Flurries fan snow seekers' joy in Victoria
EARLY falls have brought encouraging signs for another top year on the Victorian slopes, writes James Wigney.
WITH the opening of the 2013 ski season fast approaching, now is the time the dedicated snow lovers start gazing at the skies and looking obsessively at the weather reports.
But after the bumper season of 2012, is it too much for hope for two consecutive years of dream conditions in the Victorian Alps?
For those with the itch that only hurtling yourself down a mountain at breakneck speed can scratch, the signs so far are good.
Even though the ski season doesn't officially start in Victoria until Saturday, the major resorts have already had flurries of that precious white gold - and the snow guns are already blazing to give mother nature that helping hand she so often needs.
So it's time to start doing your squats, blow the cobwebs off the Gore-Tex jacket and plan for that skiing holiday. But where to go - and what's new?
Some big changes have happened at the closest resort to Melbourne, with Mt Buller boasting a new hotel in the heart of the village - Buller Central - which replaces the now-demolished YHA. The resort has also shelled out $400,000 to improve its automated snowmaking on the Little Buller Spur and Chamois runs as well as investing $500,000 in electronic scanning to improve the capacity on its popular Wombat chairlift.
Only three hours' drive from Melbourne, Buller is arguably Australia's most accessible resort, and has the largest lifting capacity in Victoria. The trade-off is that it's also the state's busiest resort in terms of visitor numbers - with more than 7000 on-mountain beds, meaning it can get pretty crowded, especially on weekends.
With a split of 20 per cent beginner trails, 45 per cent intermediate and 35 per cent advanced - as well as three terrain parks featuring boxes and rails - there's something for everyone, as well as snow-shoeing, tobogganing and snowtubing for the less adventurous.
And for after hours - or those who prefer to stay warm and dry - there's Australia's highest cinema, a spa retreat, alpine museum, indoor sports complex and even an indoor climbing wall. There will also be special events throughout the season - from the Banff Mountain Film Festival on June 29 to Christmas Week in early August and the Australian Interschools Championships from September 4-8.
Buller isn't the only resort that's been busy in the off-season. Mt Hotham and Falls Creek have invested heavily in electronic ticketing, which can be used across both resorts and is designed to reduce the time you spend queuing and get you making fresh tracks sooner.
After a successful trial last year, the resorts now have a Snow Pass, which can be organised in advance on PC, tablet or phone and is ready to roll when you get to the mountain. With a one-off charge of $3 for the pass used for scanning at key gates, it will also register your rental and lesson details and makes you eligible for discounts and special deals. Discount prices are available 30 days out and seven days out - and passes can be recharged online on the mountain, meaning you can bypass the ticket office.
Mt Hotham, the highest village in Victoria, is a bit more of a trek - a four-hour drive from Melbourne - but it's also the only resort with its own airport. With 40 per cent advanced terrain and 40 per cent intermediate, it has some of the most challenging runs in the country but there's plenty for the young skiers too, particularly at the Kids Snowzone at the Big D.
In addition to the night-skiing twice a week, there's also snowmobiling, dog-sledding, cat skiing, tobogganing and snow-grooming tours. The White Spa at Hotham Central also offers a range of body-melting treatments to ease the aches and pains.
There's something special on just about every week, too, from Learn To Ski weeks in June and September, the Australian Biathlon Championships on August 10 - the same day as the Sled Dog Championships - and a Breast Cancer Network Australia Fundraiser on the last day of winter.
With the biggest skiable area in Victoria - 60 per cent of its terrain given over to intermediate runs - and its European village atmosphere, Falls Creek's reputation as the family resort is well earned. A similar distance from Melbourne to Hotham, the vast bulk of the accommodation is ski-in, ski-out and the terrain parks are a magnet for the lovers of freestyle.
It's also a good chance to indoctrinate the next generation into the joys of skiing - children under 5 ski and board free when accompanied by a paying adult, as they do at Hotham. Buller also has free skiing for the under fives, as well as children's ticket prices for secondary school students and discounts for tertiary students.
As well as the grooming tours, cat skiing and the like, Falls also offers the chance to try your hand at "snocce" (that's snow bocce for the uninitiated) and snow bungy. There are also free kids concerts twice a week as well as fireworks spectaculars each Thursday night during July and August.
The other family friendly option is Mt Buffalo. Small and manageable, with just a couple of lifts and five pomas, Buffalo is best suited to beginners or cross-country skiiers, with access from nearby Bright and Porepunkah.
While, as ever, skiing in Australia involves a whole lot of hope, faith and snow dances, the technology now available lets the true believers strike while the iron is hot or, more to the point, when the snow is cold. Both Falls and Hotham now have excellent free apps, which not only feature the trail maps and events, but also provide up-to-the-minute snow and weather information, forecasts, lift status and snow cams. Even better is the Mountainwatch app ($2.99), which features a wealth of information from resorts around the world, including Australia, and allows hopeful powderhounds to set alerts for a predetermined amount of new snow - or even the forecast of a snow dump.
Another one for the family is Mount Baw Baw, a smaller resort in Gippsland just two and a half hours' drive from Melbourne. The resort boasts 35ha of groomed runs, with seven lifts and two snow play areas, plus 10km of groomed cross-county skiing trails. Dog sled tours are also on offer as well as group snowsports lessons. For the 2013 season, the resort has lengthened its Big Hill poma, installed new snow guns to the middle of the Summit Run and created a new toboggan area.
An attractive option for the budget conscious, Baw Baw also has the cheapest lift tickets in Victoria, with adult day tickets $75 on the weekend, a bargain $50 midweek, plus a five-day midweek pass available for $150. Kids under 6 and skiers over 70 are free. Regular events through the season include night skiing on Saturdays as well as a weekly terrain park competition for skiers and boarders with a snowboard to give away every weekend.
So set that alarm, cross your fingers and your toes and, as Dean Martin once sang, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
Falls Creek, Mt Hotham and Mt Buller all have a range of earlybird lift and accommodation packages on offer for different budgets.
ALL THE FACTS ON THE SNOWFIELDS
Summit altitude: 1804m
Village altitude: 1600m
Highest lifted point: 1780m
Vertical drop: 405m
Average snow depth: 1.11m
Terrain: Beginner 20 per cent,
intermediate 45 per cent, advanced 35 per cent
Skiable area: 300ha
Longest run: 2.5km
Marked trails: 80km
Cross-country trails: 9km
Lifts: 22
Capacity: 40,000 skiers an hour
Snowmaking: 78ha and 19km of resort trails covered by 176 machines
Groomers: 15
Village elevation: 1750m
Skiable area: 320ha
Terrain: Beginner 20 per cent,
intermediate 40 per cent, advanced 40 per cent
Lifts: 13
Highest lifted point: 1845m
Vertical drop: 395m
Longest run: 2.5km
Lift capacity: 24,485 skiers an hour
Grooming machines: Seven
Average natural snow depth: 1.50m
Average snowfalls: 3m
Snowmaking: 10ha
Cross-country trails: 35km
Highest altitude: 1842m
Highest lift: 1780m
Village altitude: 1600m
Average annual snowfall: 4m
Average days open: 128
Lifts: 14
Number of runs: 92, the steepest are off the Summit chairlift Mt McKay
Skiable area: 451ha
Vertical descent: 267m
Longest run: Wishing Well (blue) 3km
Terrain: Beginner
17 per cent,
intermediate 60 per cent, advanced 23 per cent
Groomed cross-country trails: 60km
More: fallscreek.com.au
Mt Buffalo
Summit: 1695m
Village: 1490m
Lifts: two double chairs, five pomas
Terrain: mostly green and blue trails, with a few black runs.
Highest altitude: 1567m
Highest lift: 1562m
Village altitude: 1450m
Average snow depth: 1m
Lifts: 7
Skiable area: 35ha
Vertical descent: 120m
Longest run: 680m
Groomed cross-country trails: 10km
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