Open season

Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann

Photography: John Russell and Andrew Henshaw

With almost a million people set to descend on Victoria’s popular snow slopes this winter, police have been planning methodically for months for the massive influx of visitors.

Victoria Police has three seasonal snow stations – Mt Hotham, Falls Creek and Mt Buller – that open on the Queen’s Birthday weekend and stay manned 24 hours a day until the end of the season in late September.

Senior Sergeant Doug Incoll has been working in the region for 16 years and is the officer in charge of the Falls Creek and Mt Hotham stations.

With its combination of general duties policing, search and rescue and traffic and emergency management, all done under the threat of extreme and sudden weather changes, he said alpine policing is like no other job in Victoria Police.

“In my view, it’s the highest risk environment police have to work in across Victoria,” Sen Sgt Incoll said.

“Because of that, our officers have to attain a certain skill level before they even set foot on the resorts.”

Officers from nearby stations staff the seasonal stations, and undertake regular training and qualification in alpine skills, map reading and navigation and snowmobile and four-wheel-drive use.

Sen Sgt Doug Incoll checks the weather forecast ahead of this year’s snow season.

Victoria Police has boosted its alpine policing model the past two snow seasons, sending alpine-trained officers from the Melbournebased Operations Response Unit (ORU) to the slopes.

Sen Sgt Incoll said the snow resorts this season would again benefit from the extra numbers of ORU officers teaming with the local knowledge and experience of officers who have worked many years on the mountains.

“We’ve had some great results with the ORU,” he said.

“We’ve really benefitted from their valuable expertise they have in licensed venues, and their addition means we have a larger pool of police resources to draw from.”

Sen Sgt Incoll said the planning and preparation for each snow season begins in January and involves extensive liaising with the resort management boards, lodge owners, other emergency services and more.

“It’s quite unique to be planning for a snow season while we’re in the middle of the fire danger season up here, but that is what is needed,” he said.

Sen Sgt Incoll said proper preparation could mean the difference between life and death in the snow.

He recalls one season when a group of Northern Territory school students were enjoying their first ever snow experience, staying at Fitzgerald’s Hut, about 10km from Falls Creek.

“They went out in summer-like conditions, hardly any snow on the ground, and didn’t have any extreme weather gear.

“Overnight they got a metre of snow and were trapped because they couldn’t open the hut door.

“They were terribly unprepared and all thought they were going to die.

“We combined with the SES and paramedics and headed out to Fitzgerald’s Hut to basically save these kids’ lives.”

Using a police snowmobile, Sen Sgt Incoll patrols the ski resorts with Ldg Sen Const Tony Finlaw.

The danger of freezing temperatures is also still a risk within the resorts.

Having too much to drink at a pub in Melbourne can earn you a nasty hangover, but up at the snow, the consequences can be catastrophic.

“I can recount many, many times where we’ve saved someone’s life who has been drunk out in the snow,” Sen Sgt Incoll said.

“There was a gentleman at Falls Creek a couple of years ago who was inebriated and found covered in snow.

“The only reason we found him was because someone tripped over him as they were walking along.

“He would have been dead in the morning otherwise.”

This is why regular checks of licensed venues at the resorts are a mainstay of alpine policing.

“Every night is a Saturday night up in the snow fields and responsible service of alcohol is especially important,” Sen Sgt Incoll said.

“In Melbourne or in towns you might have someone who’s drunk in a pub and the security can just kick them out on to the street,” he said.

“But in the snow, you obviously can’t do that.”

Sen Sgt Incoll said ensuring vehicles were equipped with snow chains was another vital task for alpine officers.

“We always make sure we get the chains message across early in the season because it can be catastrophic if someone doesn’t have the right chains or none at all,” he said.

“It has a domino effect all the way down the road because you end up with 40, 50 or 60 cars lined up behind them.

“And when you’ve got that many people stuck in blizzard conditions, it quickly becomes an emergency management event.”

Sen Sgt Incoll said he was “incredibly proud” to see the work ethic and dedication his officers display each season.

“We have a huge focus on officer safety, because there are times where they have to go out in blizzards with 50-60km/h winds and visibility so poor you can’t see your hand in front of your face,” he said.

“Time and again our officers go above and beyond to keep people safe in the snow.”