Years ago, when Julia first told me they had skiing in Australia, I didn't believe her one little bit. Australia was the land of sun and red desert. There were blue skies and kangaroos and golden beaches. But skiing? No no no. Because for skiing you needed big mountains and cold winters and lots and lots of snow and as far as I was concerned Australia didn't have any of those things and I knew that to be a fact as I had seen it on TV.
How wrong I was. It turns out that Julia was completely correct and the part of Australia we live in, Victoria, has some very good skiing. They have a whole area called the Alpine Region which has mountains (whisper it) bigger than in Scotland. That is just not fair. Though I now like to think of Scottish Mountains as being small and perfectly formed. They look like proper mountains with jaggy peaks and steep sides and everything, whereas Australian mountains, though bigger, are like big hummocks covered in tangled eucalyptus trees. They have trees right on top of the mountains! What kind of a mountain is that?
So last Thursday, Mark - my brother in law - and I set off for Mount Buller in the Alpine region for two days skiing. Mt Buller is one of about six ski resorts in Victoria. Yes you heard correct - six! And each ski resort has a self contained alpine village with bars, cafes, ski hire and shops as well as 20-30 lifts up the mountain and many many routes you can ski on the way down. Skiing is one of the big things to do in winter here and each day we get ski reports on conditions during the morning news. What makes skiing a bit different here than in Scotland though is that the mountains are (like everything in Australia) a LOT further away - that is about 4 hours drive away at the least - and skiing here is an expensive hobby. Most Melbournians will have been to the alpine region so see the snow, but not many can afford to pay for tickets, ski hire, accommodation and food to be able to ski on a regular basis. By and large, skiing is considered a hobby for the rich, though everyone else can afford the odd trip on occasion.
We set off at 6 am on Thursday morning, driving north-east out of Melbourne. We drove through rolling farmland and forest. It took us two and a half hours to get to Mansfield, a small country town at the start of the Alpine region. In Mansfield we sorted out tickets and ski hire and they made sure we had snow chains in the car just in case the conditions worsened. Thankfully we never needed them. I'm not sure how necessary they even are. In Scotland we never use snow chains and we regularly get snow down to low levels during the winter. Everyone just bombs about in their 2 wheel drive cars, wheels whirring and skidding until you get to where you're going (or end up in a ditch). But if there is one things the Australians do very well it is Health and Safety.
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| we were mainly skiing lift number 5 |
We drove the remaining hour up the narrow road towards the resort, navigating the perilous hairpin bends and we finally got our first glimpse of snow. It was strange to the the snow lying amongst the gum trees. I'm more used to the rock and heather of Scotland. Also, because it is still considered early season for skiing, there wasn't as much snow cover as there will be in the coming months. Fortunately, all the resorts have good snow making equipment and that meant at least a third of the runs on the mountain would be open. The weather also wasnt too good: cloud hanging down over the mountain tops and high winds. But that didn't put us off. We were just happy to be out in the snow.
The resort of Mt Buller itself was like much of Australia - new and well taken care of with very happy smiley staff that clearly enjoyed their job. Everyone was very helpful. We headed up the first chairlift for the day and quickly found ourselves disappearing in a thick cloud of fog. The visibility was poor on much of the mountain but we managed to find a more sheltered spot with better visibility down the south side on the Mount Buller spur.
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| me looking very jaunty with a glass of wine |
I am fortunate in that I skied a lot when I was younger: endless weekends at Glenshee in fair and foul weather. I've had race training and many ski trips to France. My dad is one of the most enthusiastic skiers on the planet. What this means is that my brain still remembers all the moves. Unfortunately my body can no longer do them. On the first run I launched into a series of quick turns down the hillside and after completing about six had to collapse at the side of the slope with my legs burning and lungs heaving. For the rest of the day I was careful to pace myself.
We skied till about 4pm the first day and then headed back to our accommodation in Mansfield. On the way back Mark pulled over at a small resort he had stayed in before and pointed to a large lawn area. Kangaroos! There were about a dozen of them grazing on the grass. Since moving to australia last year this was my first glimpse of kangaroos. I really didn't expect to see them on a ski trip. Down in town and we had dinner in a hotel. Australians are very good at doing great pub food which is even available in the evening. In Scotland the evenings are purely for the purposes of heavy drinking. No food allowed! I had an amazing Australian style burger complete with fried egg on top and Mark had chicken parmagiama - another Australian pub institution.
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| conditions deteriorated the next day |
The weather on the hill the next day was even worse with an evil, bitterly cold wind that blasted us everytime we got to the top of the chairlift. We could do little more than huddle down and endure, resorting to sign language to communicate. Nonetheless we got a full days skiing in and came away at 3pm tired and happy. We then had the long trip back to Melbourne. There was some crazy weather on the way back. We drove through a lightning storm and after it had cleared we were treated to a spectacular double rainbow. We got back to Melboure at 7.30pm. I had dinner and then collapsed into bed. I've been walking like a cowboy ever since. The next time I go skiing I might even try and do some exercise first in preparation.
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