Buller can boast the alpine best

MOUNT Buller has been blessed with not only good snow this year but a new six-seater chairlift that has changed the face of the resort.

Skiing at Mount Buller

HIGH lift ticket prices? High fuel prices? Sure those costs are racheting up but ... nothing stops committed skiers from pursuing their passion if the snow is up to scratch.

And this year Victoria's premiere ski hill Mount Buller has been blessed with not only good snow but a new six-seater chairlift that has changed the face of the resort.

The slopes of Mount Buller, an easy 2 ½-hour drive from Melbourne, saw more activity than any Australian ski field last summer.

Not only was the high-speed $6 million Holden chairlift installed – complete with padded seats, footrests and, of course, some of the best views in the alps – but 25 lift towers were removed in a major reshuffle of the ski field.

(The Holden lift is sponsored by the car company, rather than powered by its engines.)

These engineering feats have vastly improved the people-flow around what was already one of Australia's best-lifted resorts.

Long-time Mount Buller skiers have had first-hand experience of the six-seater lift and say it's the best thing to happen at the resort in over 10 years. "The amount of people it can shift up the mountain is fantastic," said one old hand, Malcolm Turner, a ski industry worker who has patronised the field for more than 30 years.

"There's not so much of a log-jam at the base of the Blue Bullet 1 chair (the beginner lift that accesses the mountain) in the morning because once people get up to the top they can either ski down to the new lift and disperse or go across to Burnt Hut spur, or they can hook over the other side to the standard run and ski down to Bull Run chair.

"Or once they get up to the top of the Holden Express lift they have the whole summit – Wombat, Little Buller spur – open to them. So, basically, the new chair gives better access to the mountain. And it's fast.

"For me it's perfect: I come straight out of my place and just hop on it."

The skies, too, have also been playing ball. The season so far hasn't been as epic as last year but the falls finally came in the second week of the school holidays making the resort totally skiable.

Mount Buller is often plagued by lack of snow on its lower slopes due to its location on the edge of the range (its closeness to Melbourne can be a double-edged sword).

However, now the snow cover is finally doing justice to Mount Buller's long, steep runs which vie for the title of some of the best in the country for advanced skiers.

"What we have now is fantastic," Turner said. "You can ski everywhere. When Buller's got snow and it's a lovely day, it's as good as anywhere in the world.

"I've had some great days at Buller and it's as good as anywhere I've ever skied."

Mount Buller visitors, both new and repeat, are benefiting from an injection of money into all kinds of development, too.

There's no sign of the economy slowing up here: a quick drive around the resort reveals dozens of construction sites fronted by "for sale" signs and artists' impressions of the luxury apartments soon to be built.

About $40 million worth of development is going up in this small mountain top area, and average property values have shot up from $750,000 to $820,000 in the past 12 months, according to Hay Property Consultants, one of only a few companies to value alpine real estate.

Some have been quick to capitalise on the proximity to the city's monied crowd, with chic B&Bs such as Andre's at Buller opening their doors.

Andre's offers gourmet food, an architect-designed lodge and all the little luxuries that make staying in the mountains so cosy.

More affordable places like the Ajax Ski Club offer smart modern accommodation with reasonable rates and the European-style dinner-bed-breakfast option.

Established in the late 1920s, Mount Buller has a sense of history and, along with newcomers such as Breathtaker Spa (Australia's highest spa) and the just-opened Snow Pony restaurant, it's well worth visiting some of the long-established places such as the legendary Pension Grimus and The Duck Inn. Both have atmospheric bars and terrific food.

And Mount Buller still offers plenty to do in the off-season. Less than an hour away down the valley, Watsons Mountain Country Trail Rides near Mansfield takes trail riders along stunning paths that lead to where The Man From Snowy River was filmed.

The writer was a guest of Mount Buller.

The Sunday Telegraph