A data board, not a verdict. Every value carries its source — you make the call.
Generated Sun 04 Oct 2026, 04:31 (local)
This dashboard never computes or restates an avalanche danger rating. Read the Mountain Safety Collective report before entering backcountry terrain.
Main Range report 2026-08-31
(34 d ago)· may be stale (>2 days) — verify
Dividing Range: report 2026-08-31 (34 d ago)
BOM station observations, never blended with the forecast. Arrows: change vs the same station ~3 h ago (measured, no model). No sensor sits on the Main Range itself. Station names link to BOM's own obs pages.
Overnight at Perisher Valley: min 0.1° at 00:20 · thawed yesterday, no refreeze — wet pack overnight
Thredbo Top Station 1957 m
11 min ago?° feels ?° · 15 WSW (19 g) km/h ▲11/3h · 100% RH · 4.8 mm since 9am
Perisher Valley 1738 m
11 min ago2.8° ▲2.7°/3h feels 0° · 7 WSW (19 g) km/h ▲1/3h · 96% RH · 0.0 mm since 9am
Cabramurra 1482 m
11 min ago4.3° ▼0.1°/3h feels 1° · 9 W (13 g) km/h ▲9/3h · 100% RH · 5.4 mm since 9am
Thredbo Village 1380 m · Non-AWS
13 h ago10.6° feels 10° · 0 CALM (? g) km/h · 72% RH · 3.0 mm since 9am
Base depth — Spencers Creek snow course (1830 m)
Canonical AU base-depth record (manual, ~weekly). No machine-readable value — open the chart. Measured below the ridge; there is no depth sensor on the Main Range itself.
Map by Windy.com · drag/zoom to explore; the marker sits on the Main Range.
freezing level 2330–2620 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)
✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)
1890 m · loads NE · board for 2026-10-04 · 06:00-18:00 local
| hour | temp | chill | wind | dir | gust | vis | cloud | precip | snow | frz.lvl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 2° | -1° | 6 | W | 20 | 0.1k | 100 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2380 |
| 07:00 | 2° | -1° | 6 | W | 21 | 0.2k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2350 |
| 08:00 | 2° | 0° | 2 | SW | 21 | 0.1k | 100 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2330 |
| 09:00 | 4° | 1° | 7 | W | 23 | 0.4k | 99 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2340 |
| 10:00 | 4° | 1° | 9 | W | 26 | 0.7k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2410 |
| 11:00 | 4° | 2° | 8 | W | 25 | 1.3k | 100 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2450 |
| 12:00 | 7° | 4° | 9 | WSW | 28 | 16.0k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2520 |
| 13:00 | 8° | 4° | 11 | W | 31 | 20.4k | 97 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2490 |
| 14:00 | 8° | 4° | 13 | W | 36 | 12.1k | 91 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2450 |
| 15:00 | 8° | 4° | 13 | WNW | 37 | 15.4k | 19 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2430 |
| 16:00 | 8° | 5° | 10 | W | 36 | 51.4k | 14 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2510 |
| 17:00 | 8° | 5° | 8 | W | 30 | 35.1k | 37 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2620 |
| 18:00 | 8° | 4° | 10 | WNW | 24 | 67.6k | 14 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2610 |
▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity
poor — visibility 120 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.
▲ wet-loose warming — high severity
warming 1.9→8.4 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.
derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast
Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here
freezing level 2330–2620 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)
✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)
1760 m · loads NE · board for 2026-10-04 · 06:00-18:00 local
| hour | temp | chill | wind | dir | gust | vis | cloud | precip | snow | frz.lvl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 2° | -1° | 7 | W | 20 | 0.3k | 100 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2380 |
| 07:00 | 2° | 0° | 6 | WSW | 19 | 0.5k | 100 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2350 |
| 08:00 | 3° | 0° | 5 | WSW | 19 | 0.7k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2330 |
| 09:00 | 4° | 1° | 6 | SW | 22 | 1.5k | 91 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2340 |
| 10:00 | 5° | 2° | 7 | SW | 24 | 6.0k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2410 |
| 11:00 | 5° | 2° | 7 | WSW | 24 | 10.2k | 100 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2450 |
| 12:00 | 7° | 4° | 6 | WSW | 23 | 9.7k | 100 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2520 |
| 13:00 | 7° | 5° | 7 | WSW | 24 | 11.9k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2490 |
| 14:00 | 9° | 6° | 9 | WSW | 28 | 17.7k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2450 |
| 15:00 | 9° | 5° | 14 | WSW | 41 | 71.9k | 20 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2430 |
| 16:00 | 10° | 6° | 14 | WSW | 45 | 75.5k | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2510 |
| 17:00 | 10° | 6° | 10 | WSW | 42 | 75.5k | 22 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2620 |
| 18:00 | 8° | 5° | 6 | W | 32 | 71.9k | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2610 |
▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity
poor — visibility 280 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.
▲ wet-loose warming — high severity
warming 2.1→9.8 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.
derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast
Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here
freezing level 2300–2540 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)
⚠ models diverge: temp 7.6 vs 4.4 °C (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less
1580 m · loads SE · board for 2026-10-04 · 06:00-18:00 local
| hour | temp | chill | wind | dir | gust | vis | cloud | precip | snow | frz.lvl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 3° | 0° | 6 | W | 20 | 0.3k | 100 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2330 |
| 07:00 | 3° | 0° | 6 | WSW | 19 | 0.5k | 100 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 2300 |
| 08:00 | 3° | 1° | 4 | W | 18 | 18.3k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2310 |
| 09:00 | 4° | 2° | 6 | SW | 20 | 11.0k | 100 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2330 |
| 10:00 | 5° | 2° | 6 | WSW | 21 | 4.8k | 100 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2350 |
| 11:00 | 5° | 3° | 6 | WSW | 21 | 3.5k | 100 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2420 |
| 12:00 | 7° | 4° | 6 | WSW | 21 | 10.8k | 100 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2490 |
| 13:00 | 8° | 5° | 7 | WSW | 23 | 10.2k | 100 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2420 |
| 14:00 | 9° | 6° | 10 | WSW | 29 | 15.3k | 98 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2420 |
| 15:00 | 9° | 5° | 16 | WSW | 43 | 71.5k | 11 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2400 |
| 16:00 | 10° | 6° | 17 | WSW | 46 | 79.1k | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2460 |
| 17:00 | 10° | 6° | 12 | WSW | 44 | 75.1k | 20 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2520 |
| 18:00 | 9° | 6° | 8 | WSW | 33 | 71.5k | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2540 |
▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity
poor — visibility 260 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.
▲ wet-loose warming — high severity
warming 2.9→10.5 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.
derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast
Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here
freezing level 2330–2620 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)
⚠ models diverge: temp 9.6 vs 5.6 °C (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less
1640 m · loads NE · board for 2026-10-04 · 06:00-18:00 local
| hour | temp | chill | wind | dir | gust | vis | cloud | precip | snow | frz.lvl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 4° | 1° | 7 | W | 22 | 0.3k | 100 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2380 |
| 07:00 | 4° | 1° | 6 | W | 21 | 0.3k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2350 |
| 08:00 | 4° | 2° | 5 | W | 18 | 0.3k | 100 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2330 |
| 09:00 | 5° | 3° | 5 | WSW | 20 | 0.6k | 91 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2340 |
| 10:00 | 6° | 4° | 6 | SW | 22 | 6.9k | 98 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2410 |
| 11:00 | 7° | 5° | 6 | WSW | 23 | 6.9k | 100 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2450 |
| 12:00 | 9° | 7° | 5 | WSW | 23 | 12.1k | 100 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2520 |
| 13:00 | 10° | 7° | 7 | WSW | 25 | 23.1k | 100 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2490 |
| 14:00 | 11° | 8° | 9 | W | 31 | 27.4k | 100 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2450 |
| 15:00 | 11° | 8° | 11 | W | 36 | 24.6k | 30 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2430 |
| 16:00 | 12° | 8° | 11 | W | 37 | 74.5k | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2510 |
| 17:00 | 11° | 8° | 7 | WSW | 34 | 74.5k | 30 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2620 |
| 18:00 | 10° | 7° | 4 | W | 25 | 74.5k | 12 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2610 |
▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity
poor — visibility 300 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.
▲ wet-loose warming — high severity
warming 3.6→11.5 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.
derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast
Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here
freezing level 2300–2540 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)
⚠ models diverge: temp 5.4 vs 1.1 °C (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less
2228 m · loads E · board for 2026-10-04 · 06:00-18:00 local
| hour | temp | chill | wind | dir | gust | vis | cloud | precip | snow | frz.lvl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 0° | -3° | 4 | W | 20 | 0.1k | 100 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2330 |
| 07:00 | 0° | -3° | 5 | WSW | 23 | 0.2k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2300 |
| 08:00 | 0° | -2° | 3 | S | 23 | 1.1k | 94 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2310 |
| 09:00 | 1° | -2° | 6 | WSW | 28 | 10.6k | 88 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2330 |
| 10:00 | 2° | -1° | 7 | W | 29 | 6.9k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2350 |
| 11:00 | 3° | 0° | 7 | W | 27 | 6.7k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2420 |
| 12:00 | 5° | 1° | 8 | WSW | 30 | 14.4k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2490 |
| 13:00 | 5° | 2° | 9 | W | 32 | 25.2k | 95 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2420 |
| 14:00 | 7° | 3° | 12 | W | 37 | 69.9k | 85 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2420 |
| 15:00 | 7° | 2° | 13 | W | 41 | 69.9k | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2400 |
| 16:00 | 7° | 3° | 10 | W | 40 | 69.9k | 13 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2460 |
| 17:00 | 6° | 2° | 9 | WNW | 33 | 28.0k | 32 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2520 |
| 18:00 | 5° | 1° | 10 | WNW | 26 | 66.9k | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2540 |
▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity
poor — visibility 140 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.
▲ wet-loose warming — high severity
warming -0.5→6.7 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.
derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast
Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here
freezing level 2330–2620 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)
⚠ models diverge: temp 9.6 vs 5.6 °C (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less
1720 m · loads E · board for 2026-10-04 · 06:00-18:00 local
| hour | temp | chill | wind | dir | gust | vis | cloud | precip | snow | frz.lvl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 4° | 1° | 7 | W | 22 | 0.3k | 100 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2380 |
| 07:00 | 4° | 1° | 6 | W | 21 | 0.3k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2350 |
| 08:00 | 4° | 2° | 5 | W | 18 | 0.3k | 100 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2330 |
| 09:00 | 5° | 3° | 5 | WSW | 20 | 0.6k | 91 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2340 |
| 10:00 | 6° | 4° | 6 | SW | 22 | 6.9k | 98 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2410 |
| 11:00 | 7° | 5° | 6 | WSW | 23 | 6.9k | 100 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2450 |
| 12:00 | 9° | 7° | 5 | WSW | 23 | 12.1k | 100 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2520 |
| 13:00 | 10° | 7° | 7 | WSW | 25 | 23.1k | 100 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2490 |
| 14:00 | 11° | 8° | 9 | W | 31 | 27.4k | 100 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2450 |
| 15:00 | 11° | 8° | 11 | W | 36 | 24.6k | 30 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2430 |
| 16:00 | 12° | 8° | 11 | W | 37 | 74.5k | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2510 |
| 17:00 | 11° | 8° | 7 | WSW | 34 | 74.5k | 30 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2620 |
| 18:00 | 10° | 7° | 4 | W | 25 | 74.5k | 12 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2610 |
▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity
poor — visibility 300 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.
▲ wet-loose warming — high severity
warming 3.6→11.5 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.
derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast
Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here
freezing level 2320–2640 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)
⚠ models diverge: temp 7 vs 3.8 °C (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less
2100 m · loads E · board for 2026-10-04 · 06:00-18:00 local
| hour | temp | chill | wind | dir | gust | vis | cloud | precip | snow | frz.lvl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 1° | -2° | 4 | W | 20 | 0.1k | 100 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2350 |
| 07:00 | 1° | -1° | 5 | WSW | 23 | 0.2k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2320 |
| 08:00 | 2° | -1° | 3 | S | 23 | 1.1k | 94 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2480 |
| 09:00 | 3° | 0° | 6 | WSW | 28 | 10.6k | 88 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2570 |
| 10:00 | 4° | 1° | 7 | W | 29 | 6.9k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2620 |
| 11:00 | 4° | 1° | 7 | W | 27 | 6.7k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2390 |
| 12:00 | 6° | 3° | 8 | WSW | 30 | 14.4k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2400 |
| 13:00 | 7° | 4° | 9 | W | 32 | 25.2k | 95 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2410 |
| 14:00 | 8° | 5° | 12 | W | 37 | 69.9k | 85 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2390 |
| 15:00 | 8° | 4° | 13 | W | 41 | 69.9k | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2470 |
| 16:00 | 8° | 5° | 10 | W | 40 | 69.9k | 13 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2550 |
| 17:00 | 8° | 4° | 9 | WNW | 33 | 28.0k | 32 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2600 |
| 18:00 | 6° | 3° | 10 | WNW | 26 | 66.9k | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2640 |
▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity
poor — visibility 140 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.
▲ wet-loose warming — high severity
warming 1.1→8.3 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.
derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast
Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here
freezing level 2300–2540 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)
⚠ models diverge: temp 7.3 vs 3 °C (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less
2050 m · loads E · board for 2026-10-04 · 06:00-18:00 local
| hour | temp | chill | wind | dir | gust | vis | cloud | precip | snow | frz.lvl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 1° | -1° | 4 | W | 20 | 0.1k | 100 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2330 |
| 07:00 | 2° | -1° | 5 | WSW | 23 | 0.2k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2300 |
| 08:00 | 2° | 0° | 3 | S | 23 | 1.1k | 94 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2310 |
| 09:00 | 3° | 0° | 6 | WSW | 28 | 10.6k | 88 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2330 |
| 10:00 | 4° | 1° | 7 | W | 29 | 6.9k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2350 |
| 11:00 | 4° | 2° | 7 | W | 27 | 6.7k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2420 |
| 12:00 | 7° | 4° | 8 | WSW | 30 | 14.4k | 100 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2490 |
| 13:00 | 7° | 4° | 9 | W | 32 | 25.2k | 95 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2420 |
| 14:00 | 9° | 5° | 12 | W | 37 | 69.9k | 85 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2420 |
| 15:00 | 8° | 4° | 13 | W | 41 | 69.9k | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2400 |
| 16:00 | 8° | 5° | 10 | W | 40 | 69.9k | 13 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2460 |
| 17:00 | 8° | 5° | 9 | WNW | 33 | 28.0k | 32 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2520 |
| 18:00 | 7° | 4° | 10 | WNW | 26 | 66.9k | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2540 |
▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity
poor — visibility 140 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.
▲ wet-loose warming — high severity
warming 1.4→8.6 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.
derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast
Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here
Perisher Valley
Community webcam (valley) · Webcam provided by Windy.com
Road and park status change fast in the alpine — open these before you drive. Chain-fit and snow closures apply to Kosciuszko Rd and the Alpine Way in winter.
Reduced speed limit · Check signage
A reduced speed limit is in place on Tantangara Rd for safety due to construction work associated with Snowy 2.0.
Road status: Transport for NSW Live Traffic (CC BY 4.0) · fetched 0 min ago
human-authored sources — names, links and post dates only, never their content
The Frog's forecasts (Snowatch) →
Pete Taylor's 5/10/15-day resort forecasts — the long-range human read
Mountainwatch forecasts →
the Grasshopper's worded outlooks + snow forecasts
Wilderness Sports BC report →
the Jindabyne backcountry shop's conditions blog
BOM Snowy Mountains forecast →
the official worded regional forecast
BOM radar (Canberra) →
what's actually falling right now
Perisher XC grooming →
XC trail grooming report (club)
Nordic Pulse (Perisher) →
live grooming tracker
ski.com.au forums →
recent real-world trip reports
The morning read ends with the safety net, not just the weather. Chains must be carried in Kosciuszko NP in winter (4WD/AWD exempt); Kosciuszko Rd is closed Perisher→Charlotte Pass (oversnow only). The full pre-trip checklist lives in the repo (docs/FIELD-NOTES.md).
When each input last updated and whether this build reached it. link = human-required source we point to, never parse.