Perisher 26-28 June TR - Updated 2 July with Video

[Swede]

Friday 26 June

Aaahhhh, yet another trip down the snow without having to get up at 2.30am. Mamma Swede and a few friends are coming along this time so no early start here.
Had made it a “work from home” day so got up at 6.15am, got suited up and ran down for a surf. Very average compared to yesterday, but with a picture perfect sunrise as the backdrop and not many guys in the water it’s hard to beat for a great start to any day, what an amazing country we live in, aahhh it’s good to be alive!
Put the board away and get the skis on the roofrack…
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/s0938.jpg

Signed Little Swede out early from school and went straight to Maccas for a skiers lunch and headed up Mt Ousley.
Plenty of roos hanging around but none of them running on to the road this time…
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/s0949.jpg


Caught up with our friends at another friends place in Cooma and had a couple of drinks before heading down to their ski shop to get the crew kitted out.
Got to Jindy at about 8.30pm, just in time to see the Dragons flog the Tigers WOHOO. Rang up and ordered pizza and cracked the beer and red wine open. Can’t beat a night in a skitown!
Little Swede and Little Mate also got settled in playing pool and running a muck.

Saturday 27 June

Woke from a knock on the door, it was Little Swede’s Little Mate.
- Whazup mate?
- I’m ready
- Awesome dude, come on in
- Nah, I’m dressed and ready for a ski
- Ooohh, well come in and we’ll get going soon, huh
Aahhh gotta love a dedicated keen skier….
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/s0939.jpg

Had a nice bacon and egg brekky and headed up the mountain. Overcast with a bit of wet snow coming down was the verdict when we got up to Perisher. Got everyone sorted out in the car park…
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/d0940.jpg


Went and got passes for the ring ins (not Mamma Swede, she’s somehow justified getting herself a season pass this year) and off we went. Little mate spent a lot of time on the carpet in the morning and then had some nice chocolate for morning tea break…
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/s0941.jpg

After the well deserved break he came out a pro skier. A few more runs after the break and he was the undisputed King of the Carpet. Luv your work mate!!...
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/s0942.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/s0943.jpg

[ 02. July 2009, 11:50 AM: Message edited by: Swede ]

[Swede]

Spent the rest of the morning around the carpet area and when the rest of the crew went in for lunch Pappa Swede headed over Mt P for some leg burners down Towers. By now it was pretty brown and slushy, but must have been surprisingly good first up in the morning.
Must say they’ve done a great job with the snow making over here. And the connection over to Mt P was also in good nick.
Headed back over FV and caught up with the rest of the crew. Bit patchy getting back to the rope tow, but no major dramas getting there.
Plenty of stalls and entertainment at the demo centre…
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/s0944.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/s0945.jpg

By now Little Mate had had some food in his tummy and was ready to tackle the V8.
Spent the rest of the day skiing FV. Little Swede had some fun in the park and Little Mate was absolutely carving it up.
Seeing that fire and enjoyment in Little Mate’s eyes made my day for sure. It also made me think about what it is that makes us love this sport of skiing so much?? What is it that can make you so hooked on something you spend hours on a website like this talking about it with people you have never even met and spend all your money getting to the snow wether it’s here in Oz, Japan, US or Europe?
Is it the icy wind biting your face when you tuck in and straight-line that mountain somewhere? The fluffy champagne like powder rushing up from your skis bouncing off your legs on to your face making it impossible to see on one of those epic waist deep powder days? That empty, nervous but still exciting feeling in your stomach when you are looking down an 800m 55 degree couloir and are just about to commit to that first turn in to no turning back? Or the adrenalin high for a couple of days after pulling it off? The time standing still as you’re dropping off a 20m cliff, 10m cliff or that little hump on Front Valley? Is it that unforgettable feeling when it all clicks and you put together your first parallel turns and snow ploughing seems soooo yesterday? Getting to the bottom of a run realising that you just skied your first blue run, that it wasn’t at all a green run like your friends told you at the top? The Hot chocolate at morning tea on a -35 degree blizzard day? That best tasting beer EVER at the end of EVERY ski day? Or is it that great feeling of relief when getting out of your ski boots at the end of the day, once again promising yourself that you WILL get a pair of new boots, and properly fitted this time. I don’t know the answer but as I thought I’d ask the question and reasons just started pouring out of me I think that might be getting close to it, the fact that there’s just no end to all the reasons for loving skiing so much. It doesn’t matter if you’re 3 or 73, pro or just starting, every stage and level has it’s own challenges and rewards.
What is it that makes it so special for everyone else? I’d love to hear.


Finished the day off with some snow ball fighting and snowman making…
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/s0946.jpg

Now someone had made a replica of Sterlo…
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/s0947.jpg

Went in to JAX for a well deserved beer but could not find a single free table. Got packed up and headed down Jindy for a beer at Brumby instead, but when we got there at 4.00 pm it was not opened!!?? What sort of pub in a ski town is not open at 4.00pm!?? or at any time of the day for that matter?
Did some shopping and headed back to the lodge for drinks and food. Aaahhh, yet another day in paradise.

Sunday 28 June

Got up at 6.30am and got all the gear sorted out and packed in the car, down for a nice bacon and egg brekky and off we went, Little mate still very exited about the day ahead on the slopes.
Got the tube to Bluecow…
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/s0948.jpg

It was pretty bad visibility and soft snow but we had some great fun skiing the Early starter and Terminal chair. Little mate was absolutely killing it by now, skiing with hands in the air and singing all the way down and starting to put some good turns together. And not happy whenever we said we should have a break, gotta luv dedication.
The rest of the crew had a lunch break around 1ish and I went of to have a few runs on Zalis. Pretty wet snow but still good cover, not a rock showing. Must have been good first up in the morning. And best of all, not a person lining up for the chair back up, just ski straight on.
Now talking lunch, I have always liked the food at Bluecow and the fact that they have the tomato sauce etc on tap not at 40c a pop. Little Swede had Wedges and had to pay for the Sweet Chilli sauce, what’s that all about!? And come to think of it I didn’t see all the other sauce pumps up there. If they are starting to charge I have to say that that is very disappointing Perisher. I hope I’m wrong here.
We kept skiing till about 3.00pm and again got in trouble from Little mate for saying we had to stop and go home. Think we might have dedicated skier on our hands here, I hear he’s already booked in for a week during school holidays.
Stopped in Jindy to return a broken toy that Little Swede bought yesterday and after another stop in Cooma to return some gear it was straight home. Got home at about 9.00pm after yet another great weekend in the mountains and am now sipping an ice cold gin & tonic, YUM!
Didn’t take many photos this trip but will try and put a video together in the next couple of days.

Have just worked out I might have to go the computer fair on the weekend and get parts to build a new pc, doesn't look like it's coping too well with the HD video. Dropping sound etc. Anyhow here it is sound dropouts and all...

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/th_Perisher28June.jpg (http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w88/Ecka_Swede/?action=view&current=Perisher28June.flv)


Have a good one!!

Swede, Little Swede, Mamma Swede, Little mate and crew

[ 02. July 2009, 11:49 AM: Message edited by: Swede ]

[BlueHue]

Nice work as usual Swede!

[Legolas]

as always.

Love your work Swede people.

And love your oomph little mate!!

[karen97]

Awesome as always Swede graemlins/snow_cool.gif I saw you zoom by on the early starter this morning

[Silverwitch]

Wonderfully inspiring trip report and the pics were great of the kids! smile.gif
I love the ideas behind 'Why do we love skiing so much? ..made me think about my own reasons and my kids too!

I love skiing because each day I learn something new and each day is a new experience! graemlins/snowman.gif

Great work Swede..we were just posting about how we hoped you would post a report as we were waiting to see what the Swede crew got up to this weekend at the snow!! Thanks again! graemlins/emoticon_skier.gif

[Legolas]

the thing I love is the silence.

There is a patch on some of the lifts where you just come into a pocket of silence. Just cold air, trees and a very faint squeek of the chairlift being tugged along.

The other patch is when you are just sliding silently through that fine powdery snow...not necessarily deep, just fine light snow and suddenly you hit a stretch of the run when there are no snow machines, no people, just your skis cutting quietly through the snow, and the air against your face...sigh...

[Podlettte]

Great report Swede,

And yes, they are indeed charging for all condiments and have removed the milo hot chocolate machine as well as only offering a handful of tea bags (5 in the full basket of herbals teas.

I was shocked to see the new menu, didn't eat there last year, so not sure if it was new last year, however after the same menu since 1990, i'm not surprised it has changed, however i think I got 1 slice of roast pork on a dry hot dog bun with hardly any gravy and about an onions worth of sliced onions.

Certainly wasn't value for money on the snow scale, or any scale, though it has been in the past.

nothing was terribly warm either, we'd had nachos the day before and the mince was barely luke warm by the time we'd paid and got to our table, right next to the registers. Perhaps the Bain marie wasn't hot enough?

[spaz]

Why do we love skiing so much..?

No, don't know the answer, I'll keep having to work that out of the system ;)

Some days, when the sky is blue, no wind and the runs are empty I feel content to sit back and let Ullr have his day. Every other day is mine, sometimes the r**n, lack of snow and aching body don't stop me getting my slide on.

[spaz]

Oh..

Love your work Swede, the first photo says so much.

How's the water? Should snap cold soon.

[bdenny4]

Nice one Swede.
gotta love the dedication of the little ones.

We are taking the 7yo niece up to Hotham this year so hopefully she is as keen

[Totalyrottn]

Well done again graemlins/snow_cool.gif

[Polaris]

Awesome report again Swede!!
Saw you guys clicking in and warming up at Blue Cow on Sunday morning whilst negotiating the 1st day sorting out of the Sunday Kids ski program.
Agree with your sentiments, good cover but pretty soft and, trust me, pretty grippy on waxless bases :rolleyes:
no one to blame but myself!!

[D-Dog]

love your work swede, also love the artistry of skiing, linking multiple turns down a dificult slope with great timing and positioning, getting to the bottom, looking up and going, yeah that was good, lets find a different line now.

[skijacski]

Nice report.

Love Little Swede's skis, excellent choice.

Weather turned last night so good timing.

[cheech]

Thanks for the TR.

Nice to Meet you outside Hannas on Sunday morning.

[Belski]

Wonderful report Swede. graemlins/skier.gif

[IAB]

Good work Swede, that hurricane that flew by me on Sat arvo on Mt. P must have been you!

[SA]

Good work guys :D

I love the silence too ... right up to the point a raspy voice calls out I'm not wearing any underwear

:eek:

[mammoth junkie]

great report mate...

i love the early morning surf as well.. a fresh crisp westerly with 2-3ft of razor sharp lines really gets the day off to a good start!!

[Swede]

Video added in post :D

[Mazza]

Good work Sweede, love little sweedes faceplant..

[SA]

Little Swede rips!

[Podlettte]

Little swede rips, and little mate is awesome for his first time!

[Dr D]

Pic number 4 just reminded me of the joy of putting boots on for the first, second and third time of the season. smile.gif

[bdenny4]

Swede that vid was great, thanks for sharing
smile.gif