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  3 of 5, "Gum Trees, Red Parrots and the odd icy patch - snowboarding Australias largest ski resort" 10/07/2006 @ 08:20:09 |
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| 1 member has given this review a rating of 3 of 5 |
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| Price Paid |
| $245 |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| Ozsnowtours.com.au |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
After riding Thredbo the previous day, I figured that since Perisher was just down the road, it would be pretty similar. But the conditions were way better. The runs interested me more (less traversing) and lots of freestyle opportuinty's - though with no ski insurance, I stayed away from all the risky freestyle stuff!
The resort is Australias largest and comprises a couple of mountains linked by Ski-Tube (an underground train). There tends to be a fair bit of foliage sticking out of the snow, but I find the geography of these resorts pretty cool. The Gum trees instead of Pines, bright red parrots flapping about the place even in sub zero wind chill, possum trails across the snow - it really is a different experience snowboarding here - I was just expecting Mick Dundee to pop out at some point.
As far as the challenge goes, there are some cool intermediate level runs that I got to try that have a decent gradient to carve some turns. Sadly the black diamond runs were shut so I can't comment on those. There are a lot of beginner runs so if learning is where you're at, there's plenty to choose from.
Overall, there's enough here to keep you happy for a good day, if not a few days if everything is open. Australia will never be somewhere to pack your board and go visit for that sole reason, but given the opportunity, there's plenty of fun to be had if you're in Syndey over Winter.
See my blog for more on my day at Perisher Blue:
http://starsofcctv.blogspot.com/2006/07/hit-me-baby-one-more-time.html |
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| Strengths |
It's a good Snow fix in Australia
The cover is good comparatively to other local resorts
Quite a lot of runs (largest Sqaure hectarage in Aus)
Good snowmaking
Terrain park looks good (when open!) |
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| Hot Spots |
Some off piste at Blue Cow - conditions permitting of course,
The main piste as you walk onto Perisher Blue is huge and wide with plenty of bumps that you can launch off, as well as kickers, rails and boxes on either side of the said run.
If you can, rent equipment in a store where you can check out the quality ( I got mine in the city). I managed to get all new or near new stuff, whereas others on our tour got some real crumby gear. |
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| Weaknesses |
Vert isn't very big, so runs are fairly short, but not as bad as the locals make out!
Expensive compared to local resorts (but you get what you pay for)
Short season, many runs closed early and late season,
some areas get VERY icy - just be sure to avoid these. |
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| Similar Resorts Visited |
| Thredbo, Aus & maybe even Sugarbowl, Ca/US |
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