Let it snow

Winter in the Southern Hemisphere is a fickle beast with the marginal temperatures. So how are we doing in Australia and in New Zealand in 2011, two weeks after the beginning of the ski season?

The good - Opening weekend (Queen's Birthday) saw a good start in Australia with most ski resorts opening a few lifts. I may not sound too excited (I'm not) but I have to admit its a bonus as most years there is no snow on the ground on Opening weekend!

The bad - We've been lucky enough to have another snowfall since Opening weekend in Australia. But that has barely kept the grass tips white as in between we have had extended warm periods. Temperatures have been very mild in SE Australia in June and the rains have become less frequent.

The ugly - This time last year, New Zealand had masses of snow on the ground and all skifields opening and firing. As of today, they're all closed due to no snow except for Mount Hutt which opened yesterday with one beginner run made from artificial snow. Thankfully we are booked for September as usual!

Prospects? Well things can change rapidly but there's not a lot on the forecast over the next two weeks. Perhaps some snowfalls in Australia in the middle of next week, followed by in New Zealand. Keeping things in perspective, realistically we never plan to ski before mid-July these days. But looking back at my records - things can change very quickly so its always good to keep your skis waxed!

Snow in May does not a Good Winter Make

At least ... not necessarily! The cold snap that has hit the southeast of the continent this week has excited snowsports enthusiasts, in particular those unfortunate enough to have had to wait since September last year for anything to slide on.

Granted, it has been a good fall of snow with up to a foot in places across NSW and VIC. The resorts' marketing operations have gone into overdrive, knowing that snow on the news equals bookings.

But those seasoned snow-watchers will know that it has snowed a good fall in almost every May in the last ten years (in fact, it often snows once or twice in December or January in New South Wales and Victoria every year!). Sadly in many of those years, the snow melted before the ski season started properly.

But perhaps .... just perhaps ... this will be one of those years where we get a good run of cold spells and the snow tops up week after week. It would seem unfair to have had that during this recent spring and summer and not through winter!