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Aussie snow season just about dead

Just four mainland Australian ski resorts are still offering skiing and snowboarding this Monday, September 9, with the other four having long since closed their lifts for the 2024 season.

• The best snow riding still on offer in Australia is at Perisher in NSW, which still has 11 lifts open, and Falls Creek in Victoria, which has four lifts open.
• Thredbo and Charlotte Pass, both in NSW, are clinging to life with two lifts at each resort servicing beginner terrain.
• The other four – Mt Buller, Mt Baw Baw and Mt Hotham in Victoria, and Selwyn Snow Resort in NSW – have long since ceased lift operations.

This was the scene at Perisher on Sunday morning, September 8.

Image: The snow turns to the consistency of mashed potato in the afternoon, but the early morning turns are still nice. Source: Billy Jack via ski.com.au.

And this was the forlorn scene at Mt Hotham in Victoria this Monday morning.

Image: Hotham closed its lifts last Wednesday, September 4. Source: Ski.com.au. 

At Thredbo on Monday morning, a little snow remained on the upper mountain with nothing lower down – although the Friday Flat beginner run at village level was still open on Monday with a thin cover of snow left over from snowmaking earlier this season.

Image: Bring on mountain biking season. Source: Rusty J via ski.com.au. 

READ MORE: 'NEVER SEEN THE SNOW GO SO QUICKLY'

Australian snow seasons usually experience peak depth around this time of year, with snow sports often continuing at resorts through until the first weekend in October.

Not this year. Thredbo is slated to close this Sunday, September 15 (if it makes it), Falls Creek on Friday, September 13, while Perisher could remain open for another week or so.

The cause of the early season demise is no secret. Australia’s warmest August on record (by a huge margin) decimated the snowpack after things looked promising in the final week of July as depth topped a metre at Spencers Creek in NSW.

The graph below compares the 2022 (light blue line) and 2024 (dark blue line) seasons.

Image: Towards the end of July, the two seasons had similar depths, but while 2022 kicked on with a remarkably late season peak occurring on September 20, 2024 pretty much went off a cliff. Source: Snowy Hydro.

You might notice a brief upward tick in the dark blue line due to a quick snowfall last week. Unfortunately, locals say the snow from that event melted within a day, while huge snow loss has been recorded since then in two heavy rain events. The next official depth reading in a week or so will no doubt tell that tale. 

Looking ahead, there are no significant snowfalls in the forecast, and while a few flakes will fall later this week, it’s safe to say that the 2024 season is pretty much dead and buried. This, obviously, is not good news for our snow resorts and the businesses that service them.

It's also sad news for Queenslanders, many of whom often take advantage of the spring snow cover for their school holidays (which start next week).