Snowed Under

It has been many years since any of us have skied and the girls have only skied once before so we were quite happy to be testing our legs at the gentlest of skifields. Selwyn Skifields is a small resort with short wide runs. There are only 10 lifts and only two black runs. These conditions would be perfect for our less experienced capabilities.

The snow cover was excellent and every lift and run was open which is not always the case on Australian skifields. After a wobbly start while we found our ski legs we quickly got comfortable with the easier runs before tackling some of longer more challenging (for us) trails.

The next day it snowed. And snowed. And snowed. As we pulled in to the Selwyn carpark the first flakes were falling and by the time we reached the top of the first run it was falling steadily. Today was a test for all of us, having never skied in falling snow before. Skiing in fresh powder is very different to skiing on an established groomed slope. It's stickier and we found we had to change the way we skied to cope with the conditions.

Of course, falling snow means it is cold on the chairlifts. We had no idea how our mish-mash of old, borrowed, handed-down and hired clothing would hold up but on the whole we did ok. By far, the best dressed and warmest of us was my daughter who was wearing the handed down goose down lined jacket her uncle had worn while on student exchange in Norway 30 years previously. We had also been lucky enough to get four of the last five goggles on sale at our local Aldi store a couple of days before our trip. Those were a god-send!

Two days was perfect for us and we have vowed to not leave it so long before we go again.

He Hails From Snowy River

We were loaded up and ready to hit the road by 8:30. The road from Talbingo to the Selwyn Skifields begins with a sudden, steep and winding climb ascending rapidly from 400 to 1000 metres above sea level in just a few kilometres. The next 500 metres in altitude are gained in a far more leisurely 30 kilometres or so through open expanses of scrubby landscape. We begin to see patches of snow by the side of the road gradually increasing to full cover the higher we climb.

The roadside signs warn not only of kangaroos, emus and wombats, but of horses as well. Of course, the Snowy Mountains brumbies are legendary and there has been debate in recent years over their future. Some environmentalists are concerned about the impact these much loved animals are having on fragile eco-systems. Others have a more sentimental view of their presence, seeing them as inextricably linked to our colonial heritage. Of course, we weren't expecting to see any. Our experience has always been that we never see the wildlife indicated by the warning signs. And then there they were! Dots in the distance. First one. Then three more. By the time we pulled over to the side of the road we could see two small herds about 200 metres away. A truly memorable start to the day.

Wild Brumbies along the Snowy Mountains Highway

Next stop the skifields!