Not To Put A Dampener On It

I wish to rescind the title of my last report "Looks Like a Good Start" and replace it with "I'm Sorry For Trusting The Forecasts".

Surprisingly there were not many takers (today or any other day) to ride on Slowbums double chair to a point not at the top of the mountain and then face the gruelling slog for 400m (that could be mistaken for the vertical rise ;-) over mossy, slippery, muddy rocks to whatever was to be seen from the top.

More surprisingly was the fact that the Thredbo water slide (aka: bob-sled) has been closed due to increasing rapids on the course.

Which brings me to the weather. I'm sure I'm not telling anyone out of Thredbo anything new when I say that it's wet, very wet and still wetter. The snow of May 27th has gone the way of everything else in Thredbo not tied down - washed down the river to Jindabyne.

We are now only days away from the official start of the NSW snow season. Unfortunately there was a lot more snow last week than now and probably what will be next weekend.

The good news is that the Kosciuszko Express quad chair (the oldest chairlift in the world based on number of days used) will be resurrected tomorrow (Monday) after a prolonged maintenance period and riders will be able to get to the top faster, not drier, to enjoy the view from inside the thick layer of cloud. My recommendation is that the best view will be found inside Eagles Nest looking at the beer, wine and spirit menu, assuming Steve & Sara don't get bogged trying to reach the top.

So preparations have been put in place for a fantastic opening weekend (ie: next weekend). Despite no snow making to this point, there will be many activities in place or not as the weather may or may not dictate.
Including:-

• There's the outdoor Long Lunch (or a quick munch from a plastic bag under the umbrella).

• The indoor blessing of the ice cubes - an annual event I always feel helps prepare the village for the coming season/monsoon.

• Water polo on the tennis courts plus swimming events on the Village Green for those trying to reach the tennis courts.

• Water skiing on anything and everything - bring your own as the rental shops only have skis for snow.

• The water slide may be open - I believe staff have been trying to locate more paddles as the brakes don't work when wet.

• There are musical and other events in the Village Square. We hope they don't get short-circuited in the puddles. One attraction that should remain dry is the Snow Globe where the occupant should be well away from all inclement weather except strong wind.

• The opening season fireworks are always spectacular except when you can't see across the valley due to rain, fog, snow, cloud or simply too much Long Lunch.

Please enjoy my plethora of photos taken over the past week. No, I didn't get out much.

The view across the valley where the fireworks will be launched from

The village BBQ area by the Thredbo River
You didn't think I'd go outside for a better photo in this weather?

To answer your question: No there hasn't been any snow making to this point in time and wasted space.

Oh, and what of the next week - you ask?

• The bureau is forecasting snow everyday for the next week, except Wednesday.
• The Frog says there may be a dusting on Thursday.
• Mountain Watch are having an each-way bet with "snow and rain" most days of the week.
• Weather Zone are a tad more optimistic than Mountain Watch.

Whilst the current 540-line charts (this is where I get mine) indicate snow falling in Western Australia on Monday/Tuesday, in South Australia on Wednesday and in Tasmania on Friday but indicates nothing for New South Wales or Victoria. Although, there are rumours that if conditions persist there may be a lot of white powder in the ski resorts next weekend.

Drive safely. Bring your books, kindles, iPods, DVDs and winter woollies. Double demerits are sure to be in force over the weekend along with rising-damp, arthritis, flooded rivers and roads, blurred vision and hang-overs (what you use to dry your socks on).

Oh, and for any local reading this, not to put a dampener on it - remember that the speed limit on the Alpine Way will be dropping to 80kph from the park entrance to Thredbo.