The closest ski resort to Melbourne is shutting its lifts down early.
Last week, Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort announced that its closing date will be September 3rd. This is an early closing for them, which has been caused by abnormally warm weather and consistent rainfall. Warm nights have stopped them from producing a significant amount of snow. Currently, they only have 1 trail and two lifts open for downhill skiers, and it’s fair to question whether they can keep their only open run (Hut Run) open till Sunday. The average snowpack on the only open trail is 20 cm (around 8 inches), while the rest of the mountain has practically no snow on it.
It’s been a rough winter for the Australian ski industry. A warm start to the season led to limited terrain for the ski resorts on opening day. Things turned around for a bit, as snowfall led to some nice powder days. Unfortunately, a warm stretch of the season led to a depleted snowpack and even resulted in one ski resort temporarily closing. Things haven’t necessarily turned around since then, but visitation has remained strong.
For Australian skiers, it may be time to let this winter go and hope for better conditions next year.
Image Credits: Mt. Baw Baw Alpine Resort
