OnSno.com

Cold beer anyone?

The rain from yesterday finally stopped at 1:30am (according to the weather station – nobody was awake to witness this first hand, of course) and we woke to a nice new covering of snow; albeit only 5cm (or so). The blizzard which was predicted had come, but was set to continue all day and well in to Thursday (so it hadn’t all come at once). Regardless, this was enough of a motive for some keen skiers to hit the slopes at the break of dawn (or near-enough too) and see what damage the 40mm of rain had done to the snow cover.

Pip decided this morning was the day for pancakes, so those a little slower off the mark were treated to a more exciting breakfast than normal. Although it was snowing consistently, the wind was as strong as it had been in previous days, and the combination of these two was making for “interesting” skiing conditions out and about. Regardless, most potential skiers did hit the slopes for a period of time to find some nice new powder (a few cms) covering the relatively well-destroyed base cover which had turned to a slick cover due to the rain, followed by freezing temperatures.

Most sections of the mountain (which were open) allowed for access to one run in each area, meaning that the school holiday crowds were funneled into a few key areas. The only way up from the base of the valley, for example, was showcasing a 20 minute wait, making skiing anywhere that lead here rather unattractive. A few runs later and majority stopped for lunch – again, back at the house (as it seemed we had brought far too much food to even consider eating out for lunch or dinner). The warmth of the fire and escape from the gale force winds made it hard to get back out of the house after we’d devoured the home-cooked pizzas, but we did make it there in the end!

A short line-up at the Village Chair

A few more runs braving the weather (although the constant snow had made the conditions even better) and we called it a day. Luckily the crowds at the base of the hill had thinned out completely, and the snow was falling even heavier than before (which we hoped would continue for the whole night). Michelle, Emma and Bronte paid a visit to the Harry The Snowdragon Show at the Big D, but soon returned from the snow storm outside (goodie bags in hand, of course!). The rest of the evening was fairly uneventful – another home-cooked dinner, a movie and then bed; for most. Pip and Sally decided to have a night of Apres Ski activities, and headed to The General for an evening of “Darts and Disco”.

We’re all hoping that the snow continues all night (it certainly has up until now), which should mean a good day ahead on the slopes tomorrow!

Although today’s weather wasn’t perfect for photos, have a look at the few we did snap in today’s gallery!