Australia’s ski resorts have rejected warnings about the potential for below-average snowfall on the slopes this season, as they gear up for a massive opening weekend.
Meteorologists have warned that if a number of climate factors combine this winter, the 2023 snow season could be one of the worst in decades.
And although images show, at best, patchy snow coverage at NSW and Victoria’s biggest ski resorts, staff have swatted away any concerns the season is over before it begins.
Michael Fearnside, operations director at Perisher Ski Resort — the largest in the southern hemisphere — told news.com.au it is “certainly not doom and gloom” for the industry.
The resorts just have to bide their time for the perfect snow-making weather to strike.
“This is my 38th winter working in the snow industry and some of our best seasons have begun with low snowfall at the start,” Mr Fearnside said.
“Our business is weather dependent but we’re always just one snowfall away, it’s no different to a farmer waiting for the weather to break.”
Like many other resorts, he added, Perisher has made significant investments in snow-making that has lessened their reliance on natural snow and the snow guns are ready and waiting to be deployed “as soon as the conditions are right”.
“Our snow-making covers 53.4 hectares across the resort and sets us apart for having the most reliable ski and board experience all season long,” Mr Fearnside said.
“It’s certainly not doom and gloom, we’ve seen this before and we’re just waiting for the weather pattern to settle down.”
Nearby Snowy Mountains ski resort Thredbo, situated in the Kosciuszko National Park, will also need to produce a generous helping of snow, despite it and Perisher being treated to their first falls in April.
Meanwhile, across the border in Victoria’s alps, the Mount Buller Alpine Resort has been steadily producing a stockpile of snow since the start of May and has a network of 341 snow-making guns ready to “kick into action” at any time.
Resort spokeswoman Rhylla Morgan said it is “all hands on deck” to put the finishing touches on ahead of a massive King’s Birthday long weekend opening.
“In recent seasons there have been bumper early snowfalls and we’ve been spoiled with plenty of natural snow from the beginning,” she said.
“And as much as we love to see snowfall at any time, we are taking comfort in the fact that early snow doesn’t translate to a better snow season.”
In fact, Ms Morgan said, two of the best snow seasons on record at Mt Buller — 1956 and 1981 — “had no snow for the season start in June”.
“But we’ll leave the forecasting to the professionals and, like all snow enthusiasts, we’ll be watching the forecast closely and hoping for the best.”
The Victorian resorts — Mt Buller, Mt Hotham, and nearby Falls Creek — are all hoping to repeat the record-breaking 2022 snow season, the first full return after lengthy Covid lockdowns.
Mount Hotham’s general manager of operations Len Dobell said the mountaintop resort had its “best season on record” last year.
While Falls Creek Alpine Resort head of marketing Andrew Eckersley said the resort had “more than 500,000 visitation days” in 2022, and was already looking at similar numbers of bookings in 2023.
“Last year there was massive pent-up demand from people not being able to ski as much as they want over the last few years in,” Mr Eckersley said.
“The fact there’s not a huge amount of difference shows there’s still the appetite to visit the snow.”
And though those numbers were helped by earlier snowfalls that led to an earlier season opening, while this season has been notably snow free, he was hopeful a cold front due by the end of the week would bring some snow.
Sky News Australia meteorologist Alison Osborne confirmed that although there would be a cold front moving across the alpine regions, it is not guaranteed to bring snow.
“The best weather systems for good snowfall have the most precipitation after a cool change, so its cold enough for heavy snow,” she said.
“This is the opposite, heavy rain is coming before the cold weather does. The freezing level is far too high.
“This rain is very likely to wash away the exiting cover and while it remains warm, windy, and wet, conditions for snow-making are unfavourable.”
Cooler westerly winds will eventually push over the alps on Friday, lowering the freezing level in time for the June 10 snow season opening, but not enough for significant snowfall.
“The silver lining is that snow-making conditions improve for the rest of the weekend.”