Mt. Hotham kicks off top ski season in a decade.

Australia’s Mt Hotham ski resort reported their opening weekend was the first in ten years where snow cover so early in the season was good enough for runs to open beneath the Great Alpine Road.

“What an incredible opening weekend it was!” said a resort spokesperson, “We enjoyed everything on offer from light snowfalls to good snowmaking runs and first turns from three lifts.”

The season was officially opened by Gavin Jennings, Minister for The Environment and Climate Change. He also opened the new toilet facilities at the top of Heavenly Valley.

It was the first opening weekend since 2003 where Hotham has been able to open three lifts for skiing and riding – Upper Playground, Summit Trainer and The Big D. More than 5000 people visited Hotham and Dinner Plain over the long weekend.

This was also the first opening weekend since 2000 where there has been skiing below the Great Alpine Road and hundreds of people hit the slopes of Sun Run to celebrate.

There was 13cm of natural snow on the ground, with snowmaking boosting that to 50cm in snowmaking areas.

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