Thredbo is easily the best ski resort in Australia. If you know where to go after some fresh snow you can have one of your most enjoyable days out skiing. During the season, the snow up on the bluff can measure up to as much as 7 metres deep from fresh snow and that that has been windblown. There is plenty of fun to have on and off the mountain. Eagles Nest restaurant at the top of Kozi chair is an awesome spot to have some lunch and a quick break from skiing. The owners are fantastic and the views surrounding the restaurant are awesome. Thredbo, without a doubt, has the best village and nightlife of any resort in Australia with plenty of restaurants to dine and bars to drink at.
Nothing else in the country can compete with Thredbo's 672metres of vertical. Some argue that they prefer Perisher as the base elevation is higher. But because of this you spend most of your time on the chairlift. Overall, a trip to Thredbo is the best ski experince to be had in Australia.
Australian resorts vertical metres comparison:
Thredbo:672
Mount Buller:400
Hotham:395
Perisher Blue:355
Charlotte Pass:194
Falls Creek:180
Thredbo is Australia's best resort, no two ways about it (yet to meet someone who has actually been there and feels differently). Like any other ski resort in the world it can be epic and it can be very ordinary (any oz resort can be particularly ordinary cause the sun is so hot). This year it has been epic! It has a 600m vertical in a top to bottom motion (that is pretty rare on this continent). If you have no idea what that means please go to Perisher... you will be right at home!
I have skied globally and tried Thredbo in mid August 2007.
I was advised this period is peak season and the best time to ski Australia. Well, it rained and the snow was the worst I have ever experienced. It looked like a nice place even though the runs are very short. My only real issue was the rudeness of the snowboaders. They don't watch out where they are going, don't give way and abuse people if they are near them. Australia needs to get its act together in relation to 'give way' rules on the mountain, especially since its such a small resort. Perhaps the snowboarders require a separate resort? No other place in the world behaves like Australian Snowboarders. Is it a cultural thing? Attitude?
Thredbo is a place of dreams if you haven't got much of an imagination. There are good snow days, and bad snow days. Average snow days seem to be the trend recently since 2004. I have had great Thredbo days and bruising "I can't turn" ice days.
I have boarded loyally at Thredbo for 6 years now, reasons mainly in this order:
- Thredbo Card discount benefit ($12 off through being a Toyota Summit Club Member),
- less chance of requiring vehicle snowchains,
- close to Sydney (5 hours close)
- better terrain
- and shorter lift lines.
I've skiied in NZ, Canada and Japan. All great places to stay and ski. Japan being my pick so far because of the endless powder and people. Comparing these world class resorts to Thredbo is like comparing a playground to a stadium. Snow is always best experienced when there is of course enough snow. Some need more than others, and we unfortunately don't get much in Australia compared to the rest of the snow world.
I love Thredbo for its good and hate it for it's bad...So, don't expect much from Thredbo and complain when there hasn't been any snow falls. You don't go to the beach on a rainy day, and expect it to be good swimming weather. Check your forecasts and plan carefully your expensive Aussie snow days to get the most out of Thredbo !!!
Everyone knows it... compared to the major snow resorts in the world, Thredbo just doesn't really compare.
Everyone also knows that it probably sells you the world's most expensive lift pass! But hey, thank God we've actually got some of the (white) stuff! And it does produce its powder days. Plus its boarder parks can be bloody awesome!
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Sking in Australia; forget it. I suspect that any positive reports on this site are written by the resort owners; THEY WANT YOUR MONEY NOW. Factor in the high ok, the outrageous costs involved of skiing these hills and yes, they are only hills and it's cheaper to buy a flight to NZ or further afield.
Must say having been spoil by the french alps in my snowboarding time the snow here wasn't exactly as good as l hoped but l was reliably informed winter 2005 was terrible at the start which was when l visited. The runs were like solid hard pack.
Also the grading of runs is a little crazy a Ozzie instructor told me that they don't get graded on difficulty they get graded on what they think will bring more people into the resort. I went on one 'green' which was nails! would ahve been a hard red in France, it was possibly made worse by the ice though.
Another thing l would warn people about it the lack of etiqute in the lift queue with regards to other peoples equiptment. According to people in my group 99% of people hire so no one cares if they step on your board or skis and they are happy to skewer them with a ski pole. But this is apparently more because everyone hires and not that anyone is trying to be evil like what happens in france.
One thing l loved about the resort was the beginners board park! it was great, l have never been in the park before and as the resort was in bad shape l thought l'd try my hand at some tricks. Everyone speaks english and the morral between everyone is great and they all cheer you on to try something new and look out for each other.
One thing europeans will find odd is they make you take off your board on most of the chair lifts! something which is banned in france as l found out when l had to ride a lift which my board hanging off a sprained ankle cos the liftie wouldn't let me carry it.
Food wise BARGAIN! I stayed in Jindy and there was a $6 snitzel place to all english people the snitzle is a piece of chicken in bread crumb and shallow fried. We also found a LUSH!!!! Pizza shop that delivered! The best pizza l have ever had IN THE WORLD!!!! it was located near the chinese and supermarket.
Thredbo is Australia's best resort, especially in terms of vertical and terrain (and village atmosphere, nightlife etc). But this is subject to the snow conditions.
Some people might argue that MtHotham has better advanced terrain (and more accessable backcountry options), and better snow quality, arguments which I think have merits, but I also think thredbo makes up for that in terms of vertical and terrain size(ie: it doubles that of Hotham).
Go there before any other Australian Resort (MtHotham a close second) when there is a 1.5 metre base of snow, all lifts are open, and there is forecasted snow down to 1200 metres.
Avoid the place if there is less than a metre, the Kosciousko, GunBarrel, Antons and Sponars lifts are not open; your best bet is Perisher Blue in poor snow conditions, mainly because of its vast snow making facilties and the fact that it is higher and does seem to get just a little bit more snow, especially in the bad seasons.
Thredbo is an awesome resort, in 2004 i skied in the Japan, europe, New Zealand and Australia and i can honestly say thredbo was just as good as anywhere else, the snow was v.good 45cm fresh DRY powder on the 1st day!, the the middle of September! even when the powder had been tracked out it was still great with some very exciting terrain and long runs. A++.
Yes, there is snow in Australia! And Thredbo is the best place to ski when the snow is good, with a great village, high speed quad chairs and plenty of vertical. Check the webcams before you leave home though, because depending on the season, snow conditions can vary from fresh deep pow to thin hardpack to mud!