The Australian ski season has opened this weekend in the New South Wales alpine resorts, with skiers greeted by sunshine and freshly groomed runs at Thredbo. The mood at the start of the season is cautiously optimistic, even as the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts an 80 percent chance of below average snow depths in its long range outlook for the coming months.
Conditions at the top of the mountain remain thin in places. According to Rege Ellis, editor and presenter of Mountain Watch who is at Thredbo, between 20 and 30 centimetres of snow fell from Wednesday afternoon into early Friday morning above 1,700 metres. Little snow fell at the lower elevations, leaving the resorts dependent on machines to fill the gaps for opening weekend.
Snowmaking has been doing much of the heavy lifting. Around 80 snow guns were operating at Thredbo over the past two nights, with a similar effort under way at Perisher, and the artificial cover has gradually improved across the lower trails. Operators say opening weekend traditionally offers minimal terrain, and this year the snow guns have been central to getting the first runs ready.
On opening day, two lifts were running on the Friday Flat beginners area at Thredbo, served by an all weather snowmaking system that does not depend on temperatures sitting below zero. Up at Perisher, a couple of strong nights of snowmaking allowed the resort to open its front valley, including the V8 village eight seater chairlift, expanding the options for early season skiers.
Despite the modest base, turnout has been strong. Ellis said a surprising number of people were already on the slopes, drawn by beautiful weather in the mountains. The resort marked the occasion with live music and a large fireworks display at Thredbo the previous night, giving the opening a festive feel even with limited terrain.
Cold mornings are helping the cause. The temperature in the Thredbo village sat at minus three degrees first thing, ideal conditions for the snowmakers who were pumping out cover ahead of the 8:30 lift opening. The next focus for resort crews is the Merritt's area and its Cruiser chairlift, which opens up a much larger spread of terrain once it is running.
The longer term picture is clouded by the prospect of El Nino and warmer than usual conditions. Ellis noted that above average temperatures are spread across the whole winter rather than constant, and that cold, clear nights still allow snowmaking to continue. He pointed to 2015, a strong El Nino year, when solid snow systems still arrived from mid July to the end of August and skiing continued through to the October long weekend.