The drought may be biting hard in most of Australia but fortunately for snow skiers, the word is that it will snow a lot earlier than usual this year. This prediction comes from long range weather forecaster John Moore who forecasts for medium to heavy snow in June, the week before the long-weekend in fact. So the word is … book early. August bookings are already looking solid.With that in mind, your next question is, where do you ski and stay this winter? You can expect to see some big changes in some of the popular resorts this winter. New chairlifts, reworked runs and long overdue renovations. Smaller improvements include ideas such as "never evers", roped-off areas so you can learn to "glide" without colliding with those who know what they’re doing.
The New South Wales Snowfields
Thredbo – NSWThredbo Village hugs the mountainside opposite the ski hill. The Thredbo ski slopes are a sprawling 480 ha of wide open slopes and interesting trails through snowgums. It boasts Australia’s longest run, Karel’s T-Bar to Friday Flat, at 5.9km. Thredbo boasts it has the country’s longest runs but all can be skied in a day. Thredbo is 5 hours drive from Sydney and 7 hours from Melbourne Victoria.Spending $3 million to $5 million every year for the past few, Thredbo hasn’t been holding back when it comes to upgrading facilities and visual appeal. Thredbo is a world class alpine village with the only one to rival Thredbo’s atmosphere and cosiness being Mt Buller in Victoria.The feeling in Thredbo Village is that of a classic alpine village offering sophisticated restaurants as well as your favourite pizza and kebab bars. After a day of skiing you can visit
The Bistro for a game of pool or sip champagne in the Lounge Bar. Dance through the night in the Keller or drink cocktails in the new Apres Bar at Denman Mountain Inn. So whats new at Thredbo this year? First there’s a new ski run to try. Ramshead’s Tower 10 has been removed to open up the new World Cup Run alongside the Supertail. More features appear in the terrain parks, and for the kids, new skiing zones have been set up on Friday Flat plus the new roped off glide area for never-evers.Beginners are welcome at Thredbo! Thredbo always knew it was a little imposing to beginners as you had to take a long chairlift ride to the learners’ area, and this was always going to be a little off-putting. With this in mind, Friday Flat was created at the base area, where beginners can walk up a few stairs and start learning on the very gentle slope accessed by a moving carpet. No chairlift required!When you are ready to take the next step there’s a four-seater chairlift to the top of the beginners’ slope to get you used to getting on and off a chairlift without incident.Where to ski at ThredboFor advanced skiers its hard to go past Cannonball Run and Little Beauty after taking off from The Bluff. This run is full of tight turns, fun rollers, has a natural fall line and… is never crowded. The intermediates will enjoy the Cruiser at Mieritts and the Supertrails while beginners can learn at their own pace on Friday Flat.www.thredbo.com.auPerisher Blue – NSWWith 50 lifts and over 1,245 ha of space, Perisher Blue is a big, spread out ski field. In fact Perisher Blue is the biggest resort in the southern hemisphere. Perisher offers shorter runs than most other ski fields but packs in plenty of interesting skiing with its pretty valleys and heaps of natural rollers. Perisher offers excellent skiing for all standards and is 5 hours drive from Sydney and 7 hours from Melbourne.It’s less intimidating than other Australian ski fields with T-bars the main way to get around and the initial slopes are very gentle with the longest run at 3km. Spring festival (in September) will be bigger and better this year with Perisher celebrating its 10th anniversary since four ski fields joined together to create just one.New this year is a five-and-a-half day pass allowing package-holiday makers squeeze in an extra half day. Perisher has added a snow tube park at Mt Piper, adjacent the Perisher car park, providing fun for all ages. Blue Cow has more snowmaking and a bigger slope style with more rails and boxes.There’s good news for snowboarders and free skiers this season with a new Playstation supersized terrain park at Blue Cow. This year Perisher is expanding the First Tracks program to include forays to Blue Cow as well as Mt Perisher. All boarders and skiers of strong intermediate standard or above will love First Tracks.Where to ski at Perisher BluePleasant Valley at Blue Cow, or Smiggins are best for beginners. Front Valley or Guthega are great for intermediates with Mt Perisher and The Ridge at Blue Cow the best for advanced skiers. Snowboarders should head to the new Blue Cow Superpark.Try something a little different this winter and ride at night with the mountain groomers on Front Valley.www.perisherblue.com.auCharlotte Pass – NSWCharlotte Pass is a small family resort with a cluster of 12 older style friendly lodges. The village is dominated by Kosciusko Chalet, a snow bound chalet which is one of the most historic inns in the Snowy Mountains. At 1760m, Charlotte is Australia’s highest ski resort and is also the closest resort to Mt Koszciusko. You can only access the ski village via an 8km snowcat trip.The skiing at Charlotte Pass is gentle and on a big bowl visible from the Kosciusko Chalet. The Snowy Hydro’s cloud-seeding program is expected to boost snowfall in the area by up to 25 per cent. www.charlottepass.com.auThe Selwyn Snowfields – NSWThe Selwyn snowfields is mostly devoted to beginners and novice skiers making it a beginners paradise. Only 12 per cent is graded black. Selwyn has 12 ski lifts, tubing and tobogganing areas and a base facility. Selwyn is a great place to bring children or if your looking for your first snow experience.Snow making has been boosted by a third to cover 80 per cent of the Selwyn ski field. A magic carpet lift has been installed for the children’s ski school.Note: there’s no accommodation at Selwyn. You stay at Adaminaby, 35 minutes away. You can also stay at Tumit or Cooma which are both about an hour away, in different directions.Selwyn snowfields is the snow playground your whole family will enjoy, with skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing, snow tubing or just having fun playing in the snow.www.smhc.com.au
The Victorian Snowfields
Between June and September, stay in a Victorian alpine resort above the snowline and experience the ultimate advantage of ski-in, ski-out accommodation. The Victorian state’s snowfields offer a complete range of exhilarating snow activities in a diverse array of settings.At Mt Buller, just a three hour drive from Melbourne, you can enjoy a lively après-ski scene. In the European style village of Falls Creek, you can choose from an array of outstanding bars and restaurants. Or fly to Mount Hotham and test your skills on the slopes of the state’s highest resort.Mt Buller - VictoriaA sophisticated ski resort, Mt Buller is Victoria’s equivalent to NSW’s Thredbo. Just three hours from Melbourne, Mt Buller is a great all-round resort suitable for all standards of skiing. This year Mt Buller takes the honour of offering Australia’s only new chairlift, the Emirates Discovery quad chair on the north side. This new chairlift is the star attraction of Mt Buller’s fleet of 25 lifts, which can carry more than 40,000 people an hour and serve the 80 km of groomed runs on the 263 hectares of ski fields.So where is the best places to ski at Mt Buller? Beginners are best suited to Bourke St or Burnt Hut. Intermediates will love the wide blue runs off the Emirates Discovery chair lift, and Little Buller Spur and Wombat are still the classics.Federation is Mt Buller’s signature advanced run and after a snowfall, the Wombat Bowl’s Outer Edge is outstanding. After a fresh dump of powder, The Village Run, an ungroomed north-side black run, offers spectacular skiing through the gum trees and holds the snow well. This gives you plenty of time to make fresh tracks!For snowboarders, the Shakey Knees and Tirol are now great as you don’t have to clip off or skate across the terrain.This year, cross-country skiers will benefit from the new Mt Buller gate entry, which now includes entry to Mt Stirling. A new bridge has been built to open up access to that mountain.Your rest days are easily filled if you use Mt Buller’s other facilities. Try out the cinema, gym or spa retreat. Or just jump on a chairlift for a scenic ride and a mountain coffee.www.mtbuller.com.auMt Hotham - VictoriaLong known as the serious skier’s resort, Mt Hotham has raised the stakes in the après department too. A 5 hour drive from Melbourne and 9 hours from Sydney, Mt Hotham is the only resort with an airport. Direct flights operate from Melbourne and Sydney so it’s the closest snow destination to every capital city in Australia.At 320 ha, the Hotham ski field is smaller than its two NSW counterparts, but Hothams major plus is the bucket loads of true powder snow. It also has good fall line skiing, plenty to challenge the advanced skier.Hotham has 85 marked runs Easy Street to the Wall of Death, but for every ski run there are another two bearing local names that can’t be found on a trail map. Beginners can go straight to Big D, an area designed for first-timers that also has night skiing on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Once you have your ski legs you can head to the Summit. Intermediates can try out The Orchard and advanced skiers will love the Extreme Zone and One Tree Hill.www.hotham.com.auFalls Creek - VictoriaWhether skiing, boarding or snowplay’s your thing, Falls Creek should keep you happy. Falls Creek is a ski resort that will offer thrills for everyone in your family. It doesn’t matter how hot you are on the snow. About four hours drive from Melbourne, Falls Creek offers 92 runs, most are for intermediates and there are excellent terrain parks and a superpipe. Falls Creek is a car free village.For the first time this year Falls Creek will introduce a new week long program designed specifically for the beginner. The "Beginner-Friendly" program will operate from June 20 –24 and is expected to be an annual event. Beginners will use the latest skis or boards and start gently, getting the same instructor for all five days. The program includes a five-day lift/lessons/rental pass, additional lessons on the first and second afternoons, one snow-tubing session, video analysis, a souvenir group photograph and certificate."First Tracks" is another innovation for those who love the freedom of the slopes. This program operates every Wednesday and allows up to 20 skiers first crack at Sun Valley from 8am, before they open the lifts to everyone else.Also, new this season is an extra 5 hectares of snowmaking with five new fan guns added at Drovers Dream. At the terrain parks on Sun Valley and Ruined Castle there’s a stack of jumps, rails and fun boxes for all levels of freeriding.Where to ski at Falls Creek? Beginners head to Drovers Dream. Intermediates ski Sun Valley and the Towers chairlift. You can also catch the Scott and Ruined Castle chairs. For the advanced skier, The Maze, Village Bowl and Mt McKay are good choices. Terrain parks near the Ruined Castle chairlift are suited to freeriders.For the advanced skier or snowboarder, a visit to The Maze is terrific after a snowfall with advanced skiing through the trees a standout. Cabbage Patch has good steeps. Oest Wand has a nice testing pitch for intermediates and above. Shadow Ridge is a hidden gem off the Scott chair. For children, the Fox Trail terrain park introduces small jumps for them to get the feel for free air.www.fallscreek.com.auMt Buffalo - VictoriaThis boutique ski resort is a great place to learn to ski. Mt Buffalo is located 3.5 hours from Melbourne and 8 hours from Sydney. Mt Buffalo’s ski area has been resurrected for 2005 with new accommodation that makes it an affordable ski destination for families. Accommodation in the resort has been refurbished and upgraded. A new café and restaurant will also be ready for the 2005 season, along with five ski lifts, updated ski-hire facilities and a new snow-grooming machine.Under new management, Mt Buffalo’s smaller ski area (Dingo Dell) which was damaged by the recent bush fires will become a snow-tubing park with a new café. Mt Buffalo also has 15kms of cross-country trails and snow-shoeing to outstanding lookouts. www.mtbuffalochalet.com.auMt Baw Baw - VictoriaAnother of Victoria’s boutique ski resorts, Mt Baw Baw is 2.5 hours drive from Victoria and 12 hours from Sydney. Mt Baw Baw has 5 lifts on a 30 ha ski field, 10km of cross country trails, toboggan run and a snow tube park.www.mountbawbaw.com.auLake Mountain - VictoriaKnown as Victoria’s cross-country and snowplay resort, Lake Mountain is under 2 hours drive from Melbourne and only 20 kms from Marysville. Lake Mountain has 37 kms of cross-country trails and seven toboggan runs. This year a new six-gun snow making system will extend the season and ensure the toboggan runs and ski school area have fresh snow.www.lakemountainresort.com.auMt Stirling - VictoriaIf cross country skiing at Mt Stirling has more of a semi-wilderness feel with over 60kms of cross country trails to explore. Mt Stirling, which sits besides Mt Buller is 3.5 hours drive from Melbourne and just 32km from Mansfield. Winter facilities at Mt Stirling include snow patrol, cross country ski lessons, ski hire and a bistro.
The New South Wales Snowfields
Thredbo – NSWThredbo Village hugs the mountainside opposite the ski hill. The Thredbo ski slopes are a sprawling 480 ha of wide open slopes and interesting trails through snowgums. It boasts Australia’s longest run, Karel’s T-Bar to Friday Flat, at 5.9km. Thredbo boasts it has the country’s longest runs but all can be skied in a day. Thredbo is 5 hours drive from Sydney and 7 hours from Melbourne Victoria.Spending $3 million to $5 million every year for the past few, Thredbo hasn’t been holding back when it comes to upgrading facilities and visual appeal. Thredbo is a world class alpine village with the only one to rival Thredbo’s atmosphere and cosiness being Mt Buller in Victoria.The feeling in Thredbo Village is that of a classic alpine village offering sophisticated restaurants as well as your favourite pizza and kebab bars. After a day of skiing you can visit
The Bistro for a game of pool or sip champagne in the Lounge Bar. Dance through the night in the Keller or drink cocktails in the new Apres Bar at Denman Mountain Inn. So whats new at Thredbo this year? First there’s a new ski run to try. Ramshead’s Tower 10 has been removed to open up the new World Cup Run alongside the Supertail. More features appear in the terrain parks, and for the kids, new skiing zones have been set up on Friday Flat plus the new roped off glide area for never-evers.Beginners are welcome at Thredbo! Thredbo always knew it was a little imposing to beginners as you had to take a long chairlift ride to the learners’ area, and this was always going to be a little off-putting. With this in mind, Friday Flat was created at the base area, where beginners can walk up a few stairs and start learning on the very gentle slope accessed by a moving carpet. No chairlift required!When you are ready to take the next step there’s a four-seater chairlift to the top of the beginners’ slope to get you used to getting on and off a chairlift without incident.Where to ski at ThredboFor advanced skiers its hard to go past Cannonball Run and Little Beauty after taking off from The Bluff. This run is full of tight turns, fun rollers, has a natural fall line and… is never crowded. The intermediates will enjoy the Cruiser at Mieritts and the Supertrails while beginners can learn at their own pace on Friday Flat.www.thredbo.com.auPerisher Blue – NSWWith 50 lifts and over 1,245 ha of space, Perisher Blue is a big, spread out ski field. In fact Perisher Blue is the biggest resort in the southern hemisphere. Perisher offers shorter runs than most other ski fields but packs in plenty of interesting skiing with its pretty valleys and heaps of natural rollers. Perisher offers excellent skiing for all standards and is 5 hours drive from Sydney and 7 hours from Melbourne.It’s less intimidating than other Australian ski fields with T-bars the main way to get around and the initial slopes are very gentle with the longest run at 3km. Spring festival (in September) will be bigger and better this year with Perisher celebrating its 10th anniversary since four ski fields joined together to create just one.New this year is a five-and-a-half day pass allowing package-holiday makers squeeze in an extra half day. Perisher has added a snow tube park at Mt Piper, adjacent the Perisher car park, providing fun for all ages. Blue Cow has more snowmaking and a bigger slope style with more rails and boxes.There’s good news for snowboarders and free skiers this season with a new Playstation supersized terrain park at Blue Cow. This year Perisher is expanding the First Tracks program to include forays to Blue Cow as well as Mt Perisher. All boarders and skiers of strong intermediate standard or above will love First Tracks.Where to ski at Perisher BluePleasant Valley at Blue Cow, or Smiggins are best for beginners. Front Valley or Guthega are great for intermediates with Mt Perisher and The Ridge at Blue Cow the best for advanced skiers. Snowboarders should head to the new Blue Cow Superpark.Try something a little different this winter and ride at night with the mountain groomers on Front Valley.www.perisherblue.com.auCharlotte Pass – NSWCharlotte Pass is a small family resort with a cluster of 12 older style friendly lodges. The village is dominated by Kosciusko Chalet, a snow bound chalet which is one of the most historic inns in the Snowy Mountains. At 1760m, Charlotte is Australia’s highest ski resort and is also the closest resort to Mt Koszciusko. You can only access the ski village via an 8km snowcat trip.The skiing at Charlotte Pass is gentle and on a big bowl visible from the Kosciusko Chalet. The Snowy Hydro’s cloud-seeding program is expected to boost snowfall in the area by up to 25 per cent. www.charlottepass.com.auThe Selwyn Snowfields – NSWThe Selwyn snowfields is mostly devoted to beginners and novice skiers making it a beginners paradise. Only 12 per cent is graded black. Selwyn has 12 ski lifts, tubing and tobogganing areas and a base facility. Selwyn is a great place to bring children or if your looking for your first snow experience.Snow making has been boosted by a third to cover 80 per cent of the Selwyn ski field. A magic carpet lift has been installed for the children’s ski school.Note: there’s no accommodation at Selwyn. You stay at Adaminaby, 35 minutes away. You can also stay at Tumit or Cooma which are both about an hour away, in different directions.Selwyn snowfields is the snow playground your whole family will enjoy, with skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing, snow tubing or just having fun playing in the snow.www.smhc.com.auThe Victorian Snowfields
Between June and September, stay in a Victorian alpine resort above the snowline and experience the ultimate advantage of ski-in, ski-out accommodation. The Victorian state’s snowfields offer a complete range of exhilarating snow activities in a diverse array of settings.At Mt Buller, just a three hour drive from Melbourne, you can enjoy a lively après-ski scene. In the European style village of Falls Creek, you can choose from an array of outstanding bars and restaurants. Or fly to Mount Hotham and test your skills on the slopes of the state’s highest resort.Mt Buller - VictoriaA sophisticated ski resort, Mt Buller is Victoria’s equivalent to NSW’s Thredbo. Just three hours from Melbourne, Mt Buller is a great all-round resort suitable for all standards of skiing. This year Mt Buller takes the honour of offering Australia’s only new chairlift, the Emirates Discovery quad chair on the north side. This new chairlift is the star attraction of Mt Buller’s fleet of 25 lifts, which can carry more than 40,000 people an hour and serve the 80 km of groomed runs on the 263 hectares of ski fields.So where is the best places to ski at Mt Buller? Beginners are best suited to Bourke St or Burnt Hut. Intermediates will love the wide blue runs off the Emirates Discovery chair lift, and Little Buller Spur and Wombat are still the classics.Federation is Mt Buller’s signature advanced run and after a snowfall, the Wombat Bowl’s Outer Edge is outstanding. After a fresh dump of powder, The Village Run, an ungroomed north-side black run, offers spectacular skiing through the gum trees and holds the snow well. This gives you plenty of time to make fresh tracks!For snowboarders, the Shakey Knees and Tirol are now great as you don’t have to clip off or skate across the terrain.This year, cross-country skiers will benefit from the new Mt Buller gate entry, which now includes entry to Mt Stirling. A new bridge has been built to open up access to that mountain.Your rest days are easily filled if you use Mt Buller’s other facilities. Try out the cinema, gym or spa retreat. Or just jump on a chairlift for a scenic ride and a mountain coffee.www.mtbuller.com.auMt Hotham - VictoriaLong known as the serious skier’s resort, Mt Hotham has raised the stakes in the après department too. A 5 hour drive from Melbourne and 9 hours from Sydney, Mt Hotham is the only resort with an airport. Direct flights operate from Melbourne and Sydney so it’s the closest snow destination to every capital city in Australia.At 320 ha, the Hotham ski field is smaller than its two NSW counterparts, but Hothams major plus is the bucket loads of true powder snow. It also has good fall line skiing, plenty to challenge the advanced skier.Hotham has 85 marked runs Easy Street to the Wall of Death, but for every ski run there are another two bearing local names that can’t be found on a trail map. Beginners can go straight to Big D, an area designed for first-timers that also has night skiing on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Once you have your ski legs you can head to the Summit. Intermediates can try out The Orchard and advanced skiers will love the Extreme Zone and One Tree Hill.www.hotham.com.auFalls Creek - VictoriaWhether skiing, boarding or snowplay’s your thing, Falls Creek should keep you happy. Falls Creek is a ski resort that will offer thrills for everyone in your family. It doesn’t matter how hot you are on the snow. About four hours drive from Melbourne, Falls Creek offers 92 runs, most are for intermediates and there are excellent terrain parks and a superpipe. Falls Creek is a car free village.For the first time this year Falls Creek will introduce a new week long program designed specifically for the beginner. The "Beginner-Friendly" program will operate from June 20 –24 and is expected to be an annual event. Beginners will use the latest skis or boards and start gently, getting the same instructor for all five days. The program includes a five-day lift/lessons/rental pass, additional lessons on the first and second afternoons, one snow-tubing session, video analysis, a souvenir group photograph and certificate."First Tracks" is another innovation for those who love the freedom of the slopes. This program operates every Wednesday and allows up to 20 skiers first crack at Sun Valley from 8am, before they open the lifts to everyone else.Also, new this season is an extra 5 hectares of snowmaking with five new fan guns added at Drovers Dream. At the terrain parks on Sun Valley and Ruined Castle there’s a stack of jumps, rails and fun boxes for all levels of freeriding.Where to ski at Falls Creek? Beginners head to Drovers Dream. Intermediates ski Sun Valley and the Towers chairlift. You can also catch the Scott and Ruined Castle chairs. For the advanced skier, The Maze, Village Bowl and Mt McKay are good choices. Terrain parks near the Ruined Castle chairlift are suited to freeriders.For the advanced skier or snowboarder, a visit to The Maze is terrific after a snowfall with advanced skiing through the trees a standout. Cabbage Patch has good steeps. Oest Wand has a nice testing pitch for intermediates and above. Shadow Ridge is a hidden gem off the Scott chair. For children, the Fox Trail terrain park introduces small jumps for them to get the feel for free air.www.fallscreek.com.auMt Buffalo - VictoriaThis boutique ski resort is a great place to learn to ski. Mt Buffalo is located 3.5 hours from Melbourne and 8 hours from Sydney. Mt Buffalo’s ski area has been resurrected for 2005 with new accommodation that makes it an affordable ski destination for families. Accommodation in the resort has been refurbished and upgraded. A new café and restaurant will also be ready for the 2005 season, along with five ski lifts, updated ski-hire facilities and a new snow-grooming machine.Under new management, Mt Buffalo’s smaller ski area (Dingo Dell) which was damaged by the recent bush fires will become a snow-tubing park with a new café. Mt Buffalo also has 15kms of cross-country trails and snow-shoeing to outstanding lookouts. www.mtbuffalochalet.com.auMt Baw Baw - VictoriaAnother of Victoria’s boutique ski resorts, Mt Baw Baw is 2.5 hours drive from Victoria and 12 hours from Sydney. Mt Baw Baw has 5 lifts on a 30 ha ski field, 10km of cross country trails, toboggan run and a snow tube park.www.mountbawbaw.com.auLake Mountain - VictoriaKnown as Victoria’s cross-country and snowplay resort, Lake Mountain is under 2 hours drive from Melbourne and only 20 kms from Marysville. Lake Mountain has 37 kms of cross-country trails and seven toboggan runs. This year a new six-gun snow making system will extend the season and ensure the toboggan runs and ski school area have fresh snow.www.lakemountainresort.com.auMt Stirling - VictoriaIf cross country skiing at Mt Stirling has more of a semi-wilderness feel with over 60kms of cross country trails to explore. Mt Stirling, which sits besides Mt Buller is 3.5 hours drive from Melbourne and just 32km from Mansfield. Winter facilities at Mt Stirling include snow patrol, cross country ski lessons, ski hire and a bistro.
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