Bullish on Buller

It could only get better.

Anxious to hit the slopes, eager to try out the new boots, and dying to check out the Australian Alps, the only place in the world you can ski amongst snow gum trees, Matt and I decided to head up to Mt. Buller, a ski resort 3 hours outside of Melbourne, for a tune-up for New Zealand.

Following a scenic drive up through the Yarra Valley vineyards and into the Australian Alps, we hit the ski lift up from the car park.  That was essentially the last we saw of the terrain.  Once we hit the top, complete whiteout all day.  We found a lift, took it up, then did our best to follow it down.  Occasionally a group headed in a different direction off a lift and we followed them to another lift ... which we took up, then followed down.  It is an experience to ski in such conditions, particularly when you don't know the mountain.  An exercise in faith really.  Faith in your own sense of direction, faith in people you choose to follow, and faith that the mountain staff hasn't left a hole in the boundary you may unknowingly slip through.  I don't know if we skied near a snow gum tree, we just skied into the white abyss.

There was a 10 minute reprieve which there is a photo of below.  This reprieve was followed by the return of whiteout due to cloud cover, along with hail and winds gusting to 80 kph.  There is not a photo of these conditions because riding a chair lift and skiing in hail and 80 kph winds hurts like a bleeping bleepedy bleepedy bleep.

Hope to get back under better conditions.

Chairlift from the car park ... so naive.

Used to riding a gondola sans skis, not a chairlift. 

Mt. Buller

That's Matt.

That's Matt after one turn.

That's Matt after two turns.  We didn't find each other again on this
run until we both made it to the bottom of the chairlift.

The 10 minute reprieve.  I can see!!

Who knew kangaroos played leap wombat out this way?