Victorian Alpine Resorts welcome ideal conditions for ski season opening

The official opening weekend of the Victorian ski season has seen resorts across the Alpine region recording fresh snowfall and delivering ideal conditions for guests.

Blizzarding conditions have been swirling at Mt Buller, an alpine resort in Victoria, for the first ski turns of the 2025 winter season this morning.

Opening day was met with 7cm of fresh snow, taking the resort's average depth to well over 30cm.

The chairlift opened at 8.30am and snow has continued to cover the resort to the delight of guests on the slopes with ski school lessons getting underway.

Opening weekend conditions had been boosted by a huge pre-season snowmaking effort, with the resort making 15,000 cubic metres of snow last month.

At Mount Hotham, 19 centimetres of snow fell on the mountain, with conditions expected to continue until Tuesday.

Overnight temperatures dropped to -2.6 degrees Celsius on Friday, with snow guns helping to top up the natural snowfall.

Hotham's marketing coordinator Alex Pankiws told ABC "we've woken up in blizzard mode at Mount Hotham for opening day.

"The storm rolled in at 10 o'clock last night, and it's been dumping since. The start of the snow could not have been timed better. With all the snow, there will be lifts and terrain open soon."

It was a similar story at Falls Creek, where temperatures dipped to -2.3 degrees on Friday night, with the resort reporting 17cm of fresh snow to get the season underway.

Betony Pitcher, Falls Creek's field marketing manager added "this is just the beginning. We're laying a strong foundation with our new Techno Alpin snow guns, and with consistent snowmaking and a further 45cm of snow in the forecast, our mountain operations team will be preparing to open terrain as soon as conditions allow."

Images top and centre. Mt Buller first chair and first lesson. Credit: Mt Buller Resort; image below: Credit Mt Hotham resort