Some Australian Ski Areas Close For 5 Days

In an escalation of moves by regional governments in the states of Australia to so outbreaks of the Delta variant of COVID 19, The Victorian Government has declared a state-wide five-day lockdown from 11:59pm Thursday 15 July until midnight on Tuesday 20 July.

This means that lifts at the state’s ski resorts which include Falls Creek and Mt Hotham will stop spinning for five days from tonight.

“We know that this is devastating news for our guests, employees, and local communities, and we want you to know that we share this sadness with you, and that we’ll ensure to be ready to welcome you back when the lockdown has lifted. The safety of our guests, staff and community is, and always will be, our highest priority and we encourage everyone to follow the lockdown rules so we can get back on the slopes as soon as possible,” a statement from Falls Creek said.

Victoria’s largest city, Melbourne, had been the first in Australia to go into lockdown at the start of the 2021 ski season in early-June, however the ski resorts were allowed to open and operate. As those lockdowns ended skiers from Melbourne were allowed to visit again if they’d had a recent negative test.

In recent weeks outbreaks in Sydney and other Australian cities had appeared more severe and things seemed to be looking up in Victoria with New Zealand re-opening its quarantine-free travel bubble with the state, but not neighbouring New South Wales earlier this week.

The lockdown will bring back unhappy memories of winter 2020 when most ski areas in Victoria only managed to open for a few days all winter, whilst those over the border in New South Wales were able to open for most of the winter if they wished, although some opted not to. However most ski areas in Victoria have already been open more days in 2021 than they were in 2020.

Ski areas in Victoria are currently receiving heavy snowfall meaning conditions should be great if they do re-open next week. Falls Creek pictured top and below.