The ski season is here. Only one lift out of 78 is expected to be running

The resorts and locals say the opening weekend is more a community celebration than a time to ski, with property owners getting their places ready for the season and snow is a bonus rather than an expectation.

“It’s not uncommon for the first major snowfalls to arrive as the season progresses,” Australian Ski Areas Association chairman Noel Landry said.

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Sarah Scully said it could take just one big storm to bring the snow the resorts needed to get their lifts running, although none was in the forecast for the long weekend.

“On Saturday, there is a cold front crossing south-east Australia, so there is slightly more chance of snow to lower levels on Sunday and cooler temperatures as well, but there is not expected to be any big dumps in the next seven days.”

She said the average snow depth in the Australian Alps had been falling by about half-a-centimetre every year since 1954.

“Changes in snow cover are linked to changes in air temperature. Australia’s climate has warmed on average by 1.5 degrees over the past 100 years and that has resulted in a long-term decline of the maximum snow depth and the duration of the snow season.”

A one-day adult lift pass bought in advance this year costs up to $199 at Thredbo, $226 at Perisher, $159 at Charlotte Pass and $109 at Selwyn.

Accommodation providers have been offering special deals to try to help people get to the ski fields after noticing the drop in advanced bookings, and weekend breaks taking the place of longer weekday stays.

“As businesses, we’re just trying to make it as accessible as possible,” Shelley Atkin, from Bernti’s Mountain Inn in Thredbo, said.

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“[Opening weekend] is always a bit tricky, but there’s still a really great vibe of excitement … snow aside, there are heaps of other things on at the resort – live music, great food – and that’s enough to pull everybody in whilst we all eagerly anticipate the snow.”

Naomi Nevin, from Rhythm Snowsports in Cooma, said the long weekend tended to attract people more interested in snow play and toboggan hire was proving as popular as ski or snowboard hire this weekend, if not more so.

She said the weekend was also often a multicultural affair, drawing people from countries where snow was rare or non-existent who were eager to see it for the first time, rather than hardcore skiers.

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“Those people who come down for the long weekend are getting down for the snow experience – toboganners, people who might not want to ski,” she said. “They are here for the spirit, just to experience the alpine culture.

“Some people are so keen they are renting a snowboard and walking up to the [snow] patches and having a go. It’s a great weekend that encompasses snow for everybody, and everybody can get out and enjoy it in some way.”

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