Most Shocking Things About Skiing in Australia
Skiing in Australia is decidedly exotic, although it does have its drawbacks.
Background
When it comes to a trip to Australia, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the Outback (and maybe an exotic array of animals). But a surprising thing to the outside observer is that it actually has a sizable ski scene as well.
Yes, it turns out that not only does Australia have Snowy Mountains (this is actually what one of the ranges is called) that you can get down on skis or a board, but it actually has some genuinely competitive terrain that makes it a class leader in a number of ways for the Southern Hemisphere—and in some ways, perhaps even more unique than certain popular Northern Hemisphere regions.
So why is Australia so overlooked for a Southern Hemisphere ski trip, and is the lack of visitation justified? Well, our team just had the privilege of spending the past several days visiting all of the major ski areas in the Land Down Under, and in this piece, we’ll go through the biggest differences you can expect from skiing or riding in Australia versus a trip to North America or Europe.
Just the trees alone make an Australian ski vacation decidedly Australian.
Trees and Terrain Diversity
Perhaps the most surprising thing you’ll first notice when skiing or riding in Australia is the trees. Unlike in the Northern Hemisphere, you won’t see any oaks, aspens, or even pines on the ski slopes. Instead, Australian ski resorts exclusively have gum trees, which have distinctively twisty branches and much less dense leaves than trees at a typical resort, making for a look that seems more fitting for an exotic National Geographic video than a ski run. To our knowledge, there is no other country with trees on the ski slopes like these. When conditions are right, the Australian snow gums make for phenomenal glade terrain; they are widely spaced enough to ski through at many resorts, and short enough that you can still see the scenery in front of you. However, the branches do jut out and are often very hard, so you will need to be careful to avoid them in the glades.
But despite the novelty of the gum forests, the terrain at Australia’s ski resorts stands out for more than just its glades. The vast majority of resorts manage to offer a respectable mix of below-treeline and high-alpine terrain, even when it comes to those on the smaller side. The bowls in upper-mountain areas can be surprisingly expansive, and in a good snow year, some areas might not feel out of place at a mid-sized Western North American resort.
Australia’s ski resorts have some pretty standout scenery, including this lake at Falls Creek.
Mountain Aesthetic
Another place where Australia stands out to the outside visitor is in its scenery. The exotic trees and wide-open bowls are pretty cool in their own right, but guests will find kilometers of rolling, isolated mountain views from resort summits, panoramas that stretch over much greener valleys and lower peaks from as low as mid-mountains, and in the case of Falls Creek, even a stunning lake. Some of Australia’s ski resorts are either upside-down in nature or dip into valleys on a backside, creating much more natural views down the slopes than one might see at an equivalent American or European resort.
Resort Size
Another surprising trait of skiing in Australia is the raw size of some of its resorts. As of 2025, Perisher is the largest ski resort in the entire Southern Hemisphere, with an interconnected lift network that sprawls across multiple valleys. We independently measured the boundary-to-boundary footprint of Perisher, and it’s bigger than popular North American resorts like Alta, Jackson Hole, and Sun Valley, plus every ski resort in the East, Midwest, and Washington State. The rest of Australia’s major resorts are at least a notch smaller than Perisher, but they’re not minuscule either when 100% open, with enough to keep most skiers and riders busy for a few days.
This all being said, in terms of overall big mountain feel, Australia’s resorts still fall short of the biggest in North America and Europe. A given resort might be large in acreage (i.e. Perisher) or have a decent vertical drop (i.e. Thredbo), but rarely both. And by decent vertical, we mean respectable but not especially standout, as no resort has a rise of more than 672 meters or 2,200 feet. As a result, those looking for a huge variety of specifically long runs may be a bit disappointed.
Australia has absolutely humongous terrain parks, with professional-level features at many ski resorts.
Terrain Parks and Racing Culture
But one place where Australia really punches above its weight is in its terrain park scene. The country has produced multiple freestyle Olympic champions, and it shows in how much emphasis all the resorts place on park infrastructure. No matter which resort you visit, you’ll find multiple parks ranging from small to extra-large, and you’ll often see pros practicing on the larger features even during off-peak times. And yes, unlike in the U.S., even the resorts owned by Vail have top-tier features (there are quite a few of these - we’ll touch on that in a little bit).
But Australia’s freestyle prestige doesn’t just stop at traditional features—it also excels in its mogul skiing scene. Every major resort has a dedicated freestyle mogul course, though they’re rarely open to the general public; instead, they’re typically reserved for training by competitive teams. Trails with naturally formed moguls exist to a certain extent at most resorts as well. While Perisher is oddly lacking in natural mogul lines for its size, the other four major resorts do punch above their weight in terms of advanced and expert bump runs. And at all five resorts, you’ll in all likelihood come across at least a few high-quality mogul trails, at least provided the conditions allow.
Australia does have some steep terrain, but truly extreme features are few and far between.
Expert and Backcountry Terrain
In general, much of the terrain at Australia’s ski resorts is mellow compared to legendary resorts in the Alps or Rockies. However, there are some legitimately challenging slopes at most of Australia’s ski resorts, including steep bowls, chutes, and even a few cliffs that, in the right conditions, will test the bounds of advanced and expert visitors. Unlike in Europe, the harder runs at most Australian resorts remain ungroomed, although a few single-black trails do tend to be groomed at some resorts. It’s also worth noting that like in North America., everything within the resort boundary is considered in-bounds unless specifically marked closed, unlike in Europe where ducking off a marked piste is technically “off-piste” and often frowned upon without backcountry equipment. This is a huge benefit and source of peace of mind for those who like skiing or riding ungroomed or gladed terrain—which is great, because Australia stands out in both departments for a Southern Hemisphere ski region when conditions allow.
But speaking of backcountry, Australia does indeed have somewhat of a scene, despite the fact that essentially no foreigners have heard of it. No, it’s not up to the same standard as New Zealand or South America, but backcountry skiing and riding opportunities do exist in Australia, and several resorts run guided backcountry tours that access less-traveled ridges and bowls, some of which can extend for several days. And if you weren’t challenged by the in-bounds terrain, the Australian backcountry also has some genuinely gnarly lines, including off the western faces of the Snowy Mountains and Victoria’s Mount Feathertop near Hotham. For those with avalanche training and the right gear, it’s sometimes possible to find high-quality backcountry lines just out of bounds and tuck back into the resort within the full lift-served footprint.
Trail ratings in Australia are the same as in the U.S. and Canada, but most resorts have additional helpful signage aids to direct guests to key areas.
Navigation
But if and when you’re not out of bounds, you’ll probably be relying on the resorts for guidance on the ski trails. And here, if you’re used to skiing or riding in the U.S. or Canada, the trail rating system will feel familiar: the green circle, blue square, and black diamond symbols carry the same beginner, intermediate, and advanced/expert meanings. Signage is largely similar to North America’s, but Australia’s mountains generally add a couple of other helpful touches. Many resorts place tall poles along popular runs to aid with navigation during low-visibility days, which is a frequent necessity in high-alpine areas when storms roll through. But in some cases, these poles go beyond that, even guiding you toward key amenities like restaurants, lifts, or base areas. These can be a welcome orientation tool to the mountain layout even when visibility at the resort is totally clear.
Australia’s ski resorts have some modern lifts, but many are slow or outdated.
Lifts
For the most part, those familiar with U.S. skiing will find the lift infrastructure to feel pretty similar. Australian ski resorts use the same manufacturers—Doppelmayr and Leitner-Poma—and you won’t find any of the brands that primarily do business in Europe. However, the prevalence of platters and t-bars in Australia is notable. Surface lifts are common on exposed ridgelines where wind makes running a chairlift impractical, and mastering the platter and t-bar quickly becomes part of the Australian ski experience if you want to cover the whole mountain. But on the chairlifts themselves, one big difference versus parts of North America is the strictness of the safety bar rules; if you’re used to riding with the bar up in the U.S., expect to be called out immediately if you try that here.
In general, Australia’s ski resorts have some contemporary lifts, but others are slow and there’s only one gondola within the region. However, Australia is also home to one of the quirkiest ski lift experiences in the world: the Skitube Alpine Railway at Perisher. This underground train—the only ski train outside of Europe—moves skiers and riders from a base terminal near Jindabyne up through a long tunnel into the heart of the resort. The Skitube has a mid-station at the main Perisher base before topping out at the mid-mountain Blue Cow area, so it does genuinely function as a ski lift. The train cars are far from the sleek, modern trains you see in Switzerland, but the Skitube is functional, efficient, and undeniably unique. One way to put it is that riding it feels like stepping into a piece of ski history that happens to still be running.
Perisher’s Skitube may not be the prettiest, but it’s the only train that directly serves ski resort slopes outside of Europe.
Access
When it comes to getting to the resorts in Australia, there are a number of key differences versus the alpine regions of North America and Europe—and the most obvious of these is the side of the road you drive on. Driving to the resorts is its own adjustment as soon as you step into your rental car; you’ll be on the left side of the road, with the driver’s seat on the right. The switch is probably manageable for most people, but placing the corners of the car can be hard at first. It’s worth noting that in many cars the wiper and blinker controls are reversed too, so don’t be surprised to accidentally turn on your wipers a few times while trying to signal. We’d highly recommend getting comfortable with driving your vehicle on the other side of the road before navigating the winding mountain access roads.
Speaking of access roads, there are a few caveats about driving up to the Australian Alps that ski resort visitors should be aware of. While all of the access roads are paved, they can get very sketchy. Even when conditions are clear, they are twisty with lots of switchbacks and very narrow lanes in places, with especially steep gradients to get up the final climbs at the Victoria resorts. Road barriers do not readily exist to keep you from sliding down a cliff if you lose control and swerve off the road. And when it starts storming, the conditions of these roads deteriorate quickly. Slush and ice are extremely common, and strong alpine winds can also blow snow back onto plowed surfaces, creating icy patches in places you’d least expect them. Due in large part to these circumstances, carrying chains is required for all 2WD vehicles at the New South Wales resorts, and in Victoria, even 4WD cars are required to carry them and fit them in poor conditions. So if you are not familiar with using chains before renting a car to drive up to an Australian ski resort, be sure to brush up before your trip!
A big reason why these considerations are so important is that public transportation to Australian resorts—much like in the United States—is not all that great, and can also be fairly expensive for what it is. Buses from Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne to the resort towns are expensive and sometimes book up weeks in advance. If you’re already in the resort foothills and starting from a town just outside the resort boundary, adding the Skitube on top of a lift ticket or pass will set you back about 57 AUD for a round trip, and buses from towns below the access roads generally cost quite a bit of money too.
Australia’s ski resort access roads can be quite sketchy, and chains are required to be carried for 2WD vehicles at New South Wales resorts, and all vehicles at Victoria resorts.
Lodging
When it comes to actually staying at an Australian ski resort, every major mountain has some sort of base village with on-site lodging. However, they don’t all function like North American ski towns. In some cases, you can drive right up to your hotel or lodge, but in others, the slopeside accommodations do not have traditional roads that lead to them. As a result, you’ll often have to take a snowcat-style shuttle to reach your accommodation, and you’ll have to load all your bags into that snowcat as well. In many cases, this shuttle ride is not included with the price of your booking. So while the novelty can be fun, it also adds time and extra costs to the arrival process.
Cost and Pass Landscape
And speaking of costs, it turns out that the sheer volume of expenses is a very critical aspect to the Australian ski resort experience.
Let’s start with mountain access. There are five major ski resorts in Australia: Perisher, Falls Creek, Hotham, Thredbo, and Mount Buller. As of 2025, Epic and Ikon have captured every single one of them, with Vail Resorts owning the first three and the Ikon Pass having multi-day partnerships with the latter two. This arguably makes the pass duopoly in Australia even worse than in America, where there are at least some independently-affiliated resorts if you know where to look.
With the pass-driven access model in full form in Australia, the country suffers from the same issues with lift ticket prices as in the United States. While passes purchased months in advance can be solid values, day tickets often approach U.S. holiday-weekend rates, with the rate for a Perisher 1-day ticket topping out at $264 AUD, or around $175 USD. And because there’s no competition outside these mega-pass operators, prices stay high all season.
The Epic and Ikon duopoly is present at every major ski resort in Australia, and lift ticket prices are accordingly astronomical.
But while Americans can probably empathize with the ticket situation to a certain extent, the lodging situation is even more ridiculous. Staying slopeside often means shelling out $500 USD or more per night for fairly basic accommodations. Towns within an hour’s drive aren’t much better—the options in Jindabyne, which is the main hub for Perisher and Thredbo, go for steep rates that would raise eyebrows even in some high-end North American ski towns. In Victoria, prices are a bit more forgiving for off-mountain stays, but still far from “budget.” Many cheaper properties come with shared bathrooms, and camping has become a surprisingly common option for visitors looking to keep costs manageable.
Another big difference from the U.S. and Europe is that all of Australia’s major ski resorts are located in national parks. This is a major contrast with the United States, where national parks have been largely protected from ski resort development—and as a result, no major resorts are located in one. But where this becomes especially relevant to the cost equation is that driving to every Australian ski resort warrants a national park entry fee. And these entry fees aren’t trivial: in New South Wales, a one-day pass costs 29 AUD. That already sounds pretty high, but it’s unfortunately just a drop in the bucket when you learn it’s a staggering 67 AUD per day to drive to the Victoria ski resorts. Buses from nearby towns may seem like an alternative, but a one-person round-trip bus ticket is no cheaper than the park passes, so there’s really no getting around the fee, and if you’re not alone, it’s still cheaper to bite the bullet and pay for the day pass. When you take into account the inflated lift ticket rates, parking passes, mandatory chain rentals, and accommodation costs, you’re going to be paying one of the highest rates anywhere in the world to ski or ride at an Australian ski resort.
Australia’s ski resort lodging is among the most expensive in the world. Some on-site accommodations require getting there by snowcat (which is often not included with the cost of the lodge itself).
Weather and On-Mountain Facilities
Okay, so skiing in Australia is expensive. But do the country’s resorts have the on-mountain conditions to justify such a price? Well, one of the biggest surprises for some Northern Hemisphere visitors may be just how mild the temperatures are. Even in mid-winter, the coldest days rarely dip below 25°F (-4°C); fluke extremes of as low as 8°F (-13°C) have occurred at night, but they are extraordinarily rare.
Perhaps in large part thanks to the milder weather, on-mountain dining leans toward smaller outdoor cafés and bar-restaurants rather than the sprawling cafeterias common in North America.
There are also some unique food options that are probably more reflective of Australian culture than ski resort operations themselves, including meat pies, sausage rolls, and dim sims, among other things. Hot dogs are especially interesting compared to the States—as much as we love our artificial dyes up North, you have some of the most artificially red hot dogs we’ve ever seen as standard fare at most Australian resorts. Many of these same food outlets also offer Kranskys, or jumbo hotdogs that are effectively higher quality sausages. The resorts also seem to love offering chicken schnitzel, either in sandwich or platter form, although if you’ve had this in the Austrian or Italian Alps, don’t expect the same quality dish.
Australia has a ton of outside food facilities on account of its generally mild weather.
Snow and Resiliency
However, while the weather makes for comfortable conditions and a wide variety of outdoor seating opportunities, it also contributes to one of Australia’s biggest challenges: inconsistent snow. Seasonal variability is a constant headache. In a bad year or even just an average one, you’ll deal with icy slopes, limited open terrain, and thin cover, especially in lower-mountain areas. Complete bare spots can be a thing on open runs, since some resorts will still keep poorly covered trails open if they serve as key connectors. In really lean stretches, you may even have to unclip and walk across dirt. A “good” season in Australia means decent coverage across most terrain, while a “great” one means 100% of the resort stays open for an extended stretch, which is obviously far from guaranteed.
But when storms do roll through, the Australian ski slopes are heavily compounded by another factor: wind. Strong gusts are a perennial factor in the region’s highly-exposed slopes, especially above the treeline, and upper-mountain chairlifts consistently face wind holds before or in the midst of storms (as an aside, this is a major reason why surface lifts are employed so heavily across the resorts). But even if the slopes are open and natural accumulation does materialize, exposed areas often get scoured down to a hard surface.
Storm direction also plays a huge role in snow quality. In general, the more southerly, the better; pure south winds deliver the lightest snow, the biggest dumps come from the southwest, and southeast storms tend to favor the New South Wales resorts. On the other hand, the further north the storm track, the heavier—and eventually rainier—the precipitation becomes. Since the storms can come from all of these directions with substantially less consistency than typical popular ski regions, it leads to wildly varying conditions from one season to another—or even within a certain winter. The latitude doesn’t help either; Australia’s ski resorts are closer to the equator than every major ski resort in the United States and Europe, and given the modest elevation, the fact that skiing here exists at all is something of a meteorological miracle. This is probably a good time to note that thanks to their higher elevations, the New South Wales resorts are more consistent than the ones in Victoria, although the circumstances we just discussed apply to all of them.
Australia’s ski resorts get scoured by wind when it storms.
All of Australia’s resorts rely heavily on snowmaking to keep things going in bad seasons. The operations are quite impressive at some resorts, even to the point where they can produce mounds of snow or farm it even in warmer weather. However, there’s only so long this artificial base will last when it gets too hot. The baseline level of resiliency at the resorts here has increased notably in the past few years thanks to snowmaking innovations, but as with resorts almost everywhere else, not every trail is covered.
So this leads us to another thing that those of you reading from the Northern Hemisphere may have already assumed by this point: the Australian ski season is typically quite short. While most resorts usually try to spin lifts from the first week of June through the end of September, the reality is that snow cover is rarely consistent for that entire stretch. June usually feels more like a warm-up, with only a few trails open and heavy reliance on snowmaking. July tends to bring openings for the vast majority of trails, but it also brings the school holidays and some of the busiest crowds, and the snow base can still be a bit thin depending on the year. Early August is the true sweet spot—this is when coverage is usually at its peak and you’ll have the best chance of skiing a fully open resort. But by late August and early September, spring melt starts setting in fast, and while you can often still get good corn turns in, terrain closures become more and more common by the week. For all practical purposes, you’re really looking at about six weeks of “reliably” good skiing, which is a far narrower window than what you’d get in the Rockies, the Alps, or even South America and New Zealand.
Australian ski resort seasons are quite short, with often only six weeks of good conditions per winter.
Crowds
Speaking of the crowds, the busyness at Australian ski resorts can be a bit of a factor in your experience depending on when you visit. If you come during the July school holidays, brace yourself for seemingly everyone from Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne to be there with you—and to wait in at least modestly bad lift lines everywhere. But the true congestion on the slopes is moderated a little bit by the parking situations during peak times. This is a good thing for on-mountain wait times, but it’s really bad if you don’t have on-site accommodations or aren’t exceptionally proactive about getting to the slopes. Carparks fill really early in the morning during holiday periods, and resorts can close the road to private vehicles as early as 8am. If this happens, you can try your luck with public transportation, but this also means paying the hefty round trip per-person prices for the buses or Skitube.
But outside that July window, things calm down considerably. Midweek in August can feel pretty pleasant, with plenty of space on the slopes and generally manageable lines. Certain chokepoint lifts can still back up on August weekends at resorts like Perisher, Thredbo, and Buller, but parking is much more consistently available at least somewhere on premise throughout the day. Also, Sunday afternoons even out as people get in their cars to drive back to the cities. However, by mid-August, you’re also playing a game of chance with snow cover.
Australia doesn’t have the most lively après-ski, but there are bars in resort villages, many of which have pool and darts.
Après-Ski
Okay, so if you’re already paying all that money to ski or ride in Australia, and you’re risking some spotty conditions as well, you probably want to know what the scene is like when you get off the slopes. And to be totally frank, the après environment in Australia is generally pretty tame. But it does have its own charm, and if you like a more laid-back, pub-like nightlife, Australia’s mountains won’t let you down.
One of the things you’ll notice is that many of the base lodges and bars are owned and operated by the accommodations they’re attached to. That gives them more of a lodge-lounge feel than a standalone base complex, and it’s common to see games like darts and pool available to play—in some cases for a small fee, but others free of charge. The happy hour atmospheres tend to be friendly and social, even on weekdays, with live music a common occurrence too.
One important thing to note: if you’re not staying on site, don’t plan on “just driving down” after an après session. Australia regularly enforces DUI checkpoints on mountain roads, and enforcement is strict, especially in Victoria. The legal BAC limit is just 0.05%, and exceeding it can lead to fines, license suspension, and even imprisonment in severe cases. If you’re planning to head back to off-mountain lodging after skiing, it’s safest to skip the drinks altogether.
Finally, be prepared for competition when it comes to dinner. Many ski towns, most notably Jindabyne, have restaurants that book out fast. Even on off-peak weekdays, reservations are essential to make sure you can actually eat at a restaurant. At least if worst comes to worst, all of the Australian ski towns have readily-available grocery stores where you can buy food to cook; in fact, if you really want to save money, buying a sandwich or materials to prepare from these stores will be the most budget-friendly option.
Night Skiing
But if you’d prefer to spend your evening on the ski slopes, one thing all the major Australian ski resorts have in common is some sort of night skiing. On the surface, this is a cool feature compared to big North American and European destinations, which rarely—if ever—have skiing or riding available once the sun goes down. However, operations are typically only a few days a week, and they’re usually confined to the bunny hill or a small section of the mountain. They’re also discontinuous from day skiing, meaning you’ll have to get off the mountain for a bit before returning around 6pm. In the case of Thredbo, night skiing only happens on Thursdays and you’ll have to rent an LED flare, although this does make for a pretty cool aesthetic.
Australia may be known colloquially for its kangaroos, but its resorts stand out for its variety of birds.
Wildlife and Culture
But absent everything else we just discussed, there’s one thing you’ve probably been thinking about this whole time: where are the kangaroos in all of this? Well, let’s just start by saying this: wildlife sightings can occur on an Australian ski trip. While kangaroos on the slopes are rare, wombats sometimes appear near village edges, and echidnas can pop up here and there too, especially at dawn and dusk. Rather than on the snow itself, however, these encounters are most likely just below the snowline as you drive up to the resort. That said, you don’t necessarily want to spot larger animals on the road; vehicle collisions with wildlife are more common than visitors expect.
But the animals you will almost certainly see on the ski slopes—and ones that bring a surprisingly exotic twang to the trip—are the birds. Alpine birds in Australia are much more colorful than the ones at most Northern Hemisphere ski resorts, and they have plainly unique sounds compared to what you’d hear in the Rockies or Alps. Besides the gum trees, these bird calls are perhaps the most obvious reminder that you are in a foreign ski country.
But even if you don’t see these exotic animals on the slopes, some resort towns are close to zoos where you can get a guaranteed viewing of them—and worst case scenario, there are animal sanctuaries available to visit on your way in or out of Australia from Sydney or Melbourne.
Final Thoughts
So when everything lines up—meaning that coverage is good, winds are manageable, and you’re prepared for the costs—skiing in Australia is actually a bit better than its global reputation suggests. The terrain variety, unique gum trees, and sheer novelty of skiing on the other side of the world all make for an experience you can’t quite replicate elsewhere. You might even see a few kangaroos on the access roads.
This all being said, the value proposition is hard to justify for most vacationers. Between the lift tickets, national park fees, lodging premiums, transport costs, and the ever-present risk of underwhelming snow, it’s a destination that often feels like it’s trying to make up for a short season by charging as much as possible. Even many Australians choose to skip their home slopes and save their money for a trip to Japan, North America, or Europe instead—and when they do ski here, it’s usually for one of two reasons: they have a ton of money, or they see it as a warm-up before heading to those more reliable destinations in the Northern Hemisphere winter.
One could easily argue Australia’s ski scene is underrated for the experience it delivers in the right year, and if you put in the work, you can certainly have some prime days here. But in general, the region is so overpriced and unreliable that most international visitors will be better off looking elsewhere.
Join Us Internationally at PeakHouse This Winter!
Alright, so Australia might not be where it’s at for your next international ski trip. But where it definitely is at is on one of our PeakHouse 2026 trips. Join us in Austria and Japan (waitlist only) in January, Canada’s Whistler Blackcomb in February, or Chile in August. And for something really crazy, we’re also going glacier skiing and hiking at the Matterhorn in late June. If you want to snag a spot, check out the links here.
What do you think about skiing in Australia? Would you take a trip here from wherever you live? Let us know in the comments below.
