That's snow way to make tracks

A BACKCOUNTRY tour with three-time Olympian Steve Lee is a great way to explore Falls Creek's off-piste offerings, writes Angela Saurine.

Falls creek Escape

IT'S a fast, steep and sometimes bumpy ride as we are dragged up the hill behind Steve Lee's ski-doo.

Holding on tightly, I look around at the virgin snow surrounding us with a grin from ear to ear.

The only tracks I can see are the ski lines from our previous run and a few fox paw prints.

Lee, a modest three-time Olympian, alpine free rider and sports commentator, designed the sled we are on, based on the Club Med banana.

We sit behind each other in a row on chairs rescued from the local primary school and glide along on four snowboards.

Lee's back-country tours give skiers and snowboarders access to 450ha of terrain  - the same as the adjoining Falls Creek resort.

The difference is there are about 4000 people in the resort area and just the six of us -  plus perhaps the odd cross-country skier or hiker  -  out of it.

There has been a dusting of snow overnight and we are lucky to have bluebird skies and plenty of sunshine for our tour.

From the top of the hill we look down over Rocky Mountain Dam, which looks more like a lake, far below.

Throughout the morning we get glorious fresh tracks down runs with names such as Shangri-La and Rocky Knolls. After a few turns we joke that the area is tracked out and we have to move on to somewhere else.

Our next run is down McCay South East Gully, through trees and rocks.

"Watch the spaces not the places," Lee advises before we descend.

None of us hit anything, so I guess it works.

When we get to the track at the bottom, we stop for a welcome shot of honey from a sachet Lee gives us for an energy boost. We can hear the creek rushing below us, thanks to the melting snow, and Lee fills his water bottle in a nearby waterfall and gives us all a taste.

This has to be the most fun you can have skiing in Australia.

"There were a lot of naysayers, but it's worked a dream," Lee says.

"We used a cat for the first month but this is such a better way to do it, it's much faster. You can get more runs in and it's a great way of getting about."

Lee's tour is the only one of its kind in the country, and cat-skiing operators from Canada have spoken to him about developing the idea there.

It is a family-run operation. Lee's 19-year-old daughter, Layla, the daughter of former Chantoozies singer Tottie Goldsmith, takes turns driving the ski-doo and guiding, while his sister takes up the rear.

No one knows the mountains here better than Lee, who grew up at Falls Creek. His parents owned Attunga Lodge and the current owners display Lee's trophies in the restaurant.

Lee previously operated snowmobile tours at Falls and worked as a guide for a now defunct cat-skiing operation. He also ran a photo business in the village for 15 years and takes professional shots of you skiing or snowboarding, so his venture is kind of three businesses rolled into one.

Growing up as a member of a lodge at Perisher in NSW, I had never been to a Victorian ski resort before, and thought it was time I checked one out.

From Albury airport, on the border of NSW and Victoria, it is about a two-hour drive to the resort. We pass rolling green hills with dairy cows and homesteads with rusty tin roofs. I see a man with a grey beard sitting on a veranda, watching the world roll by.

When we arrive, we take a cat to our lodge, Trackers, where we are greeted by Charlie the cocker spaniel. It is a simple, 1970s-era lodge that has had all the mod cons added.

A short walk or ski from the lifts, it has slate floors with a big fire in the bar and lounge, which overlooks the ski hill, as well as a spa and sauna.

Seven-course meals are served five nights a week and a shorter three-course meal is served one night, so guests can get out early and enjoy the weekly village bowl night show.

It's easy to stay inside, but with more than 30 restaurants, bars and cafes sprinkled between the lodges you have to get out and about. We hit up the Astra vodka bar, where we chat with the knowledgeable bartender about the various vodka mixes.

One thing that strikes me about Falls Creek is that it isn't just a ski resort, it's a community. With the only year-round alpine school in Australia, you can see why snow-loving families would gravitate here.

You will frequently see people walking their dogs through the snow, or ferrying them on their ski-doos, which are the chosen mode of transport in the car-free village.

There are a few special moments from my three-day trip. Waking to the sound of groomers putting the finishing touches on the runs outside and the smell of bacon cooking in the lodge. Walking home through the village after a night out, with flurries falling on our cheeks. And sitting in front of the fire at Falls Creek Hotel, listening to it crackle as snowflakes fall outside, with two brightly-coloured rosellas sitting on a branch of a snow gum fluffing their feathers.

It is an uniquely Australian sight.

Go2

- FALLS CREEK

- Getting there

QantasLink flies from Sydney to Albury. See qantas.com.au

Snowlimo offers transfers from Albury to Falls Creek. Ph 1300 223 546 or see snowlimo.com.au

Falls Creek Coaches also offers transfers.

Ph [phone] or see fallscreekcoachservice.com.au

- Touring there

Half-day Steve Lee Back Country Tours cost $159. Minimum of four people. You also need a valid lift ticket.

See skifalls.com.au/backcountry

- Eating there

The talk of the village is Three Blue Ducks, with former Tetsuya's chef Darren Robertson. Elk and Cafe Milch are also worth checking out.

- Staying there

Trackers Mountain Lodge has a three-night package for $737 an adult or $469 a child up to 14, including breakfast and dinner daily, three-day lift pass, lessons and equipment hire. Or stay five nights for $1130 an adult and $720 a child. Valid September 7-30.

More: Ph 1800 453 525 or see skifalls.com.au

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