By Robert Upe
From the top... ski movie legend Warren Miller's latest offering, Like There's No Tomorrow, is screening in Australia.Credit: Alex O'Brien
Australia's season opens on the June 10 long weekend, just 14 days away, however skier numbers have been flat for years and the chief executive of Snow Australia, Colin Hackworth, agrees the industry needs to find its mojo again.
"We have had a number of poor-weather years because we have just been through a 10-year drought and that hasn't helped perceptions of the [ski] industry," he says. "It's not about dropping costs, how low can we go, but about creating a better experience and providing value for money for skiers and snowboarders.
"That's what Australian resorts are now looking at addressing. We want to create a better overall experience with added-value things like fireworks, night skiing, quiz nights and wine and food tasting of regional products. We have to give our customers more." Snow Australia (see snow -australia.com) has launched a campaign to attract first-time skiers with an "Initiate a Mate" package. Meantime, on-mountain is a new chairlift at Mount Buller, the Bonza quad chair at Burnt Hut Spur. (see page 8)
Miller still rolls
When Warren Miller started making ski movies in 1950 it was with a shaky hand-held eight-millimetre camera. His modus operandi is to make one film a year and, remarkably, after 62 years, he's still going strong. The annual Warren Miller screening has a cult following.
This year's movie, ... Like There's No Tomorrow, is filmed in New Zealand, India, Chile, Alaska, Norway and Canada and is narrated by ski legend Jonny Moseley. Screenings wrap at Melbourne's Rivoli Cinemas in Hawthorn tomorrow before moving to Sydney's Orpheum at Cremorne from Wednesday to June 3.
Sam Smoothy, a professional freeride skier featured in the NZ sequences, will be on stage in both cities and there is an expo featuring equipment and holiday packages.
See warrenmiller.com.au.
Thredbo auction
A piece of Thredbo's history has proved popular at auction: of 100 double chairs from the decommissioned Ramshead Chairlift recently put up for public sale, just 16 are left. Proceeds from the auction of the iconic 1963-built chairs are being donated to the Children's Hospital Foundations Australia, Disabled Winter Sports and to Thredbo's community centre, volunteer ski patrol and early childhood centre. The resort has so far raised $74,000. The sale ends on June 9. Phone (02) 6459 4151; see thredbo.com.au.
Ushering in the ski season
Australia's only music festival in the snow will usher in the ski season at Perisher, June 8-11. The four-day Snowy Mountains of Music festival includes New Zealand band the Black Seeds, Karma County's frontman Brendan Gallagher and Nicky Bomba with Bustamento. The fourth annual festival will be staged at Perisher, Smiggin Holes and Guthega. Weekend festival passes start at $155 a person.
Dinner on the menu
Dinner Plain, a pretty village about 10 kilometres from Mount Hotham, kicks off the season with a food and wine festival from June 9-11. Events include free cheese tastings and $95 dinners by visiting culinary stars such as MoVida's Frank Camorra and James Campbell, Nick Gardener from Tetsuya's, Matt Germanchis from Pei Modern and Michael Ryan from Provenance. See visitdinnerplain.com.au. Chef, author and My Kitchen Rules judge Pete Evans hosts a dinner on Saturday, July 7, at Lake Crackenback Resort's Cuisine restaurant featuring fresh Snowy Mountains produce. Tickets are $140 a person.
Free in Idaho
Hollywood actor Bruce Willis is giving away his Soldier Mountain ski resort in Idaho. He has listed his home in the nearby town of Hailey for sale at $US15 million and his nightclub The Mint for $US4 million, but the ski resort he has owned since 1990 is free to any non-profit organisation. The family-style resort, near the iconic Sun Valley, has three lifts and reportedly has been running at a loss. Willis and former wife Demi Moore were part of the Sun Valley celebrity scene. (see page 7)
NZ in numbers
Australian ski numbers in New Zealand last winter predictably took a tumble in the wake of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and later-than-usual snowfalls. In 2009 there were 491,000 Australian-skier days in NZ; in 2010 the figure was 513,000. Last year it dropped to 389,200.
The closest major resort to Christchurch is Mount Hutt, which has a "Kids 4 Free" campaign for children under 10. The Mount Hutt ski area manager, James McKenzie, says the deal aims to reignite the passion of families for a snow holiday. "It means record numbers of families will be able to realise their dream of taking the kids on a snow holiday," he says. (see page 9)
Ski with Olympians
It's not often you can rub shoulders on the slopes with a legend, but you can with American Winter Olympic heroes at the Canyons Resort in Utah. The resort's "Ultimate Mountain Experience" allows you to hook up with athletes for one- to three days. The cost is from $US524 ($522).
Among the Olympians to ski with are Graham Watanabe (2006 and 2010 games), Holly Flanders (1980, 1984) and Erik Schlopy (1994, 2002, 2006). If that's not enough to satisfy, you can also put in turns with 1997 world extreme skiing champion Brant Moles and a host of others.
See canyonsresort.com.
The bottom line
The price of a daily adult lift ticket this year peaks at $112 at Perisher. Thredbo is charging $110, Mount Buller $108, Falls Creek and Mount Hotham $106. Some of the best value is available with early-bird deals: Perisher has 30 per cent off some prices until Thursday. There's also good value with multi-day tickets that can include lessons and gear-hire, and midweek deals such as Mount Buller's two-day student package that bundles a lift ticket, overnight accommodation and breakfast for $159.
(see page 8)
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