It’s the start to the opening of winter 2007 Australia has been waiting for. Snow is currently falling in Perisher Blue and cold temperatures (low of -4.5°C in Blue Cow) have allowed snowmaking in Perisher Valley and Blue Cow from the early hours of today.

There is around 4-5cm (two inches) of fresh snow in the village so far today, adding to the natural snow cover from several good pre-season falls and snowmaking that has been going on for the past three weeks.

Mitchell T-Bar fired up at 11am this morning, a day ahead of schedule, and skiers and boarders have already been out on Front Valley enjoying their first turns for the season.

The now green-powered Village 8 Express is expected to operate from tomorrow, and the Forester Quad Express will be open to Mid-Station for foot passengers. Adding to the excitement, a 3 metre box, a 5 metre box and a 3 metre rail will be set up at the base of Sturt T-Bar in Front Valley over the weekend!

“We are delighted with how the season has started. We’ve had snow falling throughout the day and the snow guns have been operating since 4am. It is fantastic to see skiers and snowboarders out enjoying their first turns of the season,” said Neil Thew, Public Relations & Business Development Manager for Perisher Blue.

After today’s skiing and snowboarding, the celebrations are set to flow at Smiggins Hotel with Steve Whitmore’s band, Venus, playing live to kick off Perisher Blue ‘Celebration of Winter’ festivities. The good times will continue to roll for everyone throughout the weekend with a host of free live music, kids fun, buskers, street performers and other exciting acts.

The good start to the season is exactly what Australian skiing needed after a ‘challenging’ 2006 season. There are wider implications for the economy in the mountain regions as snow is needed both for the tourism industry and the melt water run off for agriculture.

www.perisherblue.com.au