Authors: Luke Frisken

Fri 17 November 2023

11 minute read

Introducing avalanche-report

A new project was started in January 2021 in collaboration with members of the Georgia Avalanche and Snow Conditions🇬🇪ზვავის და თოვლის შესახ…

Tue 30 May 2023

3 minute read

in Adventures

An Adventure in the Arrowsmiths

In the middle of September last year I travelled once again to the South Island of New Zealand at midnight. In the morning I hurried over to the bus terminal in the center of town with a taxi loade…

Sat 11 March 2023

38 minute read

in Adventures

Freeride in Racha

Having spent a lot of time on skis over the past 4 years in Georgia, it's easy for me to say that the region of Racha has captured my heart. Nestled between the famous region of Svaneti in the West…

Mon 2 May 2022

14 minute read

in Adventures

Two Times on Tetnuldi

Tetnuldi is a striking, snow covered peak in the region of Svaneti, Georgia. Standing within view of the popular township of Mestia, on a clear evening the sun sets last on its face and lights up l…

Thu 25 November 2021

23 minute read

in Adventures

Learning to Paraglide in Georgia

I generally view myself as a fairly careful person when it comes to risk-taking, someone who carefully studies a subject and always tries to make measured judgements before committing to a dangerou…

Wed 3 November 2021

14 minute read

in Adventures

Spring in Kamchatka

I was soon out ski touring in my favourite spot near the city, every time I seem to have the forest to myself, and when it's cold enough the snow is often fantastic. The old trees on the hill are e…

Mon 6 September 2021

7 minute read

in Adventures

Crossing the Kazbegi Border

After an amazing time in Racha with our friends, March was rapidly approaching, and our visa-free year in the Georgia was coming to an end. With travel options being limited, our desire to see fami…

Sat 1 August 2020

4 minute read

in Adventures

Climbing on an empty Kazbek

During our time in Gomi a few of us talked about a summer climb of Kazbek, one of the most notable peaks in Georgia. Taylor, Eva, Arina and myself committed to the endeavour, they managed to scroun…

Fri 10 July 2020

10 minute read

in Adventures

A Wedding in Gomi

After having spent the Winter and most of the Spring in Gudauri, the Vagabond ski instructor group decided to live on a property in the countryside somewhere in central Georgia. Initially they hope…

Sun 12 April 2020

7 minute read

in Adventures

2020 Lockdown in Gudauri

In March 2020, my 3 months in Kamchatka was coming to an end, unable to extend my Russian visa, we opted for plan B, living for some time in Georgia, as both Anya and I could stay there for up to a…

Sun 12 April 2020

18 minute read

in Adventures

Alone on Avachinsky

Like sentinels, Koryaksky, Avachinsky and Kozelsky stand watch over the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. As a mountain adventure lover, the beauty and allure of these volcanoes cultivate the imagi…

Fri 1 November 2019

10 minute read

in Code

Making Maps

This blog post is currently a work in progress, updated as I learn more about the subject. A number of people have asked, and I've been planning for a long time to create a …

Thu 19 September 2019

25 minute read

in Adventures

Ski Mountaineering in New Zealand

The past couple of years I have set a personal goal for myself, to work towards the prerequisites for the New Zealand Mountain Guides Association (NZMGA) ski guiding course. With encouragement from…

Sat 27 July 2019

17 minute read

in Adventures

Kamchatka in the Summer

The Kamchatka Peninsula is a little known region of the world. When I was telling friends and acquaintances that I was going there, I was often met with puzzled looks. Russia is certainly not high …

Fri 18 January 2019

5 minute read

in Adventures

Skiing in Georgia

We flew into Tbilisi, and and were collected by a man who guided a friend of ours, he took us to the Marshrutka (minibus) area to go to Gudauri, we had trouble sourcing one on the day we were, hard…

Sun 30 September 2018

5 minute read

in Adventures

Victorian Backcountry Festival 2018

On September this year the inaugural Victorian Backcountry Festival was held. There was a fantastic turnout, perhaps around 200 people. Along with being a great opportunity to meet fellow enthusias…

Wed 8 August 2018

8 minute read

in Adventures

Cape Woolamai Mistakes

Following on from my previous article about mistakes, I feel like it's finally time to write about what I feel has been my biggest series of mistakes so far, this happened several years ago. Photos…

Sun 15 April 2018

6 minute read

in Adventures

Empathy and Criticism; Reconciling Risk in Outdoor Sports

We tell ourselves (and our friends and families) that our adventure sport of choice can be safe, you shouldn't get hurt if you do the right thing; that person who had an accident must have been doi…

Thu 12 April 2018

5 minute read

in Adventures

Blue Mountains Canyoning 2018

Once again I found myself struggling on the 10 hour drive from Melbourne to the Blue Mountains over the Easter Weekend. In the car with me were 3 other intrepid folks, keen to get into the moist gr…

Tue 9 January 2018

13 minute read

in Adventures

Skiing in Japan

Slipping slippy!! I look up from my phone to see we are facing sideways, no time to brace as we collide with the snow after performing a complete turn. Nii-san and I look at each other, and I raise…

Mon 1 January 2018

3 minute read

in Code

NZ Ortho4XP Scenery Creation

This article outlines the process I've developed for creating highly detailed mesh scenery of New Zealand's Southern Alps for the X-Plane Flight Simulator, using t…

Mon 28 August 2017

10 minute read

in Adventures

Bogong in August

Mitch and I decided to head up to Bogong for the weekend together. Walking up Eskdale on Saturday morning we hit the snow surprisingly early, and after about an hour and a half of walking, reached …

Thu 3 August 2017

37 minute read

in Adventures

Backcountry Skiing in New Zealand

The aim was simple: do an avalanche course, and practice what we learned. This was to be my first trip to New Zealand in winter, and as such I didn't really know what to expect in terms of weather …

Thu 4 May 2017

6 minute read

in Adventures

Blue Mountains Canyoning

This Easter, I made the long car drive journey up to New South Whales to join in the annual pilgrimage to go canyoning in the Blue Mountains. With four drivers in the car, driving for 10 hours wasn…

Mon 27 February 2017

3 minute read

in Adventures

Mountaineering Round 2

A follow up mountaineering trip to New Zealand, given the success of the previous season, was always going to be on the cards. Five of us flew over near the new year for 2016, for a couple of weeks…

Sat 28 January 2017

11 minute read

in Code

Sphinx For Documenting Java Projects

Last year I had the pleasure of using Sphinx for documenting my final year software project at university. The project was primarily jav…

Tue 17 January 2017

4 minute read

in Adventures

Frenchman's Cap

With the Christmas/New Year period shutdown at work, there was a scramble to find something interesting to do. Luckily some good friends were already off to Tasmania to go hiking, and had a spare s…

Thu 22 December 2016

3 minute read

in Adventures

Little River Gorge

Returning to Little River Gorge was an exciting prospect. Aparently Little River Gorge is Victoria's deepest gorge. A fair way North-East of Buchan, it is one of the more remote areas of Victoria. …

Thu 8 December 2016

20 minute read

in Adventures

Mountaineering Course

Absolutely no regrets choosing to do a mountaineering course before heading into the hills independently. The course run in 2014 by Stuart Hollaway for MUMC members was a once in a lifetime, unforg…

Mon 5 December 2016

24 minute read

in Adventures

MUMC and Mountaineering

A bored engineering student watching videos on his computer during summer break experienced that phenomenon so often attributed to wasting time on the YouTube website. One minute I was learning how…

Fri 18 November 2016

1 minute read

in Adventures

Werribee Gorge

Werribee Gorge, and specifically Falcon's Lookout is a popular walking and climbing location close to Melbourne. I recently went back there for a day with some friends, we had an absolute blast. If…

Wed 2 November 2016

5 minute read

in Adventures

Night Appeal

My torch flickers, and then goes out. Halfway through the second pitch, I call out below something to make my belayer worried. Stopping to take stock, behind me are yells and hoots, a couch burning…

Sat 3 September 2016

1 minute read

in Adventures

Olinda Falls

Olinda Falls is a fantastic spot for an escape from Melbourne via public transport + bike. We jumped off the train at Boronia Railway Station, and rode our bikes up the 1 in 20 (Mountain H…

Sat 13 August 2016

2 minute read

in Adventures

Skiing the Razorback

This was my first trip skiing along the Razorback to Mt Feathertop, (imho) the best mountain in Victoria! Leaving on the Friday night, we camped out near Smoko. In the morning after packing, was th…

Sun 7 August 2016

1 minute read

in Adventures

West Ridge of Mt Buller

Why do the best adventures always seem to happen when I break my phone? I was contemplating this while sitting by the round-about in Mansfield outside the pub, waiting for my friends to arrive.…

Mon 21 September 2015

13 minute read

in Adventures

When Climbers Go Sailing

Fair-weather sailing is underrated. As we nosed our way into the Bass Strait and waves began to wash over the deck, I couldn't help but ponder the truth in the words from our skipper. Sailing in go…

Sun 2 August 2015

2 minute read

in Adventures

Hotham to Fall's Creek

We predicted much suffering and grim struggle for survival while on the 2 day crossing from Mt Hotham to Fall's Creek. At the end of 40 hours emergency services and family will be notified of our f…

Sat 1 August 2015

3 minute read

in Adventures

Blue Lake Ice Climbing

TWO DAYS IN A ROW, stuck in the tent while it rains and sleets outside. Everyone’s going stir crazy. I think both Tom and I are running out of patience after our third game of Paddocks today. At le…

Thu 31 July 2014

3 minute read

in Adventures

Carabiner Damage to Rope

I recently had the misfortune of cutting the sheath midway along a brand new rope whilst taking a catching a lead fall while climbing indoors. How might this happen? Climbing gyms are carefully con…