Bhoywonder

Does anyone have any info on skiing in Victoria. I have researched the mountains and had a look at the piste maps.

Can anyone give positive or negative feedback about their experiences, the standard of skiing compared to Europe and North America and the conditions to expect?

How long does the season last realistically?

kirsty&al

Hello

Here is a website giving info on the OZ ski resorts.

http://www.ski.com.au/resorts/

We've only been to Baw Baw which is great for learners and children but is not very challenging for experienced skiers. The snow was good and the weather warm (but this didn't seem to cause ice problems). I think the lifts closed about 5.30pm (not sure when the opened).

Last year was a good year and I think the season was about 2.5 months (so realistically that probably means 2 months).

Regards
Alistair

Bhoywonder

Thanks for the link Alistair, I'll check it out.

I suppose in this climate two months is better that I am getting at the moment. Scotland seems to be missing the snow more often than not.

Do you make the most of it when it comes?

kirsty&al

Last year's skiing at Baw Baw was the first time that I had been on real snow since '91 and I loved it. I would love to go more often but I now have a family with three kids, all 6 and under. Hopefully as the kids get older I'll be able to take them off to the bigger resorts and more often (the 6 year old is not keen yet). The thing that impressed me most was the drive to and from Baw Baw - it is less than 2.5 hours away and you get to travel through several varied and beautiful landscapes on the way. (I was also impressed with the parking ticket I got - it gave me 3 days to pay the normal parking price without being fined.)

The website I gave you last night gives a comparison of the NSW and VIC resorts which is handy http://www.ski.com.au/resorts/compare.html This shows that the longest run is about 3k in both states. You don't get the european thing where you can ski for miles and miles between different resorts (or different countries). From my experience of Baw Baw, and what others have said the resorts here are like an American resort in that they are easy to get to and the apres-ski is almost non-existant. The chalets and the layout of the village felt Austrian (but for the lack of bars).

One thing that you may not be used to, is that you have to pay to get into the resort. However, you will find that the lift passes and ski hire are cheaper.

Of course the other option to consider is a skiing package holiday in NZ - for people who live in places like Queensland, this can work out cheaper than skiing in Oz.

Cheers.
Alistair