The rescue of Stuart Diver after the disastrous 1997 Alpine Way collapse at Thredbo was the only jubilant moment in an otherwise tragic event. It was at about 11.35 pm on 30 July, 1997 that a steep section of the mountain gave way, causing Australia’s worst landslide. Unable to withstand the weight of the debris, Carinya and Bimbadeen Lodges were sheared off their foundations, burying sleeping residents alive. Of the nineteen people trapped by the rubble, Stuart Diver was the only survivor. The twenty-seven-year-old ski instructor had lain stuck in sub-zero temperatures for 65 hours before emerging from the ordeal. A spot at the northern end of the village where the two lodges once stood is now marked by a permanent memorial to those who lost their lives on the mountain they loved.

An extensive collection relating to the Thredbo disaster and rescue, including the original art work illustrated here, is held by the Thredbo Ski Museum.