BOOTHY’S BLOG – The marvel that is Aussie Skiing

July 9th, 2013


Skins are those magic pieces of equipment that enable us to go up in order to go down, thanks to the Angora Goat’s mohair Image:: Chris Booth

Mountainwatch | Chris Booth

ED: Deputy Editor of Chillfactor Ski Magazine, Chris Booth, headed for the hills on the weekend and made the call to avoid the school holiday crowds by heading out for a skin with his girlfriend. On the long drive back to Sydney Boothy opted to occupy some spare time by reflecting on the marvel that is Australian skiing…

What an absolute bloody joy it is to go skiing in Australia.


Boothy rips a turn in some Aussie pow while thinking about what the surf might be doing only a two-hour drive away Image:: Chris Booth

How good is it that we live in a country where the land rises up just enough so that snow settles on the tops of the mountains. How lucky are we that Australia dips just far enough south to be cold enough for rain to fall as snow. Of course, there’s only a degree or two in it. And, it’s easy to forget just how lucky we are; especially during such a slow-start to the season. But when you think about it its kind of crazy; we get to slide down 2000 metre-high mountains on fibreglass planks and then get whisked back up to the top of the high-speed chairlifts imported from Germany. What! Who thought of that? And when you remember that this all takes place within an Australian National Park, only about 2 hours from the beach, it begins to defy belief!

I love being reminded of this every winter. This weekend was one of those classic July snowstorms. In a matter of days we went from just a few man-made runs to a complete winter wonderland. The full package. It was great to get that feeling back, that wintry feeling that reminds you of what a colossal privilege it is to have snow right at our doorstep. Before you start to stress and complain about a low-tide start to the season, try and remember just how lucky we are to be able to ski at all in this truly remarkable country of ours.


Look down, and put one ski in front of the other, eventually you get there… Image:: Chris Booth


Stoked to make it up top! How cute is that beanie Image:: Chris Booth


And there is the reward Image:: Chris Booth