NewsBite

Skiing

December 2024

for sale sign: The Victorian government wants to sell the operating rights to its Mt Baw Baw and Lake Mountain alpine resorts. 

Why Victoria will struggle to sell Mount Baw Baw alpine resort

More than one-third of the resort’s commercial sites are vacant and it doesn’t have enough power to use them all, business owners say.

November 2024

Lake Mountain, the closest snow field to Melbourne, targets the day-tripper market.

Victoria to sell loss-making Baw Baw, Lake Mountain ski resorts

The two resorts closest to Melbourne have long needed subsidies to keep operating. But selling them creates dilemmas for the state’s alpine tourism market.

October 2024

A new report has warned of reduced average snow depth in Australian alpine regions over coming years

New climate findings bad news for Aussie snow bunnies

Years of high-quality, deep snow cover across Australian alpine regions are becoming rare.

Four Seasons Hotel Whistler in Spring.

Why you would go skiing in Whistler in spring

Fewer crowds, great restaurants and a private art collection offer much to explore in this ski town in April. That’s in addition to great snow.

August 2024

Why Aussies love this ski resort – and it’s not Whistler

It starts with one season as a ski bum and morphs into an annual family holiday with kids in tow. People keep returning to SilverStar in Canada’s British Columbia.

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July 2024

Rhythm Snowsports owner Mick Klima taking in the sights at Thredbo on Friday.

Ski season finds cold comfort from a slow start

Ski industry operators say soft early snowfalls combined with 13 interest rate rises have led to a slower start to the season. But things can change quickly.

June 2024

Wedge Mountain Lodge and Spa Whistler

Live it up like a millionaire in Whistler’s newest luxury lodge

The Wedge Mountain Lodge & Spa has everything you can dream of and then some. At around $30,000 a night during the peak Christmas/New Year period, this stay is one for the bucket list.

May 2024

How this Australian went from ski bum to CEO of a Canadian ski resort

The much-loved Big White in British Columbia has been family owned for decades. Third-generation Peter Plimmer had to earn his stripes to take up the mantle.

Les Trois Vallées in the Savoie region of France has almost 600 kilometres of skiable terrain.

A ski pass for seven resorts for $619? France trumps the US on price

Ski Méribel once, and you’ll be hooked on Les Trois Vallées – especially as the region is cheaper than most American resorts.

Free Skiing in Steamboat.

The elite US ski town that flies under the radar of many Australians

It’s the American resort that’s bred the most winter Olympians. After a $US200 million overhaul, Steamboat’s 1500 hectares across six peaks is the place to be.

April 2024

Can Netflix’s billionaire founder Reed Hastings disrupt skiing?

Can the new owner of Utah’s Powder Mountain transform the ski industry the way he did entertainment, even as he learns the ski business on the fly?

March 2024

Wild old Bunch member Classie Page, 87, who often skis four days a week, at the Alta Ski Area, in Alta, Utah, on March 13.

These skiers are still chasing powder in their 80s and 90s

For the Wild old Bunch, getting older means more time for the mountain. And octogenarians onwards take part for free.

February 2024

It’s too expensive to build ski lodges in Japan’s powder paradise

Prospects for developers to generate large profits at famed Japanese ski destination Niseko are dwindling as speculation from foreign investors sends land prices soaring.

The ski fields of the Japanese hamlet of Hakuba are increasingly popular.

The Japanese town juggling an Australian invasion

Noisy parties and drunk tourists are the downside of an annual Australian invasion of Japan’s ski mecca of Hakuba.

January 2024

Has skiing become too fast and too furious?

Many report the 2022-23 season in France was one of the worst yet. Not for conditions, but for people behaving recklessly on the slopes.

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October 2023

Mt. Madarao in Japan.

Skiing in Japan to get a $2.2 billion upgrade close to Tokyo

Big plans are under way for Myoko Kogen as more global investors look to get in on the country’s red-hot tourism rebound.

Thredbo wants to build accommodation equating to 186 beds to take advantage of the regional tourism boom.

Thredbo eyes new accommodation for first time in 30 years

Event Hospitality wants to offload part of its Thredbo Golf Course to a developer to build a precinct housing 186 beds and take advantage of the regional tourism boom.

July 2023

It’s marvellous what a difference this Milo makes

If you’re into the great outdoors, the Milo communicator from Loose Cannon Systems is beyond great. It’s a must-have.

June 2023

Blizzard conditions will deliver resorts enough snow to open large swathes of terrain next week, but a forecast El Niño weighs on the outlook for the season.

Snow to blanket the Alps, but El Niño threatens the ski season

Blizzard conditions will deliver resorts enough snow to open large swathes of terrain next week, but a forecast El Niño weighs on the outlook for the season.

May 2023

The family owners of Pension Grimus (large building, lower right) at Mt Buller acquired the adjoining vacant lot (marked) for $1,375,000.

Grollo gives ‘family discount’ on key Mt Buller lot

In a tight-knit mountain community, the purchase of an alpine piece of land breathes new life into the much-loved Grimus family hospitality business.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/skiing-hq8