Industry News
The much anticipated opening weekend from June 8-10 across Australian resorts was a bit of a let-down, with only one resort opening chairlifts in the whole country. Only Mount Buller in Victoria (VIC) was able to operate the Bourke Street chairlift and Northside Express chairlift, while other resorts were, at best, operating conveyors, if they opened at all. Bourke Street Express was the only chair in all of Australia open for skiers. The resort also opened the Northside Express to allow access to the resort from the car park on the north side of the resort.
After some snowfall in May, warm temperatures and rainfall destroyed much of the snow cover in most of the Australian areas, leaving only small patches of snow at New South Wales (NSW) resorts Thredbo and Perisher, and entirely eroded the base in Selwyn. Selwyn Snow Resort was unable to offer any skiing, boarding, or tobogganing due to the lack of snow. The resort did open its visitor center for pedestrians but could not offer any snow activities. Perisher and Thredbo offered some snow sliding on the nursery slopes serviced by conveyors. Perisher also set up a small terrain park.
Meanwhile, in Victoria, Mount Buller, which has snowfarms that can make snow irrespective of temperature, was able to operate Australia’s only chairlift for skiing. The Bourke Street Express, a six-seater, was operating, giving access to the resort’s annual “death strip” down the Bourke Street run.
On the flip side, Hotham and Falls Creek were all unable to offer snow sliding for opening weekend. “Unfortunately, Mother Nature hasn’t been as kind, and we’re not able to open for skiing or boarding just yet,” stated Sam Gill, Head of Guest Services at Falls Creek. The resort offered visitors scenic chairlift rides and fireworks on Saturday night. Hotham kept visitors entertained with a trivia night and other activities. Unfortunately, the fireworks on Sunday night had to be canceled due to poor visibility.
Mount Baw Baw, VIC, however, had a small snow-strip operating for skiers and boarders and another small area for tobogganing and snow-play.
Also having a good start to the season was Corin Forest, a small ski and snow-play area in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The small resort was fully booked out and offered ski and snowboarding lessons, alpine slide, and live music. The rain only impacted the snow cover minimally, and the beginner’s ski area was able to open most of its territory.
Irrespective of the on-snow offering, the turnout at Australian ski resorts was good, with many visitors simply excited to celebrate the start of the 2024 ski season.
The weather forecast for this coming week is looking promising, with a cold front moving across Eastern Australia from Tuesday into Wednesday, bringing some windy and snowy conditions. Snow is expected to fall above 1,400 meters (4,593 feet), and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting up to 20 cm (8 inches) of snow for the next five days in NSW resorts and up to 15 cm (6 inches) for VIC resorts.
