More Ski Resorts in Australia Open as New Zealand Also Sees Snow

8th June 2022

Last modified on June 13th, 2022

Resorts in Australia re open with record breaking falls of snow. In New Zealand some snow is now falling as its resorts prepare for the start of the ski season. The last two seasons have been severely disrupted by Covid-19 restrictions and hopes are high for this winter. UPDATED

At the weekend the resorts of Thredbo and Charlotte’s Pass in New South Wales got their seasons underway.

“Hooray it’s opening day! With sensational snow, Kosciuszko Triple Chair to top station, Kosi carpet and Basin Poma spinning; gear up for some skiing & boarding,” said Charlotte’s Pass.

See this TV report fro Sky News Australia as skiers and snowboarders flock to the resorts in New South Wales and Victoria:

The last two seasons Down Under have been disrupted by Covid-19 restrictions and hopes are high for a good winter following the excellent start.

Some ski areas in Australia say the resorts are already almost fully booked for the peak season in July and August.

“With such a huge early season snowfall, guests can be fairly confident of good snow conditions all season-long this year, right through to September and early October,” said the Thredbo marketing manager, Caroline Brauer, to local media.

“Thredbo is expecting high demand and some peak season dates to sell out, so we encourage guests to plan their visits early and recommend flexibility with dates to avoid disappointment.”

The previous weekend Perisher, Falls Creek, Mt Hotham and Mt Buller opened for the season.

Here’s Mt Buller:

Summit chairlift trying to hide from our shovels. On a positive note there’s no mosquitos. pic.twitter.com/kaebaaWAh9
— Mt Buller (@mtbuller) June 9, 2022

It follows a record-breaking start to the winter with a series of snowstorms delivering over 1m in places.

It is the best start to winter in recent years in the ski areas, with some saying it is the best in 50 years.

“In 2000, the last time we had such a big start to the season, we still had a snow depth of 135cm at the beginning of October. If 2022 is the same, we’ll probably be skiing and boarding well into the September school holidays,” said the Mt Hotham communications manager, Anita Coia, to local media.

Traffic report: bus is late pic.twitter.com/vVpmzQpzkf
— Mt Buller (@mtbuller) June 7, 2022

We reported on it all at the time on PlanetSKI:

Australia resorts open early as heavy snow falls

See the You Tube video below from Sky News Australia on Perisher’s opening day, Saturday June 4th.

Meanwhile further south in New Zealand the snow gods are delivering.

Snow has already fallen at The Remarkables with more coming down over the weekend.

The resort is scheduled to open on June 18th.

Last week Mt Hutt said it would likely not go ahead with its planned opening on Friday 10th.

“Mt Hutt’s opening day is very much a moving target at the moment,” said the resort.

“Our 2022 crew are all on board and raring to go, as soon as the snow arrives.

“We’ve done all the snow dancing we can and now we’ve got our fingers crossed. But, at this stage we don’t anticipate we will open on June 10, as originally scheduled.”

Cardrona ski area, near Wānaka, was able to open.

“Well, what an incredible opening day today was!” said the resort.

“We’ve been so lucky to have this incredible storm pass through just in time, making for one of the best starts to the season ever.

“Thanks to all those who came up, got some first turns and played in the snow with us. Bring on the rest of the season!”

Treble Cone was also hoping to open on Friday June 10th but we have not heard from the resort yet on whether it was able to.

Happy Valley at Whakapapa on the north island is now open.

Snow is forecast and it should see a number of other ski areas able to get underway shortly.

Here at PlanetSKI we are watching it all and reporting back…