“The season’s already mapped out now,” he said. “It’s going to be really good right to the end.”
The major Victorian ski resorts now generate their own snow to bolster natural snowfalls. But Mount Buller communications manager Rhylla Morgan said a meter of natural snow had already fallen by the Queen’s Birthday long weekend in June, allowing the resort to open many of their ski fields.
Bright residents Jarvis, Elsie and Ari Fenton enjoy the snow at Dinner Plains. Credit:Alpine Shire/Nathan Fenton
Typically, the ski season opens on the long weekend with celebrations but limited skiing as the industry prepares for more snow to fall.
By the end of July, Mount Buller had received 283,561 visitors, a significant increase on 192,613 for the same period in 2019.
On Sunday, Morgan confirmed that 17 of the resort’s 20 lifts were operating. She said the strong advanced bookings indicated skiers were confident there would not be a repeat of the restrictions imposed over the past two years.
“Before the snow season started, people were clearly making the decision they were going to do that snow holiday,” Morgan said.
Snowfall at Falls Creek in the lead-up to opening weekend.Credit:Falls Creek
The good conditions are set to continue. Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Matthew Thomas said there may be some light snowfall on Monday, followed by more snow from Thursday, mostly at the higher resorts, including Mount Buller, Falls Creek and Mouth Hotham.
“It’s good news if you’re out wanting to ski,” he said.
Late July and early August are often the best periods for snow in Victoria, although the ski season can stretch well into September.
Falls Creek resort chief executive Stuart Smythe said the bounce back in visitor numbers was great news for the sector but labor shortages and increased transport costs remained problems for alpine businesses.
However, he said the early snow meant many resorts had been close to full capacity since the start of the season, helping them to recover from the previous two years.
“Most people are starting to breathe a sigh of relief now,” Smythe said.
In 2020, the lifts operated for just four days at Falls Creek before they were closed due to pandemic restrictions.
The ski resorts received substantially more visitors in 2021 than the previous year, but travel restrictions imposed on Melburnians meant they were far from reaching full capacity.
Smythe said alpine resorts now implement comprehensive COVID-19 safety practices to help safeguard against the current wave of infections in Victoria.
“We’ve had two years to get that right, so we should be able to deal with what has been record visitation.”
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