This is what skiing in Australia looks like - they have snow!
When you tell people in the UK that you are off to do a ski season in Australia, most of them will look at you blankly. "They have snow in Australia?!" Yep, they have snow in Australia.
After a 21 hour flight to Sydney, followed by a one hour flight to Canberra and a two hour bus to Jindabyne, I finally found myself in the Snowy Mountains in Australia. Except it wasn't snowy at all. It was a balmy 10 degrees as I lugged my heavy snowboard bag and two backpacks down the street to our new flat.
The next morning I finally got the chance to explore.
Waking up here sounds like waking up with Jurassic Park outside. The birds don't sound anything like home. They don't have wood pigeons or sparrows here. Instead they have red-breasted pigeons and colourful blue parrots. The most bizarre bird is one that looks like a black crow but sounds like a 1980s robot. Or maybe an old school internet start-up connection.
THE SKI RESORT - PERISHER
View from the top of Mount Perisher
We live in Jindabyne. Unlike Europe, you can't walk to the ski lifts here. The resort, Perisher, is a good 40 minute journey from door to door.
It's a 20 minute drive to Bullock's Flat, a big theme-park sized car park, then a 10 minute ride in the Ski Tube (an old fashioned train - rather like the metro system in Munich) up to Perisher Village.
That's if you've got a car (more on that below). Otherwise you're hiking to the hitching spot or waiting to shotgun a seat in your kind flatmate's car.
The road up to Perisher is through barren fields, rolling hills with cows grazing and a lot of roadkill. "I've seen more dead kangaroos than live ones," says Ed on our first journey up. If you keep your eyes peeled, you'll see live ones. They are often bent over, eating, either at dawn or dusk. Sometimes they venture onto the piste - like this one at Smiggins Hole last week.
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When you've finally managed to get up the mountain, you'll get to Perisher Village. There's a handful of hotels, some staff accommodation and a few restaurants that are mainly open during the day - plus lots of tourists - but very few people actually live up here. Most live in Jindabyne.
With 133 runs and 47 lifts, Perisher is the biggest ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere. The terrain is more like the Lake District than the French Alps. Think rolling green hills and gum trees (eucalyptus trees) than towering alpine peaks and pine trees. It's very unintimidating terrain which makes it a perfect resort for beginners.
The best hot chocolate in the world, served up at the mid-station cafe near Front Valley. It's even got a TimTam on top!
And there are a LOT of beginners. "There are so many more kooks here than there are in Europe," groaned Ed as he battled his way off the chairlift beside two snowboarders who could barely stand upright. He's right.
As you look down the main slope in Perisher called Front Valley, it's a sea of people skidding into each other and face-planting in the snow. Some take lessons, but many just grab a snowboard and head up the hill without a clue what they are doing. The most terrifying part of the day is crossing back across Front Valley on the home run, palming off any out-of-control beginners.
Your best bet is to escape Front Valley as quickly as possible and either head over to Mount Perisher where there's some nice steep off-piste to lap near the Eyre T-Bar or over through Pretty Valley to the Interceptor Chair. Blue Cow is also pretty nice - it can get busy on the weekends but we had some weekdays when the snow was really good condition and the lifts were empty.
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The standard of park riding here is pretty high - even little 10 year-old kids are throwing down 900s off the big kickers. There are a few different parks - from the mini park with baby kickers for wimps (like me) next to the Piper T Bar to the monster park on Front Valley with big 35ft+ kickers and nowhere to hide from the public if you stack it hard.
Like any ski resort, holiday weeks are BUSY. The main holidays are from the beginning of July for three weeks, so expect long lift queues and plenty of people driving cars around town with chains on (despite there being zero snow on the roads).
You'll see a lot of balaclava wearing, skinny pant clad, hipster park rat seasonaires and Sydney parents shepherding their children up the mountain every weekend for race training in the hope they'll become the next Torah Bright. Oh and lots of Japanese tourists in jeans playing in the snow.
Sunny days up at Blue Cow
THE SNOW CONDITIONS
They get snow here, but obviously not like the French Alps. You have to appreciate Perisher for what it is. When the sun is shining and there's fresh snow underfoot, it's really good fun. There's tonnes of places to explore and mid-week, it's really easy to escape the crowds by moving away from Front Valley.
Last week a polar vortex blew up from Antarctica and 50cm dumped on Perisher overnight, the biggest snowfall in a decade according to local news. We aren't talking waist deep powder, but there was some really nice patches of good snow.
It can be very wet and windy - it's probably the windiest place I've ever been riding. You will find yourself riding on a lot of slush or ice (and occasionally mud. They just keep those runs open, even when the grass is poking through) but Perisher definitely get its hot, sunny, bluebird days too. Like I said, you've just got to appreciate Perisher for what it is.
THE TOWN - JINDABYNE
Pooh Bay, a corner of Lake Jindabyne next to where we live
Set on a huge lake at the edge of the Kosciuszko National Park, Jindabyne is a beautiful town. The lake really sets the tone for the town. When it’s wild and windy, white water waves froth across the surface. Other days it’s totally still, reflecting the surrounding forest like a mirror.
Jindabyne seems to have its own microclimate. When it's wild and wet up on Mount Perisher, it can be dry and sunny down in Jindabyne. Since I've been here, we've had more sunshine than rain.
In town, there's a main shopping street with restaurants, cafes and many, many ski shops. The main shopping area Nugget’s Crossing is inexplicably styled like the a Wild West style town with faux and wooden carts as decoration. Woolworths isn't a large newsagent selling games and pic'n'mix sweets here - it's a major supermarket chain.
Birchwood Cafe - and a Green Machine juice - the new hipster cafe in town and it is great!
There’s a mix of modern and old fashioned shops that play songs you haven't heard in 15 years - like Pink and Savage Garden - dozens of ski shops, and a hipster coffee house which serves great coffee called Birchwood Cafe.
My favourite clothes shop is Ebony & Chrome - they have nice, non-skiwear and soy candles. I definitely want to try out the Mexican Cocina restaurant as well - they have a bar upstairs serving jalapeno and cucumber margaritas. For yoga, check out the lovely studio I work at - Jindabyne Yoga Shala.
Yoga at the Shala - how cool is that mural?
The street signs, the roads and the buildings are like America but the culture is like the UK. They have Yorkshire Tea and crumpets in the supermarket. Everyone is super friendly - and everyone knows everyone.
If you are stood for more than 10 seconds looking at map, I guarantee someone will offer you directions - and possibly offer you a Freddo. Yes the 10p chocolate bars. They love them here.
There’s one bus from Jindabyne to Canberra each day and that’s in the high season. In the low season, there are three buses a week. So it's not the best connected place on the planet, but hey, you'll only be here for three and a half months and the ocean is just a two hour drive away, so you could surf and snowboard all in the same day.
5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE DOING A SKI SEASON AT PERISHER
YOU NEED A CAR
There's no public transport to get you from Jindabyne to the Ski Tube or Perisher. I know, it's mad. Most people buy cheap cars at the beginning of the season, often sharing between a household and getting a three-month insurance plan, then sell the car at the end of the season. Your other option is to hitchhike, which is surprisingly easy and safe, most people are just on their way up to the mountain.
THE POLICE ARE TOUGH
Don't speed in Jindabyne or they will fine you on the spot. Don't drive after you've had a heavy night on the town - there are regular random breathalyser tests on the road. Don't cut corners in the car park or you'll be fined as well. I've even heard there are undercover police on the slopes. You can't escape them. They don't take well to humour either, so best to stick by the rules unless you want to rinse your pay cheque on paying fines.
IT'S NOT CHEAP
Accommodation isn't cheap. I've heard of people paying around $200 (£115) per week for a shared room in staff accommodation. We lucked out (thanks to some savvy Aussie housemates) and we pay $150 (£86) per week each for a room as a couple in a three-bedroom flat with two bathrooms, a well-stocked kitchen plus washer/dryer, garden and view of the lake.
The season pass isn't cheap either. It cost me $1900 for a 16 week season pass for Perisher including Ski Tube pass (which you can't really do without). You can get it cheaper if you buy before the season starts - the prices will go up without warning. I wish someone had told me this sooner and saved me $1000!
DON'T BOTHER WITH OFF-PISTE INSURANCE
I mean, most people don't anyway, but there is no point spending extra money on adding off-piste cover onto your ski insurance. There isn't really such thing as off-piste here. There are no piste markers, you can pretty much ski everywhere. The resort boundaries are clearly marked - and you won't be heading off there without a splitboard/touring skis anyway.
IT GETS REALLY COLD
This might sound stupid but just because it is Australia doesn't mean it's warm. It's often frosty here in the mornings and temperatures hover around 2 degrees on average.
The houses are pretty chilly - they aren't built for cold weather in the same way houses in the UK are. We've just got one plug-in heater per room and it's not quite enough to warm up a room. Bring extra layers as you'll be wearing all of them inside the house.
IT'S REALLY FUN
I've moaned about the snow, the lack of public transport and the fact they hand out free Freddos (that is nothing to complain about), I know, but it's a really fun place to come and do a winter season, especially if you are looking for a totally different experience to your European winter.
Oh, and it's great for British ski instructors who want to come teach in their summer holidays (as long as you don't mind skipping summer, but let's be honest, you'll probably get more sunshine in winter here anyway).