Australia Letter A weekly newsletter from our Australian branch. sign up To get it by email, click here This week's issue was written by Melbourne-based reporter Julia Bergin.
A lone ski-lift operator stood holding hands and looking up from the top of the mountain at four kids tumbling down a makeshift 50-metre sledding slope.
There was no snow underfoot. To my right were two trash cans and a sign that read “Lifts Open 10am-3pm.” To my left, an empty chairlift zoomed up and down the mountain. Behind me, cones, ropes, and metal barricades marked the lift lines, but barely a soul was in sight.
That was the scene last Friday in Falls Creek, Victoria, one of Australia's biggest ski resorts, which marked the official opening weekend of the national snow season. Similar conditions were reported in ski resorts in Victoria and New South Wales, where most of the country's winter sports take place.
The overall conditions were bleak with just a thin layer of artificial snow on top of piles of dirt, but this week a long weekend of sun, wind, thick fog and torrential rain has turned to snow along with a drop in temperatures across the Alps.
Dramatic fluctuations in weather conditions are common during Australian winters, but global warming is making conditions more volatile.
For local business owner Carol Binder, who has reported on ski area snow conditions for 20 years, this year has been “noticeably dry and warm,” with low river levels, notoriously muddy driveways turning to dust and snow forecasts going from unpredictable to extremely unpredictable.
“This is Australia – a potluck place – you never know what's going to happen – it'll snow, it'll snow here and there or it'll be a downpour,” Binder said as rain pounded outside the lodge she manages in Mount Beauty, a small town about 40 minutes northwest of Falls Creek.
With soaring temperatures combined with rain creating the ever-present fear that weeks of snow could disappear in an instant, people typically embark on last-minute, weather-dependent ski trips to Australia.
Ms Binder said from a business perspective, Australia's volatile snow conditions make it difficult to cater for sudden visitors. Whether in the accommodation, mountain services or hospitality market, there is a large casual workforce and it's a constant battle to adequately staff workplaces, she said.
For example, Victoria Police set up alcohol breath testing stations on mountainsides last week in preparation for crowds that never showed up.
Snow or not, Australian resorts switch into winter mode the moment the official season begins, with staff on standby and tourist fees. At Falls Creek, it costs AUD$64 (about US$42) to enter the resort for the day. Drivers must carry snow chains. Lift passes are extra, and at some resorts, parking is also an extra charge.
Australia's snow season lasts 17 weeks, but Binder says she's up for whatever falls and whoever comes in. Whether her customers are snow-hungry opportunists chasing “potential powder,” families, beginners who plan trips months in advance and hit the snow hard, or bus groups and retirees coming to admire the flowers, she's optimistic about the 2024 snow season.
Good news arrived on Tuesday: 30 centimetres (about a foot) of snow had fallen on the mountains of Victoria and New South Wales. Messages were exchanged in group chats, ski trips were planned, and before we knew it, the season was underway.
Here are this week's stories.