Finally managed to get down to the snow on Sunday, after getting over various illnesses. It was a blue sky day with just enough chill to keep the snow from going slushy but not too much to make things icy. As those interested know, the beginning of the season was looking to be almost as bad as last year, but then in July it all came bucketing down. The car park at Perisher was well and truly full, but luckily that was not reflected in the number of people and length of lift queues, which were usually very short.
I had a great day and have included some photos and video for you all.
Yes, I did see the SouthCare helicopter flying around, and lots of police, ambo, and fireies running around in their tracked snow vehicles and at the time thought it was a training exercise. Unfortunately not. The bottom of Sundowner where one fellow died, had a screen around an area, and the Snow Patrol guiding people away from the location. Nothing to see when I went past some hours after the accident, for which I’m grateful.
I don’t know if the poor buggers who ran into trees were wearing helmets, or whether a helmet would have done any good, but I’d encourage anyone on the slopes to wear one, they keep your ears warm too. I’ve noticed over the last 5 years that more and more people are wearing helmets, which is great.
I’ll be back up for a few more days at the end of the month, so hopefully more white stuff falls from the sky before then to keep things as good as they are now. [ED – Slideshow below]