The season opening in Perisher, Australia, did not meet everyone's expectations, leading numerous Australian news outlets to lament the ski season as the worst of the century. A situation we can’t help but feel is the click bait trend we are becoming used to. 

On Saturday, June 10, 2023, Perisher commenced the ski season with the operation of a solitary conveyor on Front Valley. Typically, early season snowfalls tend to be meager and often transient since the ground remains unfrozen and the snow cover is susceptible to dissipating after a few warm days. Therefore, when compared to historical data, a lacklustre start to the season does not necessarily indicate the snow depth for the rest of the season. 

The only concern lies in the fact that the Pacific Ocean is transitioning into an El Niño phase, which typically results in reduced precipitation levels and higher winter temperatures. However, last night brought a pleasant surprise as the snow gods graced the Australian Alps with a snowfall ranging between 20-28cm (8-11 inches).

This allowed Perisher, located in New South Wales, to open the Village 8 Chairlift, affectionately known as 'V8' among the locals, on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. To commemorate this momentous occasion, Perisher proudly displayed their season-opening banner, with a hastily scribbled 'V8,' celebrating the inauguration of the first chairlift in New South Wales. Until today, only Mount Buller in the state of Victoria had managed to operate a chairlift in the entire country this season, albeit on a narrow strip of snow amusingly referred to as 'the Landing Strip' by the Victorians.

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