then drops down fairly steeply to Rawson Creek and on to Cootapatamba Hut....

The western face of Kosciuszko holds the steepest gradient other than skiing directly below the corniced area, however the western aspect is exposed to the prevailing wind which can have some remarkable effects on the snow cover....

One of the earliest runs to open within a year, this run drops a couple of hundred metres to the south of the summit, before heading down the eastern face. In deep winter, completely avoid this run as massive cornices form above the area, and the can and do break off....

Heading towards the north east from the summit, this slope is one of the earliest places you can ski in Australia, skiable after the first fall of the season, 20 cm can provide you with some decent turns as early as May....

Excluding the elevation lost from skiing down from Alice Rawson Peak, this run starts at around 1800 metres, and continues with a sustained pitch for around 300 metres of vertical once you reach the top of the spur....

Twynam Northeastern Spur gently falls away for 2 km from Twynam towards the base of Mt Anderson and is a great way start on a spring or mid-winters day. Due to the north easterly aspect, the spur softens into corn nicely on a fine day and when the fresh falls, a narrow drainage gully holds smooth skiable snow even when the rest of the spur may be wind affected....

This run begins off Carruthers Peak South Eastern Shoulder, actually facing to the south west. It offers nice long consistently pitched slopes for intermediates down towards Club Lake Creek, and offer a nice way to end your day skiing as you head back to Charlotte's Pass....

Little Austria is aptly named as a result of it's wide open terrain, and it's ability to catch fresh snow and hold it long after a fall, due to being shaded for the majority of winter, this area can be skied well into October, even into November in a great year....

The lower section of Little Austria descends into a tight boulder lined gully which feeds down into Lady Northcote Canyon. As a result of the rocky terrain, this run requires a lot of snow, if the upper section of the run is covered, it doesn't truly give a good indication of the conditions in this gully....

Heading from the west of Mt Lee, the Little Austria is the obvious bowl below, follow down towards the skier's left of the bowl and you will see a prominent gully (different from the typical Little Austria run), this area is also far less tracked out....

Although many people use this run to drop into the southern Sentinel ridge or the more gnarly northern side, yet the ridgeline itself, although it doesn't hold the best now, it has some really fun technical sections with a few hundred metres of vertical from the shoulder of Twynam....

This is a cheeky shortcut if you're finding yourself keen for a ski out to Carruthers from the top of the Pulpit T-bar, head down towards the creek through the gums and aim to get below the fork in the river, as it is the easiest place to get across sometimes, unless the two smaller creeks are snowed over....

Heading south and keeping skiers right of the Blue Lake chutes, this run stays right on the open south face of Twynam, granting wide open runs with some really nice turns when conditions are right....

From Club Lake you'll be feeling pretty bleak, your day is done with the steeps behind you....never fear, you can still milk a little more vertical before home. For a nice cruise, follow the drainage of Club Lake down to the base of Mt Lee, and get your skin on back to Charlotte's....