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Skiing in Australia?

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THUNT836
Posts: 1393 - Karma: 1,033
Anyone know some general info about skiing in australia? Thinking about doing a summer/semester abroad there and I would like to possibly time it to their ski season. What time of year do they ski, and where in the country would I have to go? Do they have any big cities associated with skiing? What resorts would I want to be near?

Any info anyone has would be awesome, +k will result. Thanks guys!
Oct 29 2012 5:08PM
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JAHpow
Posts: 7282 - Karma: 17,179
Does Australia even get any snow?
Oct 29 2012 6:02PM
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LoathesRaisins
Posts: 3612 - Karma: 4,735
Are you dumb?
Oct 29 2012 6:07PM
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JahFeels
Posts: 779 - Karma: 587
Dumb question. Of course they don't get any snow.
Oct 29 2012 6:08PM
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Dr_Hobo
Posts: 162 - Karma: 24

If you come to Australia for the snow, you're going to be dissapointed. I'd much more recommend coming for our wonderful summer instead of the winter. Plus NZ is just across the pond and they have a much better winter than us in Oz. But even if you do decide to come for the winter it will still be a blast to just have to experience of skiing down-under.

TL;DR You may end up getting let down, NZ is next door, come for the summer

Oct 29 2012 6:34PM
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Age
Posts: 591 - Karma: 179
Skiing in OZ is more about getting shitfaced and having a good crew than it is getting in pow days
Oct 29 2012 6:39PM
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b.utters
Posts: 321 - Karma: 99
If you are going to be based anywhere in New South Wales or Queensland then Jindabyne will be the place to look into. From there it's about half an hours drive to both Perisher and Thredbo which are the 2 most well known resorts in Australia.

Mt Buller and and Mt Hotham are the two spots if you are based in Melbourne or anywhere in Victoria but someone else can tell you about them since I've never been to either.

Like other people have said though Australian snow is shit and you can get over to NZ for 2 weeks for a little more than it costs to go to an Australian resort for a 5 days.
Oct 29 2012 6:56PM
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X
Posts: 401 - Karma: 1,024

You guys arn't very good ambassadors for Australia... In my opinion, you're doing it wrong. If you want powder, stay in the North Hemisphere. But Oz has the best spring skiing in the world along with California. Long, warm, sunny days in Aug, Sept, Oct with no wind, good snow base, and cold beers at the bottom of the mountain. It's a myth that NZ gets better snowfall than us - we get the same snow conditions from the same weather systems. The only difference is, NZ resorts are usually on wind hold because there is no surface lifts or tree shelter. Oz resorts are more developed with better facilities/nightlife/parks (except for snowpark), though NZ has better access to backcountry terrain (which is where the goods are). Though having said that, for the last two seasons we've had way better snowfall than NZ including my best week of snow ever in the Southern Hemisphere.

If you say you're coming here to study, you'd much prefer to be living in Melbourne (closer to Hotham, Buller, Falls) or Sydney (Perisher or Thredbo) than a farm in New Zealand. Simple fact - Aussie chicks are way hotter.

Oct 29 2012 7:16PM
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.skiwi.
Posts: 898 - Karma: 40
Dont bother, come to nz!
Oct 29 2012 8:12PM
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THUNT836
Posts: 1393 - Karma: 1,033
thanks for all the awesome info guys. i've always wanted to study in australia and it just hit me tha ti might be able to get some skiing in while i'm at it! if anyone has any other advice/info to add, please do.

thanks to everyone who answered, dishin out karma now
Oct 29 2012 9:41PM
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pow_pow~
Posts: 1429 - Karma: 1,804
go to nz if youre specifically coming down here for snow.

if not, study in sydney and ski at thredbo.

aus has just had one of the best seasons in a while

this was a couple of weeks after the season ended

Click for larger image
Oct 29 2012 11:17PM
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Skiingsnow
Posts: 1567 - Karma: 797
Skiing in Australia is fucking awesome.

Think of it as a 3 month spring, its sunny and slushy most of the time and occasionally it snows, its really fun as a good skier too because there is nothing you wont be able to ski, gapers everywhere, its awesome, if you come hoping to slay AK lines your going to the wrong place, if u think its quiet, your wrong, but its still a blast, plus if your working down there the season pass is free and because Australia doesnt jip the fuck out of our employees you'll be making at least $18 and hour if you work for the mountain.

And this is coming from someone who does the whole Whistler season as well.
Oct 29 2012 11:30PM
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,411
That quick clip just got me so stoked for snow.
Oct 29 2012 11:37PM
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MagSeven
Posts: 1000 - Karma: 412
I heard the lift passes are pretty expensive?
Oct 30 2012 4:52AM
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SteezyVandy
Posts: 137 - Karma: 39
ur coming to aus to study so i suggest living in sydney. buy an early bird season pass for either perisher or thredbo now while u can for $699 (very expensive for a deal but its a good price seeming as though it ussually costs about $1600 or something). i bought one for this year and went down pretty much every second weekend and did a few week trips as well. i stayed at lake jindy hotel most nights because its cheap and there is always a good crowd of people to party with there. turns out much cheaper seeming day tickets r $104 a day. i remember hearing from someone that australia has the most expensive skiing for the shittest snow in the world but u can get away with it for relatively cheap. stay away from NZ because their snow isnt much better and they dont have trees so its windy and icey. if ur not a fan of crowds i suggest u dont even bother because everyday at perisher is gaper day and its ridiculously overcrowded
Oct 30 2012 5:13AM
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SteezyVandy
Posts: 137 - Karma: 39
ur best bet is going with what thredboskier said. get a job at the resort for free lift tickets and good pay. $18/hr as a minimum wage shits all over the rest of the world. i was working in canada for $10/hr on christmas fucking day. sucked hardcore. i have a friend who comes to aus for the winters to work at the resorts as an instructor, not for skiing but for the money, plus he gets to ski on the side so its win win in a way
Oct 30 2012 5:17AM
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alexg1687
Posts: 1505 - Karma: 1,581
Depends what you want to study. A lot of people will hate me for this, but choose the university first then the skiing. I think what you're asking is 'can I ski while I'm studying?'. The answer is definitely yes. I've pretty much been running the Melbourne Uni Ski Club for the last 3 years and we have a LOT of fun. We mainly go to Mt Buller which is a 3 hour drive from Melbourne. That means you do day trips pretty easily, but the lodge is cheap so we do a lot of back to backs (ie. 2 day skiing, one night accomm). What course are you studying?
Oct 30 2012 6:29AM
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jc00
Posts: 92 - Karma: 75
DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME/MONEY COMING HERE IT IS THE WORST COUNTRY

srs
Oct 30 2012 6:48AM
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Steezy_Street
Posts: 833 - Karma: 161

Oct 30 2012 6:53AM
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jc00
Posts: 92 - Karma: 75
SERIUSLY CUNT DONT COME THE PLACE ACTUALLY STINKS LIKE SHIT, THERE ARE FUCKIN SWARMS OF SHITCUNT FLYS EVERYWHERE AND ALL THE CHICKS LOOK LIKE MELTED GUMBOOTS
Oct 30 2012 6:55AM
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willysworld
Posts: 2116 - Karma: 5,485
Have you even been skiing in Australia? probably not?? so please don't Comment on what you don't know..

Skiing in Australia is fun, its a unique experience, and the back country here is actually pretty good if you go and camp, there is some world class terrain I was out camping last week.. and there's still some ok spring snow out there..



Heres a Run down of the resorts..from what I think..


Hotham = Best mountain Is Australia, awesome freeriding, good tree-skiing, park is mediocre at best. Pretty good partying, a cool mellow vibe and swindlers on the right night is an awesome place to pick up hot chicks..and really good back country assess

Falls Creek= good freeriding, awesome park, sick vibe , not a massive scene (which is really good)
good tree-skiing, some fun cliffs, awesome partying at the Man and other spots/ Probably the best overall resort in Australia..

Perisher = Some good terrain but over all its a little flat, awesome park but the scene is a little bit poser, lots of kooks in the park, lift lines are long on weekends, expensive in my opinion over rated ( I did spend over 6 seasons skiing there every weekend of winter ..

Charlotte Pass:= Awesome small resort, cool terrain, its like a natural terrain park, amazing back country access, little to no park, and pretty much no scene, on a pow day though this place is epic!
and for 100$ you get to ride in a snowcat up and back, ski pow and eat a gourmet lunch.. preety cool experience you must do a few times a season..

Thredbo= by far the best resort in NSW, the park is sick, the terrain is awesome, there's actually a cool vibe, some good riders and everyone is friendly, there is awesome trees , some ok cliffs ( though most are pretty small) and real good Back country access which hardly any one takes advantage of..
The village is ok, but Thredbo people in my opinion are weird they don't leave Thredbo enough.. Australians in general are guilty people thats why we all go to Niseko and think its Thredbo..and act like spastics drink to much, and most cant ski or snowboard for shit..This happens in Whistler as well and sometimes I dislike being Aussie.

Mt Buller= the only ski resort ive never been to In Australia, but from what ive heard, the terrain is mediocore , unless there is lots of snow, the park is pretty good. and there is good partying and hot women on weekends..


Anyways .. if I was you id move to me Melbourne, and shred on weekends in Buller, Hotham and falls..

Melb has awesome partying, world class culture and hot girls that are down for dick..and by far the best partying in Australia.


Sydney = Awesome landscapes, amazing beaches and some ok partying, but people in generally are snobby and have their heads up their ass, hot girls like blow and status. but you can find cool places in Sydney , I live in Manly and that's chill cause there's lots of foreigners .





Oct 30 2012 7:00AM
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willysworld
Posts: 2116 - Karma: 5,485
please excuse my bad spelling.. haha im drunk , but I must say that in it's own way Skiing in Australia is awesome. and if you like . soft spring snow and sun you'll love it , skiing in gum trees on the right pow day is awesome.. and 80 % of the time its soft spring like conditions and the parks are finally becoming world class... And there is actually really good back country.but you'll have to work for it.


Oct 30 2012 7:08AM
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SteezyVandy
Posts: 137 - Karma: 39
i agree with a lot of what u said except for the whole charlottes pass thing.. it really isnt much of a ski hill at all tbh its tiny and flat. i honestly would not bother with it but thats my opinion and im sure a few people would actually agree with me on that..

apart from that everything else is summed up pretty much perfectly.. maybe not the part about sydney being snobby though, mainly just the north shore.. really depends where ur from
Oct 30 2012 7:17AM
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willysworld
Posts: 2116 - Karma: 5,485
go to Charlottes pass on a pow day dude .. and take a shovel.. build some lips.of a bunch of cliffs, and shape up some jumps.. and do laps.. its awesome.. + there is some good terrain to hike to.. you just gotta be creative.. its small but theres all sorts of cliffs and rocks around.. use your imagination .. after a day or so its boring.. but that 1st pow day is epic
Oct 30 2012 7:28AM
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SteezyVandy
Posts: 137 - Karma: 39
i havent really tried it on a pow day at all but i guess id have to give it a go next season if im back in aus..

in conclusion, australian skiing is definitely a lot different.. its something u really need to experience to understand
Oct 30 2012 7:38AM
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B.Aussie
Posts: 5852 - Karma: 4,531
If you want to go to uni and ski go to Melbourne. The mountains are a 3-5 hour drive away (The shortest drive you will find in Aus). You can get to Mt Buller via bus from the main train station (takes 3 hours), not sure about transport to Mt Hotham and Falls. (5 hours away). You can go to Sydney and ski however it is a 6 hour drive with minimal transport if you don't have a car.

If you just want to ski go to Jindabyne as Thredbo has the best terrain in Australia and Perisher has the best park. Don't come to Australia looking for pow but as thredboskier and X said we have amazing spring conditions all season. If you want to ski and party go to Buller as everyone stays at the top of the mountain (Within walking distance of the main party place) and it has decent snow.

If you're mainly coming down to study then look at universities in Sydney or Melbourne preferably UNSW, Sydney Uni, Melbourne Uni or Monash Uni as they are the best unis academically (apart from unis in Canberra but you don't want to go to Canberra). As a study abroad student the bigger towns will have the better atmosphere and cooler things to check out. These are the most academic There are tonne of unis here so if you post which ones you're considering I can give you an overview of each.
Oct 30 2012 7:46AM
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willysworld
Posts: 2116 - Karma: 5,485
hahahahaha I rooted some chick in Canberra last month, and then went there for Florial ( some flower show ) its gotta be the worlds most boring capital city .
Oct 30 2012 8:45AM
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SteezyVandy
Posts: 137 - Karma: 39
no way dude questacon was the shit!!
Oct 30 2012 8:57AM
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THUNT836
Posts: 1393 - Karma: 1,033
just starting to look into the programs so i'm not sure yet... I go to Wake Forest which is a top 25 school in the states so i'd be looking for something of similar caliber, preferably near a medium sized city at least, and the closer it is to skiing the better. but yes studying would be my priority. any advice on good universities to look into?


also, vibes and +k to everyone posting helpful answers, you guys seriously rock. thank you all so much!
Oct 30 2012 3:49PM
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Mitch.B
Posts: 61 - Karma: 469
Perisher= good park very quick laps like 3 in five minutes, night time park skiing Thredbo= huge jump line but takes more that 20 minutes to do a lap, jibs are ok Falls creek= don't know much but the park looks pretty good from pictures
Oct 30 2012 4:42PM
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codyhotham
Posts: 32 - Karma: 65
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cuH2x7a7pDo?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Skiing in Australia is fun.
Oct 30 2012 10:33PM
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codyhotham
Posts: 32 - Karma: 65


Skiing in Australia is fun
Oct 30 2012 10:37PM
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alexg1687
Posts: 1505 - Karma: 1,581
Brooke and I are both at Melbourne Uni. It's one of the best in the country. What course are you doing? What subjects do you want to do?
Oct 31 2012 2:37AM
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Sameface
Posts: 138 - Karma: 139
Definitely boring, but it's got some great University's and it's only 2 (and a halfish) hours from the snow.

OP: Canberra get's a pretty bad wrap but there's HEAPS of jobs around, great uni's and it's close to the snow. I live and work in Canberra and get heaps of time on the snow with very little effort, went up pretty much every weekend last season.

Oh yeah Dirty, I think you mean Floriade =P
Nov 9 2012 1:23AM
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Jibberino
Posts: 2089 - Karma: 1,346
Really? That's either the fastest lift ever, or a really short park.
Nov 9 2012 5:22AM
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Ali_Dibden
Posts: 1966 - Karma: 1,688
Anyone know what the skiing and park is like at Mt. Hutt NZ.
Nov 9 2012 6:03AM
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sebdollo
Posts: 887 - Karma: 228
2 alpes is better
Nov 9 2012 1:24PM
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jc00
Posts: 92 - Karma: 75
dude mt selwyn is defintly the best place to go. waist deep everyday and has one of the worlds best parks legit and every lifty there is a solid 8.765/10 chick
Nov 9 2012 6:52PM
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.skiwi.
Posts: 898 - Karma: 40

PM remster he will give you the lowdown but ill tell you what i reckon. hutt would probably one of the more reliable mountains for good snow in nz. the park is supposed to be pretty good but havnt skied it myself but check out this website for what the park was like last year http://parklifenz.com/ hope that helps!

Nov 9 2012 8:00PM
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OGoriginal-gaper
Posts: 354 - Karma: 86
lol
Dec 7 2012 5:05AM
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coniferous
Posts: 15 - Karma: 10
I just did a half-year at the Australian National University and it was a great time. As far as the skiing goes, definitely the guy who said it's more about having a dope crew and getting hammered is right. Definitely there were good ("loose", in the Australian language) times to be had with the mountain of booze we had when we were shut in by 140km/h winds.

I arrived in the 2nd half of their season (which generally runs May-Sept I believe) and it's basically spring conditions the whole season. Terrain is passable, from where I was living in Canberra, Perisher and Thredbo are both reasonably close (and I imagine are a reasonable distance to Sydney, too). Mt Buller is quite close to Melbourne. It's expensive and pretty meh compared to what I'm used to at home in British Columbia. It was worth it because a) I'm a skier and I like skiing, b) met lots of cool people who are also skiers, c) I can now say I went skiing in Australia. They did spend a lot of the time talking about plans to go skiing outside of Australia though, and any time I said anything about what skiing in BC was like I felt like I was bragging in the worst way, so that tells you something!

ANU is one of the top unis and Canberra is a cool place, obviously much quieter than the big cities 10x its size. I deffo didn't think it was "boring" but it does depend on your personality and if you make friends. Staying in college (on-campus rez) was a really good move cause meeting people was tons easier and the colleges organise lots of parties and interhall sports and stuff like that. I think that goes equally for USyd, UNSW, UMelb, Monash, which are in the same league from what I know, even tho they're in the big cities And fuck off UTS.
Dec 7 2012 10:08AM
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alexg1687
Posts: 1505 - Karma: 1,581
Hahahaha i laughed so hard when I read that last line. I remember the chants from National Uni Games....not too sure when it started but it's fucking hilarious.
Dec 7 2012 7:09PM
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auski
Posts: 730 - Karma: 1,033
s-l-uts! s-l-u-t-s
Dec 7 2012 7:35PM
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Bumblesteeze
Posts: 3092 - Karma: 748
Don't go skiing in Australia, I hear there's great white sharks that wait for you at the top of the lift! If you do go to Australia, make sure you bring some shark spray!
Dec 7 2012 7:39PM
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B.Aussie
Posts: 5852 - Karma: 4,531
Amazing.
Dec 7 2012 9:55PM
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remster
Posts: 898 - Karma: 261
Super reliable snowcover. Only got upthere early on but it was still pretty decent. Long season as well
Dec 7 2012 10:21PM
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Silence
Posts: 16030 - Karma: 150
UTS rules; I used to be on the ski club committee and we had the sickest time ever!

After a 5 day trip:

Click for larger image
Dec 7 2012 10:43PM
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Silence
Posts: 16030 - Karma: 150
Dude! The anthem!
Dec 7 2012 10:44PM
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