Moments from a Winter

When people reflect on last winter, they won’t remember the 2023 season too fondly, but as one that started slowly and finished early with only a few good weeks somewhere in the middle. It was a tough one with Snowy Hydro’s snow depth at Spencer’s Creek peaking at just 131cms on July 13th, the lowest reading since 2006’s shocker of 85.1cms, but not far below the 148cms recorded in 2015.

Also, the peak snow depth for a season is usually reached in August or September and this year, for the second time since 2014, it was July that saw the apex before things started to slide.  Last time that happened was 2021 when late July was the peak with 183cms.

However, like all seasons in Australia, there were plenty of fun days on the hill, including a good run of powder days and cold winter snow in late June and early July, a rare bonus for the busy school holiday period.

The back half of July was all about ripping turns on piste while the freeski crew enjoyed plenty of sunny days with light winds and the terrain parks were the hub of the activity, energy and fun.

However, due to El Nino induced warm temps there was a slow but steady decline in the snowpack during that period, with minimal snowmaking, warm northwest winds and a couple of rain events. That trend continued in August which saw a couple of teasing 10cm top-ups, but unseasonably warm weather in between.

The meltdown continued in September although a strong storm on September 8^th dropped 25cms of snow across the Snowy Mountains – the biggest storm since early July – resulting in one of the better mornings of the season. 

Now while the stats on snowfalls and base depth put the comparative season rating into the lower tiers, there were some definite highlights and if you were there at the right time there was good fun to be had. As usual, to score those magic moments it’s all about putting in the time, taking chances and being on the hill.  You need to make your own luck, especially in these tricky seasons.  Let’s hope we’ve paid our dues with a few not-so-great ones in recent years and we’re ever-hopeful a good one is on the way.