Industry News
A much-needed snowstorm has brought 25 – 32 inches (64-80 centimeters) to Australian ski resorts. After a slow start to the season, the snowfall has transformed Australian ski resorts into winter wonderlands across Victoria and New South Wales. This has been the largest snow fall of the season so far, after what has been a slow start to the season.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has been on La Niña watch since April, however, the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently neutral, which is usually good for Australian ski resorts. The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is also neutral at the moment. In April, there was a chance the IOD might move into positive territory, which would have been extremely rare, but now it looks like a negative IOD is going to develop by spring. This could bring some late season snowfall to Australian ski resorts, provided temperatures stay low.
For now, things are looking up at Australian ski resorts. “We’ve had 80cm of fresh snow this past week and we are so excited to open more terrain thanks to the Summit Chairlift running for the first time this season,” said Betony Pitcher, Falls Creek’s Marketing Manager. “This opens up even more options for our guests with advanced skills and our black runs are groomed and ready!”
“It was a magical morning reveal following the snowstorm this week that delivered 78cm of natural snowfall,” said Alex Pankiw, Hotham Marketing Coordinator. “Sundays are made for sleeping in back in the city, but on the mountain everyone was up bright and early to make the most of these amazing conditions.”
Meanwhile, Selwyn Snow Resort has been able to open its advanced terrain, which the resort had not been able to operate for five years. Selwyn burned to the ground in the 2019/2020 bushfires that ravaged Australia following a long drought period. The resort took two years to rebuild its infrastructure, but in 2022, it could not open due to early snowfall and COVID-19-related material shortages, preventing the completion of restorations.
- Related: Australian Selwyn Snow Resort to Reopen After Being Burned to the Ground in 2020 Bush Fires
Hopefully, the 2024 season will keep delivering the goods and transform what has been a below-average start to the season into a decent season. Last year, many resorts were forced to close early due to a lack of snowfall in the peak month of August. The spring temperatures in September melted the eroding base quickly, forcing several resorts to halt operations as well as the cancellation of several FIS events that had been scheduled to take place in Australia. For now there is another 13 inches (33 centimeters) of snow forecast for the coming five days, which should give a nice top-up to the current base.
