The Unofficial Opening Weekend – Resort Wrap Up

June 5th, 2017


Did your weekend look anything like this? Image:: Perisher

Mountainwatch | Matt Wiseman

Well, Christmas came early folks and it looks as though we all bought the wrong advent calendar… While we’ve been counting down until the official opening weekend date of June 10, mother nature and the marketing teams at a select lucky few Australian resorts had other plans.

What we saw was some classic Australian one-upmanship. When Perisher announced they’d be opening on Saturday, June 3, Mt Buller raised them 15 odd hours and announced FREE skiing on the Friday night from 5:30pm on Bourke Street. Not to be outdone, Perisher started spinning the Village Eight Express chair 3.5 hours earlier at 2pm on Friday afternoon.

Don’t believe me? Here are some photos to prove it…


Lights, Camera, Action at Mt Buller on Friday evening. Image:: Mt Buller. Image:: Mt Buller

Perisher

It’s fair to say that Perisher nearly broke the internet when they announced they’d be bringing their opening date a week forward!

“Following a great snowfall on Monday and a favorable weather forecast, we were excited to announce we would open for skiing and snowboarding for the season on Saturday 3 June, one week before the traditional opening weekend. But, we’ve had so many of Perisher’s most passionate local skiers contact us urging us to open for a quick ski today, so we have decided to open the Village Eight Express for them to enjoy first turns this afternoon.” – Peter Brulisauer, Perisher’s Chief Operating Officer.


It’s not a race without a finish line. Image:: Perisher


Front Valley groomed and ready to go. Image:: Perisher


Opening weekend, blink and you’ll miss it. Image:: Perisher


Perisher have invested in excess of $22 million on improving and expanding the snowmaking system since 2007. We’d say it was worth it.. Image:: Perisher

Mt Buller

If perisher broke the internet with their announcement, Mt Buller re-invented it… At least until Perisher broke it again.

Alongside the free Friday night skiing offered up, Mt Buller also did an opening weekend special on tickets, with Adult day passes only $60 and free resort entry.


There sure was a bit of traffic on Bourke Street on Friday night. Image:: Mt Buller


Heeling and dealing at Buller on Saturday. Image:: Mt Buller


Bourke Street at 7.20am on Saturday, 3 June. Image:: Mt Buller

Selwyn

Selwyn were also charitable enough to offer up free skiing and boarding on the Sunday, 4 June. From 9.00am to 3.00pm the brand new Chum Chairlift was full of skiers and boarders. Equipment hire was also available for just $10, so there really weren’t any excuses not to get around it.

Mt Baw Baw

With possibly the most natural snow of any Aussie resort, chains were even recommended for those who made the drive up to Mt Baw Baw to enjoy some tobogganing and snowplay this past weekend.

New Zealand – Ruapehu

It wasn’t only the Australian resorts who jumped the gun. Looking across the ditch, Mt Ruapehu were the first NZ resort to open up to skiers and boarders on Saturday, 3 June.

This is a full month earlier than last year!

Thanks to some serious snowmaking efforts, the run Happy Valley and associated double chair were opened up under bluebird conditions, whilst the upper mountain in scheduled to open at the more conventional date of July 1.

Check out the Grasshopper’s latest Snow Outlook for New Zealand here.


The snowguns working overtime on opening morning at Mt Ruapehu. Image:: Mt Ruapehu


Happy Valley this morning, Monday June 5. Image:: Mt Ruapehu

With a further 10-15cm looking likely to fall across Australian resorts before next weekend and ideal snowmaking conditions, the remaining resorts (read: Thredbo, Charlotte Pass, Hotham etc.) should be in for a bumper opening weekend themselves.