It's safe to say we've seen it all now.

We've seen snow fall in late spring and even in summer on the Australian mainland. We've also seen Aussie winter snow so heavy that it caused avalanches – a hazard more commonly associated with much more mountainous countries, but which does happen here. There have even been fatalities over the years.  

READ MORE: Our story on Victorian avalanches after this year's heavy June snowfalls 

But we've never seen an out-of-season snowfall with heavy enough accumulation to cause a significant snow slide. Until now.

Snowy Mountains local Steve Smith (not a great cricketer but definitely a better skier than his famous namesake) got up early on Wednesday morning to take advantage of the unseasonable snowfalls, which you can read about here and here.

No ski lifts are open at this time of year, so he drove up towards the Charlotte Pass ski resort, where he hiked up the slopes of Mt Guthrie to earn a few turns on about 30 to 40 cm of fresh November snow.

Image: Avalanches were definitely not on our weather bingo card for Novrmber. Source: Steve Smith.

That's when trouble struck. As he started skiing down, the snowpack broke away from itself and started sliding in large chunks, triggered by his skis. Look carefully and you can see his tracks to the right of the slide in the image above.

Below is a shot of the same slide from a different angle.

Image: Stay safe out there, folks, this can happen to you. Source: Steve Smith.

Frighteningly, Steve was caught in the slide but as he told Weatherzone, "I just relaxed and rode it out for a few seconds. No big deal. Pretty gentle terrain in there."

For the record, Steve is an experienced back country skier who has had avalanche training. He skis with a full safety kit, and so should you if you ever venture out to the back country in any season.

But it was still a lucky escape, as avalanches can bury you even on gentle terrain like the terrain in the images above.

"Take care out there," Steve warned his fellow back country adventurers who will doubtlessly be heading out in flocks in coming days before this November snow melts.

"Out on the higher alpine terrain, I reckon the avalanche risk is real for a few days till it settles down."

Image: Same avvy, from a slightly different angle. Source: Steve Smith.

If you do happen to be heading to the high country of Victoria and NSW this weekend for any reason, the forecast is for cool, partly cloudy weather with the chance of a light shower or two (of rain, not snow), especially on Sunday.