Skiing O The Roof Latest Edition

Rick Walkom’s latest edition of his very popular Skiing O The Roof co ee table book brings the history of skiing in NSW, particularly around Charlotte Pass, fully up to date. It contains 450 wonderful photos, many rare and historic, many in colour. The book is a fascinating, joyful celebration of the history of snow sports in our magnificent Snowy Mountains - about the legendary pioneer skiers, back-country adventurers, snowboarders, summer stockmen, nature lovers, Monaro locals, environmental warriors, ski club members, and mountain sta - the colourful characters who have carved deep tracks on

‘No sport and few occupations bring man in closer contact with nature and

- Bill Hughes, 1930s pioneer skier.

Kosciuszko’s slopes over the past century.

“My previous three editions covered the period up the 1980’s and it obviously needed a major update,” said Rick of his previous editions.

“I quickly discovered that there had been plenty of dramatic changes in the snow sports industry and in the Kosciuszko region over the last thirty years. For example, there was the snowboarding invasion, the introduction of helmets, the introduction of snow grooming and snowmaking and the revolution in ski design.”

“The Skitube was built; school holidays were changed from three to four per year; the interschools race programmes were introduced; there was a name change for ‘Kosciuszko’ and there was a steady resurgence in back-country ski touring. The technology revolution hit the industry and the demand for short stays upended the traditional week to week bookings.

“Skiers decided to hit the slopes in Europe, USA and Japan and buy discounted

Icon and Epic’ passes. More recently, mountain biking, excellent tourism programmes and wonderful new walking tracks started to attract summer visitors in droves.

“Up to the 1980s I recall that skiers rarely expressed much concern about climate change, global warming, shrinking snow seasons and the threat of dieback and feral animals. The mountains are now being increasingly impacted by horror bushfires, droughts, erratic seasons and, of course, Covid. Yes, ... there have been many changes over the last thirty years but thankfully our ski industry remains very resilient and there will still be plenty of skiing and boarding to be had in the decades to come.”

“Over the last hundred years there have been countless visitors to Charlotte Pass area. Almost all have been enchanted by the mesmerising, brooding expansiveness of the Main Range, by the fragility of the environment and, of course, by the exhilaration, freedom and challenges the slopes represent for skiers, snowboarders and summer hikers.

“The place is like a poem of many stanzas, each richly infused with precious memories of family holidays, of fears conquered, goals achieved, lives enriched and friendships formed.” www.skiingo�theroof.com