AUGUST ISSUE, 2015
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JULY’S snowfalls allowed Falls Creek Resort to open more terrain and skier Tom Costa found fresh powder in the expert Cabbage Patch Zone. With more snow predicted in August skiing and boarding options will be endless within the resort. PHOTO: Chris Hocking
2 ENTERTAINMENT Music, food and wine to please every taste
HAPPY HOPPET Kangaroo Hoppet set to celebrate its 25th year
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Top up snow on its way By VANESSA BURGESS
9 MUSH TIME Dinner Plain Sled Dog Challenge attrracts 350
index Events Calendar
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Mr Bump’s blog
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Alpine real estate
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IF weather forecasters are correct, the predicted snowfall in August will set both Falls Creek and Mt Hotham up for the remainder of the season. Both mountains received numerous natural snowfalls last month and were transformed on July 11 and 12 when more than 40cm of snow fell at the resorts. Mt Hotham and Falls Creek News spoke to Falls Creek Ski Lifts and Mt Hotham Skiing Company’s Anthony O’Shea last Friday and he said July hadn’t been as good as he’d hoped for, however, August looked even more promising. “We’ve had a fairly dry July but we’ve got about half-a-metre of natural snow
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cast is accurate the snowfalls could set the resorts up so guests could be skiing right through until the end of September and even into early October,” he said. “It’s kind of the opposite to last year, where we had impeccable snowfalls early in the season and nothing really in August and September, so if the snow keeps coming we could have an amazing last couple of months on the mountains.” Both resorts were hit with some sleety wet snow on July 22, however, Mr O’Shea said the damage was quickly undone by Mother Nature. “We had about 4cm of really wet snow across the resorts, making skiing conditions not ideal, but we quickly re-
gained that with the dry crisp snowfall on Friday (July 24), and more is set to hit on the weekend.” August is set to be a busy month in the Alpine Resorts with numerous racing events on the calendar. “We got some racing events at Hotham with Chumpy Pullin hosting a number of board events and Falls Creek will be gearing up for the Falls Freestyle Festival, which is geared at increasing participation and then steadily it will become more serious,” Mr O’Shea said. “We’ve also got Storm the Castle in mid-August which is a big freestyle event and new to Falls Creek this year is a night team race which will be Australia’s longest beginner run called Wombat’s Rambler.”
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and close to one metre in snow making areas,” he said. “The next few fronts that are coming in this weekend (July 25 – 26) and continuing next week, look to be fantastic and should top up our snow making areas. “It’s going to be one of those rare events where the temperatures are super cold, down to -9 at one point and perfect precipitation. “It really is the making of the perfect snow storm event.” Mr O’Shea said August looked like it had more of the same in store and both Mt Hotham and Falls Creek would be set up for the rest of the season. “It looks as though August is going to be really quite snowy and if the fore-