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| Thirteen people rescued after spending night in cars amid heavy snowfall across Victorian and NSW alps | Thirteen people rescued after spending night in cars amid heavy snowfall across Victorian and NSW alps |
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| Travellers stranded in vehicles near Mount Hotham as bushwalkers rescued from Wonnangatta track and near Mount Kosciuszko | Travellers stranded in vehicles near Mount Hotham as bushwalkers rescued from Wonnangatta track and near Mount Kosciuszko |
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| More than a dozen motorists and two hikers have been rescued after being trapped in heavy snow in the alpine region of Victoria amid a dangerous start to the snow season. | More than a dozen motorists and two hikers have been rescued after being trapped in heavy snow in the alpine region of Victoria amid a dangerous start to the snow season. |
| Search crews rescued 13 travellers after they were stranded in their vehicles on Saturday night near Mount Hotham as 50cm of snow fell around the Blue Rag range track near Dargo High Plains Road. | |
| One man in his 40s suffered minor injuries after his vehicle rolled, authorities said. | One man in his 40s suffered minor injuries after his vehicle rolled, authorities said. |
| Members of Wangaratta ski club, the Country Fire Association and a snow plough from Hotham alpine resort joined the rescue effort, said Graham Gales, an SES unit controller. Emergency services used snowmobiles to traverse the mountain. | |
| Gales said road conditions had been challenging even for experienced volunteers. “We were very surprised at the number of vehicles that we did come across yesterday … that had gone out for the weekend and have been caught short by the snow,” he told ABC Radio. | |
| “The experience of our drivers going into the Dargo High Plains Road yesterday was even they were having difficulty, and these are people that basically work in the snow all year round.” | “The experience of our drivers going into the Dargo High Plains Road yesterday was even they were having difficulty, and these are people that basically work in the snow all year round.” |
| Police and the SES said no one remained trapped in the area by Monday afternoon. | Police and the SES said no one remained trapped in the area by Monday afternoon. |
| The local Alpine Shire council on Friday recommended motorists avoid the road in a Facebook post before declaring the road closed on Sunday morning. However, some gates on Dargo High Plains Road would not be locked until Thursday, the Alpine Shire mayor, Sarah Nicholas, said. | |
| “In the alps, during the declared snow season, you have to carry chains … so people should have chains with them during this current [long] weekend,” she told ABC radio. | “In the alps, during the declared snow season, you have to carry chains … so people should have chains with them during this current [long] weekend,” she told ABC radio. |
| Police in 2024 turned back nearly 1,500 vehicles from the Mount Hotham area for failing to carry mandated wheel chains. | Police in 2024 turned back nearly 1,500 vehicles from the Mount Hotham area for failing to carry mandated wheel chains. |
| Two hikers were rescued from the Wonnangatta walking track in Victoria’s Alpine national park on Monday, police said. | Two hikers were rescued from the Wonnangatta walking track in Victoria’s Alpine national park on Monday, police said. |
| Emergency crews separately rescued two bushwalkers stranded near NSW’s Mount Kosciuszko on Sunday after the pair were stranded in blizzard conditions. | Emergency crews separately rescued two bushwalkers stranded near NSW’s Mount Kosciuszko on Sunday after the pair were stranded in blizzard conditions. |
| A search party advanced through fierce snow on Saturday towards the 31-year-old man and 28-year-old woman but was forced to retreat due to white-out conditions. | A search party advanced through fierce snow on Saturday towards the 31-year-old man and 28-year-old woman but was forced to retreat due to white-out conditions. |
| Trained alpine officers then reached them late on Saturday night and the pair was escorted from the Kosciuszko walking trail to a staging campsite and evacuated by 4am on Sunday. | Trained alpine officers then reached them late on Saturday night and the pair was escorted from the Kosciuszko walking trail to a staging campsite and evacuated by 4am on Sunday. |
| The strandings marred a big start to Australia’s snow season after the long weekend cold snap saw steady snowfall recorded at ski resorts around the country’s south-east. | |
| Perisher in NSW reported 60cm of snow over the weekend and Hotham alpine resort recorded 12cm in the 24 hours to 9am, taking the week’s total to 63cm. | |
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| Paul Burnham, a Hotham Heights Airbnb owner, said the big weekend had local businesses hopeful for the snow season after 2024’s was cut short by warm temperatures and low falls. | Paul Burnham, a Hotham Heights Airbnb owner, said the big weekend had local businesses hopeful for the snow season after 2024’s was cut short by warm temperatures and low falls. |
| “Everyone was like ‘Oh, ski season’s done, Australia’s never getting snow again, it’s global warming’, and to have something like this happen has been really a godsend,” he said. | |
| Burnham inadvertently tracked the weekend’s surging snowfall after leaving a can of Carlton Dry out on his porch to cool on Saturday morning. | Burnham inadvertently tracked the weekend’s surging snowfall after leaving a can of Carlton Dry out on his porch to cool on Saturday morning. |
| “About 15 minutes later, the whole can disappeared in snow, it was dumping down … so I thought I’ll put another can on top of it,” he said. | “About 15 minutes later, the whole can disappeared in snow, it was dumping down … so I thought I’ll put another can on top of it,” he said. |
| Five of Burnham’s 12cm-tall beer cans ended up under cover by Saturday night, easing to four on Sunday but picking up toward the top of the fifth again by Monday afternoon. | Five of Burnham’s 12cm-tall beer cans ended up under cover by Saturday night, easing to four on Sunday but picking up toward the top of the fifth again by Monday afternoon. |
| Snow also fell near the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney, Orange in the NSW central tablelands and in Jindabyne, near the Snowy Mountains, on Monday, the Bureau of Meteorology said. | Snow also fell near the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney, Orange in the NSW central tablelands and in Jindabyne, near the Snowy Mountains, on Monday, the Bureau of Meteorology said. |
| Canberra residents sighted falls around the nation’s capital, including at Mount Ainslie, which stands at 843 metres high. | Canberra residents sighted falls around the nation’s capital, including at Mount Ainslie, which stands at 843 metres high. |
| The bureau said snow showers would continue through Monday at the ski resorts in the country’s south-east and across the NSW ranges and tablelands above about 900 metres, bringing additional dumps of up to 20cm at some sites. | The bureau said snow showers would continue through Monday at the ski resorts in the country’s south-east and across the NSW ranges and tablelands above about 900 metres, bringing additional dumps of up to 20cm at some sites. |
| Snowfall was expected to be confined to alpine resorts but cold weather was likely across the south-east through the coming week, the bureau said. | Snowfall was expected to be confined to alpine resorts but cold weather was likely across the south-east through the coming week, the bureau said. |