Snow Report 12 September 2012 - Australia & New Zealand

AUSTRALIA

Here we are in the middle of September and who would have thought the Australian ski resorts would still have over 1m to 1.5m of snow! It has been a long time since it has been this good. Far too long!

So glad, so glad to have been there at the season peak snowdepths for all resorts - I hope you were there too! Great skiing has been had with fresh snowfalls during the week and clearing or sunny weekends through season 2012.

There is still some great skiing to be had across Victoria until the end of the school holidays. I think the resorts will be open for skiing until early October this year. Spring is a great time to learn to ride in soft, forgiving snow and warm temperatures.

Falls Creek - The Ys Groomed

Mt Hotham
Natural Snow Depth: 156-203cms
We hit Hotham's Blue Ribbon area at is peak and you'll need to get up there soon before it gets too warm. So much fun early! Over at The Orchard conditions have been fantastic over the last month. I'm not going to talk about Lower Playground as I was so chuffed to play around here for the first time ever, and its probably all over now! Your loss!

Falls Creek
Natural Snow Depth: 153-169cms
It must be a record for Falls with all lifts open and all terrain open for such a long period of the season. The bottom of The Maze might be a little iffy, but who cares when you can cruise around the open spaces and find your favourites. Let me know if you see The Ys groomed again ... ever!

Mt Buller
Natural Snow Depth: 83cms
Hit Buller only once this year, and although it lost out a little this season, it was damn fine when I was up there and Buller is a fantastic mountain if you know how to make your way around it. May next year bring a bumper year!

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand has decided to hold winter in late August and early September this year! It was looking pretty rubbish across the Southern Lakes for most of the NZ winter. The north of the South Island provided some promise with some great conditions ... and then the past few weeks have turned it on for some brilliant late season skiing all the way across the South Island.

North Canterbury and Nelson

While Rainbow has recovered nicely for some good Spring skiing (50-110cms), Hanmer Springs sadly had to give up under the warm August temperatures. Mt Lyford (126-165cms) is going strong but could do with some cold blasts to stay open for the rest of the month.

Ohau 12 September [Source: Ohau Facebook page]

Canterbury

The weather to date has favoured the Canterbury skifields this year. Porters (150-70cms) continues to look nice, while Mt Hutt is sitting pretty (205-205cms) after recent snowfalls.

The Mackenzie

Ohau (220-100cms) is having a cracking year and is highly recommended for anyone heading over at this time of year. Roundhill and Dobson are keeping up interest in the Mackenzie ski fields.

Wanaka

Treble Cone has welcomed a late burst that has finally covered the Home Basin (216-44cms) and is looking exceptionally promising over this coming weekend. Cardrona opened the Valley View lift again just today to trigger some fantastic skiing across this lovely ski field (115-70cms). Lots more to come in Wanaka this weekend.

Falls Creek/Mt Hotham Ski Report - 1/2 September 2012

Falls Creek Village from Zipper on 1 September 2012

Yet another week in ski season 2012 saw a good, strong Thursday to Friday storm bringing snow to the Australian skifields. What a great season it has been!

And its not over yet. There is heaps of snow for fun, spring skiing throughout September and into the school holidays.

The weekend of 1st/2nd September was clear skies and gloriously sunny after moderate snowfalls on Thursday and Friday. Conditions were fantastic, indeed they were at their peak, with Falls Creek sitting on about 180 centimetres snowdepth and Mt Hotham topping 2 metres.

The Summit at Falls from the Ys on 1 September 2012

We went up to Falls Creek on Saturday and cruised around the entire mountain enjoying the brilliant snow conditions. The jinky Milky Way was finally open; the fully-covered Summit was glorious; and The Maze was a great place to explore.

The runs known as the Ys (because they appear to be a Y-shape on top of a Y-shape) had been groomed - sacrilege some might say as they're usually for keen short-turn skiing! The first time I've ever seen one of them groomed. We went down a couple of the Ys - a groomed one and an ungroomed Y - to get the ungroomed effect also!

Blue Ribbon at Mt Hotham on 2 September

There were even some untouched lines around left over from the snowfalls on Friday out the back of Ruined Castle. Plenty of people were seen hiking for some powder.

On Sunday the drive up to Mt Hotham was fantastic on a crisp, sunny morning. What a view across to Mt Feathertop with snow cover low down and banked up alongside the road!

In the warming, morning sun, the Blue Ribbon area was softening very quickly and we headed there first. The slopes were groomed on both sides of Blue Ribbon lift, and there was as much snow cover down there as I have seen. Boondoo/Roaring Forties was fun. Some years Blue Ribbon doesn't even open all season - this year we've skied it several times.

The Orchard at Mt Hotham on 2 September

Late in the morning we did a few laps of Lower Playground - somewhere at Hotham where we've never skied before. There's not usually enough snow cover, but this year there was enough to groom this black run beautifully. Nice first time for us. Hardly any other people seemed to be aware of the terrain available there.

But in a good snow year you can't go past the fun to be had out at The Orchard on a sunny, warm day.

All the runs were in beautiful condition, with lots of snow to let you ski through the snow gums. In fact, I've never seen the branches of the gums disappear so much under the snow. Well, that's what 2 metres of snow does!

Mt Buller Ski Report - 25/26 August 2012

Mt Buller - Little Buller Spur - 25 August

We made our way up to Mount Buller for the first time this snow season on the weekend of 25 and 26 August.

Its no secret that Buller has sadly struggled this year while Falls Creek and Mt Hotham have had bumper snowfalls.

A lot of the weather systems this year have dropped snow but only to higher altitudes, and Buller missed out on a number of opportunities and got rain instead.

A few stronger weather systems over the past few weeks have really kicked off Mt Buller's season. More lifts started turning and lots more runs were available away from the snowmaking areas, i.e. natural snow cover.


Mt Buller - View from Summit Chair - 26 August



We stayed for the weekend in a cottage near Mansfield overlooking part of the Eildon lakes with views around the surrounding countryside. The lovely cottages at Burnt Creek Cottages are pretty special to come back to with the fire roaring and the huge spa bubbling while your dinner is cooking away.



I love a log fire and got to work getting that going in the evenings! At only a bit over two hours from Essendon the comparatively short drive made a nice change from the drive up to Hotham.

Saturday was fairly cloudy and there was a little drizzle around early, but it cleared later. Sunday was a lovely, sunny day.


We were keen to check out the new Bonza Chair to see what the lift's installation has done to the Burnt Hut area.

While there is no new terrain there, the realignment has made it easier to see the lines and runs that can be taken through the trees in the Telecom area. Quite a lot of different ways down can be taken, even by starting out at the top of Chalet Creek. Good fun!

The Summit was pretty icy in the mornings, but Standard and Wombat were a good place to start each day. As the mountain softened up, people would move to different areas, with Wood Run being very popular.

Snow Report 22 August 2012 - Australia & New Zealand

AUSTRALIA

Half a metre of snow in a great storm towards the end of last week brought fantastic skiing to Falls, Hotham AND Buller. Falls and Hotham in particular are having their best ski season since 2000!

There is some warm weather currently midweek before a return to snow again. Looks like there could be some fantastic weekend skiing again if the winds hold off!

Mt Hotham
Natural Snow Depth: 165-188cms
As predicted in last week's report, the wonderful Blue Ribbon area opened providing a wealth of new terrain to explore. See my trip report for more on Hotham.

Falls Creek
Natural Snow Depth: 153-165cms
All lifts open and all terrain open - see my trip report for more on Falls.

Mt Buller
Natural Snow Depth: 94cms
There has been a progressive opening of new areas although snow is pretty thin low down still. We'll check out Buller this weekend and report back next week.

NEW ZEALAND

The Canterbury and Mackenzie fields in the centre of the South Island continue to get top-ups of snow, while the skifields in Wanaka and Queenstown get a measly few dustings. Hopefully the weather patterns will improve soon for a run of snowfalls. Snow is forecast for this weekend ... lets hope it delivers!

North Canterbury

Rainbow (45-90cms) and Mt Lyford (150-200cms). Both skifields are fully open.

Mt Hutt 22 August [Source: Mt Hutt Facebook Page]

Canterbury

Porters (70-150cms) is having a promising year. Continued snowfalls will keep it skiing well into Spetember. Mt Hutt (200-210cms) continues to shine with its good snow base and is currently skiing really well.

The Mackenzie

Ohau (100-160cms) is still looking great with full cover. Mt Dobson has 220-260cms.

Wanaka

Treble Cone (91-114cms) and Cardrona (70-100cms) have some good cover up top but lower down is a bit of a worry. Valley View at Cardrona has not been able to reopen and the lower Home Basin at Treble Cone looks very green.

Queenstown

In Queenstown, more snow is needed at both Coronet Peak (30-70cms) and the Remarkables (66-86cms).

Falls Creek/Mt Hotham Ski Report - 18/19 August 2012

Around half a metre of snow fell on the Thursday and Friday before the weekend of 18/19 August, generating a rush of excitement as snowsports enthusiasts scrambled to get up their hill of choice as soon as possible!


Mount Beauty from Tawonga Gap

This unfortunately caused chaos during Friday at Hotham as accidents on the mountain road blocked it for hours, with people stuck in their cars in the snowdrifts.

It was snowing lightly in Harrietville at dawn on Saturday 18th, a pretty sight to start our weekend! Heading to Falls Creek, we drove over the Tawonga Gap where a few centimetres of snow had settled ... and it was still snowing.

On the Falls Creek road the snow had fallen down to Bogong Village. Chains were being fitted to cars quite early on - up above the Kiewa River - but the road had been well prepared by the snow-clearers.

It was still snowing, quite windy, and cloudy on Saturday morning, but the cover at Falls Creek looked fantastic as we rode the Express up above the Milky Way.



The Orchard and Extreme Zone viewed from Spargos

While the fresh snow certainly looked nice, it was a bit heavy and hard to turn in around Quartz Ridge. Over in the Village Bowl and The Maze some nice turns could be found in the deep fresh snow on the steeper runs. Unfortunately, the winds had ridged snow across the International poma line and it had to be groomed again. That wait, coupled with Summit chairlift breaking down, made for a bit of a frustrating morning.

The afternoon was far better. The wind dropped, the sun came out occasionally, and all the lifts were working! There were some fun runs through The Maze and on the Summit in the deep snow. The Ys was great and Ruined Castle was nice.

Sunday morning brought clear skies and sunshine aplenty! The drive up to Mt Hotham was absolutely stunning with sparkling snow still on all the trees framed on a deep blue sky. Chains were being fitted down before the entry gate and there was solid snow on the road up to Hotham Heights.

In the trees on Twirlygig

We parked at the Loch car park and had a few fast groomed runs on Heavenly Valley before heading over to The Orchard.

The snow was great around The Orchard in the sun. There is full snow cover over all the runs there now. The little "orchard" trees have almost disappeared in places!

We headed back to the village via the steep run with nice views of the rest of the ski area, a run named Spargos.

Skiing the Blue Ribbon area for the first time this season was a thrill! Its such a great area and Hotham really benefits in the year that its open. Wood Run was a lot of fun in the softened snow, but tright down the bottom is still a little patchy with a few rocks oking through.

We decided to head back to The Orchard to finish off a great day with some really enjoyable Twirlygig runs in the trees. The Orchard at its best!

Snow Report 15 August 2012 - Australia & New Zealand

AUSTRALIA

A few cheeky snowfalls during this past week have kept snow conditions lovely, nice and fresh at the Aussie ski resorts. Conditions are at their peak for season 2012, so go skiing! That's right, go skiing now!

Yet another fantastic winter storm cycle is coming through in the lead-up to this weekend. There is some uncertainty about what it will bring - potentially (and hopefully) another big dump in time for some fantastic weekend skiing!

Mt Hotham 14 August [Source: Hotham Facebook Page]

Do I need to tell you again that you need to go skiing now?

Mt Hotham
Natural Snow Depth: 128-136cms
Parts of the Blue Ribbon area have opened since last week. This has provided access to the top parts of the runs above the Davenport access trail.

Another dump on Friday might see the lift turning for the first time this year. Meanwhile, the Extreme area reopened for skiing.

Mt Buller 10 August [Source: Mt Buller Facebook Page]

Falls Creek
Natural Snow Depth: 113-120cms
All lifts open and all terrain open - what more is there to say?

Mt Buller
Natural Snow Depth: 71cms
More snow at Buller has seem more lifts operational. This includes Bull Run (giving access to Standard run) and Grimus (linking Horse Hill to the Summit area). Some more snow would continue this progressive opening of new areas ... we hope!

NEW ZEALAND

Bang! More mid-August snow for New Zealand, in particular for the Canterbury and Mackenzie fields in the centre of the South Island. These areas now have deeper snow than this time last year, a vast improvement ... and its looking great for spring.

North Canterbury and Nelson

Lovely little Rainbow (40-80cms) is doing OK, but Mt Lyford (140-190cms) is the standout in the north as it has added about 65cms in the past week thanks to the easterly nature of some of the weather.

Canterbury

Mt Hutt 15 August [Source:  http://www.facebook.com/mthutt ]

Its all systems go at Porters (70-150cms). Nearby Mt Hutt (190-200cms) has added almost a metre in the last week, but has struggled to stay open in the difficult conditions and has also suffered from wet lower slopes again.

The Mackenzie

Ohau (100-160cms) I love to ski ... and ski you will with a trip to Ohau. At the other end of the Mackenzie, Mt Dobson has reported 220-260cms!

Wanaka

Treble Cone (92-110cms) and Cardrona (70-95cms) are doing just fine thank you and the conditions are nice in the Southern Lakes.

Queenstown

In Queenstown, things are OK but some more snow would be welcome at both Coronet Peak (45-85cms) and the Remarkables (66-86cms).

Snow Report 8 August 2012 - Australia & New Zealand

AUSTRALIA

Mt Hotham 7th August [Source: Mt Hotham Facebook page]

Now we're talking! The forecasted storm system has arrived today (as people in Melbourne would have noticed!) and will continue to bring snow to the Victorian ski resorts over the next couple of days ...even Mt Buller!

It is looking very promising for great skiing and boarding throughout the rest of August 2012 and enough snow has fallen in recent weeks to keep the ski resorts open throughout September.

Mt Hotham
Natural Snow Depth: 116-121cms
Mt Hotham has been skiing well in recent days and sustained snowfalls have opened up more of The Orchard area - an area so important to the resort. The runs skier's right of the skilift are now fully open and the creek back to the lift is properly filled in. The Davenport access trail has reopened and another good dump (or even a sustained snowfall in the next 48 hours) would get the wonderful Blue Ribbon area open. Here's hoping!

Falls Creek 8th August [Source: Falls Creek Facebook page]

Falls Creek
Natural Snow Depth: 95-104cms
With the best snow of the season to date on the ground this week, Falls Creek is having a great year with all its lifts open and much better cover over some of the advanced areas around International and The Maze. You can imagine much more of The Maze will be open now, particularly this weekend so we should be going to check it out next weekend.

Mt Buller
Natural Snow Depth: 43cms
Finally some breaks for Mt Buller. This storm should enable the ski resort to progressively open more terrain and lifts. Southside is already turning, and you'd imagine other areas could come online with some sustained snowfalls.

NEW ZEALAND

Finally, New Zealand gets some regular snowfalls! And when it snows in New Zealand ... it snowswell! Many skifields across the country have doubled their snow depths over the last week or so. The season is saved and some excellent skiing across the South Island can now be found.

As forecast last week, the Canterbury and the Mackenzie fields have done best out of these storms with it still snowing across the northern part of the South Island.

North Canterbury and Nelson

Sadly Rainbow (25-65cms) had to close again after some warm weather, but the current snowfalls will; fix that quickly. Mt Lyford (95-135cms) is continuing to get pelted and is having a fantastic season to date.

Canterbury

Ohau 4th August [Source: Ohau Facebook page]

Porters (50-90cms) is now sitting pretty and is experiencing its best conditions of the season. Mt Hutt (110-120cms) is again shut while it waits out another storm - lucky days for the people there when it reopens!

The Mackenzie

Ohau (84-135cms) will have great skiing through August and into September and is one of the places to be at the moment in New Zealand.

Wanaka

Treble Cone (92-100cms) is looking fantastic again, which must be a relief for the marketing people who were so concerned earlier in the season when things weren't quite so rosy! Cardrona (70-80cms) must be close to reopening the Valley View lift.

Queenstown

Coronet Peak (42-82cms) has had to do a lot of work to recover from the warm weather with its lower altitude. The Remarkables is skiing better right now with a snow depth of 66-86cms.