101 replies to this topic

[oo]

Being a snow snob is good, just difficult for some of us!

[Go Native]

Yep and most of us can't really afford to ski in both hemispheres each year even by ourselves let alone with families. Many of our Perth customers for instance only ski Japan now as it's not a much cheaper option for them to travel over and ski the Aus resorts. They have a much better chance at great snow, a bit of a cultural experience and they get to escape the blistering hot summers for a couple of weeks!

[roscoe]

WE are trying queenstown nz this year taking some friends for their first snow experiance.did the $ for falls creek as I think thats the best place for first timers.then checked out NZ it was heaps better value for them even the lift tickets you have 7 days to use a 5 day pass [not in aus]and if they need a break there is heaps to do in Queenstown.We stayed at Wanaka NZ last year did Cardrona & Treble cone ski feilds where great but the you do get sick of the driving.I agree with Mamabear you connot beat staying on the snow.But you forget about the drive once you are there its so spectacular.

[Jynxx]

Originally Posted By: Go Native

I must admit that if I was to ever leave the wonderful Hokkaido summer and venture down to an Aus winter (very unlikely) I'd really struggle with value for money skiing at an Aus resort. I've skied at just about all of them and certainly had some fun but since skiing overseas it's opened up my eyes what real snow is and what good value for your buck is. For me Australian resorts offer neither.
I would definitely still head backcountry though. Some of the backcountry peaks like Bogong and Feathertop in Vic and the almost endless terrain off the Main Range in NSW offer a fantastic backcountry experience that is uniquely Australian and comparable to many great ski areas of the world.

Interesting and good tip from an Aussie punter, here.
Haven't been there myself. Love to check it out. Big country with plenty to see, and in a season few gets to see it.

[Jynxx]

One does miss a lot of opportunities when you are not prepared to drive up to the lifts.
In Europe;
Some pensions that need car access are cheaper and/or the meals they prepare are delish !
Ski-in ski-out is not a standard. Lucky and wealthy if you can do that at a great mountain.

Yes, waiting in a large crowd for the bus, going back to your accommodation packed is not nice even when you choose a place close to the bus stop. I had my training in Tokyo with crowded trains so no big deal. Definitely better when the hotel has a mini- bus that picks you up at the end of the day.
Parking your own car can be a bit of a hassle but I have been to places that have shuttle bus from parking place to gondola base station.

[Go Native]

Just so you know I'm not exaggerating about good backcountry in Aus here are some pics of my favorite areas. If you've only ever thought of Australia as only deserts and beaches, think again!
I may not rate the value of skiing in Aus resorts too highly but I'd certainly head back to ski some of these slopes again.

Here's Feathertop 1922m, 2nd highest in Vic. Some of those gullies coming down off the peak are truly awesome and bloody steep.



Mt Bogong, Victoria's highest peak at 1986m. Great gullies especially off west peak which can't be seen in this pic.



The Main Range in NSW has all of Australia's 2,000m+ peaks and incredible backcountry skiing. Needs a few pics to give an idea of the terrain available.


see the two guys in this pic for perspective on the size? It's pretty impressive vertical.



The western faces of the Main Range, simply awesome!

[MOUNTAIN TERRORIST]

Wow, never would have imagined that Australia had snow like that. I've seen a lot of Aussies up at Whistler though :o

[gareth_oau]

I took this one in Perisher - love the colours of the snowgum tree



and this is the Basin in Thredbo - and peak season too, not too bad

[gareth_oau]

and Mountain Terrorist, this one may surprise you, it did when I first saw it.

The local Guthega Dam, frozen over

[Mamabear]

Yes Gareth, if you get off those high use lifts - Merritts, Cruiser and Kosi Express, and don't mind a t-bar you can really lose the crowds!

Looks like if we are prepared to hike we can lose them even more (thanks GN!)

[muikabochi]

Nice pics there.
Interesting.

[Mantas]

Good pics GN. How do you get into that stuff? I mean did you have a guide or just off and go?

[Go Native]

None of those are my pics of course. All the pics I took in those days were on slide film.
I started skiing in '85 when I went to Geelong Grammar Schools' Timbertop campus boarding for a year. We mostly skied at Mt Buller but we also did a 3 day ski tour on Mt Stirling. I immediately fell in love with telemarking and skiing away from resorts. Once I got my drivers license I started doing a lot of backcountry trips solo and with friends and organised many trips taking people who'd never been backcountry before. Then at Melbourne Uni I was very active in the Mountaineering Club. This was an awesome club and was where I met most of my lifelong friends and my wife. The club was very active in hiking, xc-skiing, mountaineering, kayaking, canyoning, caving etc. After finishing uni I stayed active in the club for many years leading and participating in many ski tours, snow skills weekends and hikes. Up on those mountains above I've literally spent many months skiing and snow camping. Great mountains and really good memories. Geez I'm almost getting homesick!

[quattro]

Some really nice photos. Looks really awesome.

[Mantas]

Australia actually has a large alpine area with very few resorts. less than 10.

I gotta start getting into that. Resort skiing in Oz does nothing for me any more.

[Mamabear]

Ha ha ... we knew we'd bring out the Aussie within one day!

I have had a bit of a look and it seems that Thredbo Snow Sports is offering Backcountry guides tours at $610 for a full day, and they need to be booked in advance and are dependent on weather/conditions (as you would expect). There is shorter tours as well.

I booked a lesson wanting to stretch the year before last, and while it was a good session I didn't really feel like I got what I wanted - I wanted instruction on riding tree's and offpiste and true black runs (which I got this year in Niseko), but the instructor mainly had me racing him down the blues. I got more when I met a lone skier on the lift and we partnered up and hit the tree's. He was a complete hoot!

So I think it would be worth making your desired outcomes from the guided session clear before you go out. It is a fair bit of coin!

[roscoe]

GN your story reminded me of one I read in snow action mag in aus about 3 locals that skied Mt Bogong.They 4x4 up from Mt Beauty as far as they could then hiked to Bogong cain the highest point then skied back to their 4x4.I think I will have to read it again.

[Go Native]

Gareth if you like frozen lakes you should definitely head out onto the Main Range as there are a number of natural lakes that remain frozen for up around 5 months and they are quite spectacular.

The biggest is Blue Lake which also has some good ice climbing and sick chutes to ski. This shot is looking across the frozen surface in winter. Hard to tell the scale in this pic but it's pretty big. It's great skiing out across the surface.



Then there's Lake Albina just below Townsend, Aus's 2nd highest peak. This is a very early winter shot before the lake is totally frozen and some of the named ski lines are marked.



Club Lake has some pretty nice chutes through the rock bands coming down of Curruthers Peak. The lake is in the hollow below the rock bands.



Lake Cootapatamba is Australia's highest lake at 2050m. This shot is in late Spring and the lake is at the base of the slope below the cornice. That cornice can get huge and sometimes after a big season can last right through summer. The peak above the lake is Mt Kosciusko, Australia's highest at 2228m. If it's nice weather it's a pretty easy ski/hike from the top lifts at Thredbo to the summit. It's only about 6km.

[gareth_oau]

Cheers GN, I'll get there one day soon.

I understand that Cootapatamba is actually a glacially formed lake

I love this one for helping with scale. for those not aware, the red object is a snow hut or refuge for skiers called Cootapatamba Hut

[Mantas]

Originally Posted By: Mamabear

Thredbo Snow Sports is offering Backcountry guides tours at $610 for a full day.

What?