JUNE ISSUE, 2015
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LET IT SNOW
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FOUR year old Lea Hocking made the most of this year’s early snowfalls at Falls Creek in May. Like many other snow lovers, the young snowbunny is hoping the 2015 season will be one to remember. And with plenty of events planned to keep the season interesting for ever yone, 2015 is shaping up to be a good year on the Alpine slopes. PHOTO: Chris Hocking
4 BRITT COX Champion mogul shares her achievements, plans
GIRLS LOVE SNOW 8 Libby and Maria want to see more ladies on the slopes
Hopes for more ‘snowmaggedon’ By VANESSA BURGESS
ANNIVERSARY EVENT 9 Thousands expected to attend 25th Kangaroo Hoppet
index CEO introductions
5&7
Mr Bump’s blog
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Alpine real estate
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AFTER last year’s bumper snowfalls, Falls Creek and Mt Hotham are hoping Mother Nature will deliver more of the same during the 2015 snow season. Both resorts were hit with ‘Snowmaggedon’ events early during the 2014 season and Falls Creek Ski Lifts and Mt Hotham Ski Company’s Anthony O’Shea said things are looking good for the season. “We would definitely love more of the same as last year, but it is hard to say whether Mother Nature will give it to us two years in a row,” he said.
“That being said, all of the preseason indications are looking extremely positive for another great snow season. “We’ve had snow in both April and May, good rainfall and some really decent frosts and all of these combined is helping prepare the earth for some serious snowmaking.” With snow predicted to fall this week, just in time for the official opening weekend, Mr O’Shea said both resorts would be seizing every opportunity to help create a fantastic base for snow enthusiasts. “The forecast snow and correct weather conditions will enable us to start snowmak-
ing operations as soon as we can,” he said. “Mt Hotham has upgraded its snow making system underground and Falls Creek has also had snow making facilities upgraded. “We’ll be putting out some good production throughout the season, so skiing and snowboarding should be fabulous this year.” Last year’s massive dumps occurred in June and July, and Mr O’Shea said he hoped similar dumps would occur throughout the season. “We had some fantastic dumps early in the last season which helped us have the fastest ever opening, but not a lot of
snow fell after July, so this year it would be great if we had dumps each month,” he said. “However, you don’t need to have a snow depth of two metres to have a great season of skiing and snowboarding – even with the great snowfalls last year we only had an average depth of about 1.6 metre, which actually wasn’t as much as the year before.” Mr O’Shea said both Falls Creek and Mt Hotham were busily preparing for the official opening weekend. “Everything is full steam ahead up at the resorts and we are all really excited about the 2015 snow season,” he said.
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