Playing around is always risky business but in the outback it is necessarily a seasonal affair. The grid below highlights in grey the seasons when activities in this book can be flirted with. Common sense would dictate that the duration of a season will vary year-to-year depending on about a gazillion factors like climate, snow pack, greenhouse gases, participants' abilities and conditioning. Whenever planning an excursion factor in current conditions rather than just blindly following the guidebook. Afterall, there is a big difference between visiting a mountain top in July and October. Plan for the worst-case scenario every time and you should be able to avoid serious trouble.