Waxed up and ready to go…

THEY’RE calling it the best start to a snow season in 40 or 50 years, with almost a metre of the fluffy, white stuff set to greet skiers and boarders for the official start to the season on Saturday, June 11.

The popular Mt Buller has 76cm at the top and Mt Baw Baw will also open on Saturday with 36cm across the resort, more than enough to get plenty of turns and also to enjoy some snow play and tobogganing.

At Mt Hotham, they have been running the Summit Quad for most of the week but on Friday, June 10, the lift crew also got the Village Quad running at 12 noon giving some lucky riders the first chance to hit the well-covered, lower slopes as well.

But it will be ‘game on’ from as early as 7.30am on Saturday, June 11 (check lift status first before kicking off), the official opening of the ski season when there’s likely to be Hotham’s version of the ‘Chinese Downhill’ to see who can get up and down first for the best of what looks set to be superbly groomed runs of either the Summit, Road Runner, Village and Heavenly Valley lifts.

Same goes at Mt Buller and Falls Creek where staff have been working overtime in the past week to get your favourite lift running – again check the lift status before taking off.

There has been some light snow still falling in the past 24 hours but with a slightly warming trend hardening up the off-piste area so it’s likely that the groomed runs will provide the best skiing and boarding over the next week – but with temperatures staying low, skies generally overcast and for Saturday and Sunday morning at least, a fair bit of wind around.

So, if you’re heading for the hills, enjoy the best opening conditions since 1981, or even as far back as 1968.

At least you can say: “I was there in 2022 for one of the best opening weekends in history”… global warming… pffft!