Snowfall Arrives in Australia After Season Starts

Snow is falling on Aussie ski slopes after the official season start at the weekend saw only four centres able to offer any skiing or riding at all, and that very limited.

“Mother Nature has definitely come to the party here at Hotham – she might be a day or two late, but we’re excited as ever for the fresh snow,” said Alex Pankiw, Marketing Coordinator at Hotham, one of the centres yet to be able to offer any snowsports, who added, “The snow has been coming down since about 7am this morning and has been bucketing down all day long, bring it on! With more snow and cold temperatures forecast, we couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come.”

Most Australian ski centres traditionally open for the King’s Birthday long holiday weekend, including the public holiday on Monday, regardless of whether there’s any snow on the ground that early in the season or not.

This year it had been a little too warm with no natural snowfall since mid-May and snowmaking windows at night too brief to produce much. Despite that, Perisher and Thredbo resorts in New South Wales managed to create a few hundred metres of snow slope each whilst in Victoria Mt Buller, which has five all-weather snowmaking machines, believed to be more than any other ski centre on earth, created a kilometre.  Mt Baw Baw, which also operates an all-weather snowmaker, managed a small area too. 

Other areas are yet to open anything but the new snowfall and much lower temperatures allowing prolonged periods of snowmaking should change that very soon now.  

“It’s great to see the resort covered in white,” said Field Marketing Manager Betony Pitcher atr Falls Creek, also yet to open any runs, who continued, “It’s been snowing all morning and reminding us what a magical place it is on the mountain when it snows! We have more snowfall, cold temperatures and snow making forecast for this week and we’re all getting excited for the ski and board season ahead.”