Southern Hemisphere 2019 Season Underway
The 2019 ski season has got underway in the southern hemisphere.
Three Australian ski areas have so far announced they are opening early over the coming three days due to the heavy snowfall in the country this week which has seen accumulations of up to 70cm (28 inches) reported so far.
Selwyn Snow Resort in New South Wales (pictured above this morning) was the first to open, earlier today. It says it will be running its new Chum Chair for free through the weekend.
It will be joined by Australia’s biggest resort, Perisher, also in New South Wales, which announced earlier this week that it would open from tomorrow.
A third Australian area, Mt Buller in Victoria, will open on Saturday, June 1st for the weekend and, like Selwyn, also run tits lifts free of charge.
So far other Australian ski areas are sticking to the usual opening weekend of 8-10 June next week. The good news is that currently, it looks like more cold weather and snow should arrive next week after a few clearer days through the weekend.
June 1st should also see the first of the scheduled 2019 ski season openings with Cardrona and whakapapa ski areas in new Zealand planning to open. There has not been very wintery weather there until the past 24 hours or so when snow has begun falling.
Cardrona are not yet sure if they’ll be Able to offer snowsports on Saturday, a statement says,
“We will be opening (something) on Saturday! It has started snowing again, with more snow forecast throughout tomorrow and the rest of the weekend. Temps are forecast to drop heaps from 5pm today so we can get the guns going too! If there’s enough snow to ski (we’re ever optimistic!), we’ll open the Learner Conveyors and the Chondola for skiing. We’re frothing just as much as you guys are to get out there – as soon as we can, fingers crossed for Saturday.”
After New Zealand, Tiffindell in South Africa and Afriski in Lesotho are due to open in a week’s time later next week and the first ski areas in South America, where it is also currently snowing, from June 8th.
