2010 Buller Reports/Info/Pics Thread

[Rush]

My day trip routine usually is.

Breakfast at home (bowl of cereal).
Morning tea on the hill (Snickers bar).
Munch muesli bars throughout the day. Drink Mizone during the day, maybe a gatorade.
Afternoon tea, more Snickers bars and muesli bars (I may splash out on apple pie from Koflers)
Get back to the car, apples and bananas. Maybe another Gatorade.
I might have dinner in Yea (steak sandwich) or perhaps just a few calamari rings, dim sims and a potato cake and have dinner when I get home.

 

[PolePlant]

Home: cafe and bannana
Mansfield: B'n'Egg and cafe bertallis
Lunch: Pie and 2 cafe at Cattlemans
A Womby cafe morning and arvo Bull cafe arvo.
+ 3 or 4 apple BC juice packs and 4 mini picnic bars in pockets eaten during day.
I get the juice in 6 pack and mini bars from supermarket day the before.
(Slamming down a juice pack on lift up after first hard run is a good start)

 

[pezza]

huge breaky at motel
pick at some lollys through the day
lunch: chocy bar and something fizzy
AT more lollies

 

[Vermillion]

OK now you will know why i decide not to eat on-mountain when i can avoid it...

Breakkie: 7-8 wheetbix + 3 eggs, hard to do at 5am or before
Arrival: Protein shake, banana
11am: Energy/protein bar, energy drink (not fizzy)
Lunch: 2 sandwiches, maybe another banana if i havent squashed it in my pack yet
3pm: Another protein bar and if i feel i need it another energy drink (powerade)
Back at the car (~5pm): Protein shake
Dinner in Mansfield etc: Some junk, maybe a steak sandwich (not a paper thin steak tho!)

 

[Vermillion]

I should add when i do eat properly through the day like above, then i feel fantastic the next day at work instead of feeling like a shot dog.

All of my food is in my jacket pockets or in the backpack for easy reach.

 

[CarveMan]

Kofler's prices are incredibly reasonable, they are almost Melbourne CBD prices.

Quality is good too.

We don't just crap on and on and on about it for no good reason.

Bingo.

Plus I like spending my money with a family owned and run business.

 

[VSG]

Wanchors.

But wanchors with good taste.

 

[Vermillion]

Kofler's prices are incredibly reasonable, they are almost Melbourne CBD prices.

Quality is good too.

We don't just crap on and on and on about it for no good reason.

Bingo.

Plus I like spending my money with a family owned and run business.

No wonder i never see you outside subway.

 

[skiflat]

Plus I like spending my money with a family owned and run business.

 

[CarveMan]

Touché!

 

[FixedGrip]

nice

 

[CarveMan]

Great skiing on the weekend. Epic slush bumps. Got a few turns in with ltb finally which was great fun.

They groomed Wood Run and Fast One on Saturday. The irony of grooming Wood Run is that the TBR guys saw it as an opportunity to set up a bump course from scratch. I had a couple of runs through the zipper on Saturday.

Still heaps of snow, Tirol and Chamois are closing, Tirol was on its last legs, but if it were like this in August of course they would still be persisting. Tons of snow in Chamois.

Rumours going around about Bull Run and Grimus closing soo - both have tons of snow. Even the bottom corner of Standard is still in good nick.

I think they've dropped the ticket price too. It is now an absolute bargain - much better skiing than when they were charging full price in June/July.

Nobody around either.

Spring skiing is awesome.

 

[FixedGrip]

Nice Carve...

Im still looking at heading up this weekend, and will have an idea on whether its possible by Tue/Weds. Two GF weekends in a row would be nice, although I dont we would be skiing bottomless fresh this time around.

 

[skiflat]

Nice

From http://www.mtbuller.com.au.

Lifts tickets have been drastically reduced, so you can ski or snowboard for small change for the rest of the season.
Lift tickets are just $66 for adults,
$53 for tertiary students
$36 for children

Chamois & Tirol now listed as closed on the lift report.

 

[miss_b_haven]

I couldn't think of anything worse than trying to survive a day skiing on:

No breakfast
Handfull of almonds
2 Jam donuts and a can of Coke

I couldn't subsist on a few almonds either, particularly if I've had little or no brekky. By mid-morning I'd be getting light-headed and need to fuel up.

Coke, at anytime, blech.

I can pass on fizzy drinks in general (unless they're of the grape-based variety of course

) and prefer cool fresh water when skiing.

I eat more when skiing than I generally do, too. I wouldn't normally eat burgers/chips for lunch. Lunch would otherwise be a sandwich or some soup. I wouldn't eat apricot pies & cream for afternoon tea ordinarily either. More likely fruit or some chocolate teddy bears if I'm being decadent.

But skiing seems to burn way more energy and requires a heartier appetite. Even moreso for some of the bigger guys, I imagine. And at a whopping total mass of 54kg, I don't think I need to worry too much about morphing from miss_b into miss_piggy.

 

[skiflat]

I couldn't think of anything worse than trying to survive a day skiing on:

No breakfast
Handfull of almonds
2 Jam donuts and a can of Coke

I couldn't subsist on a few almonds either, particularly if I've had little or no brekky. By mid-morning I'd be getting light-headed and need to fuel up.

Coke, at anytime, blech.

I can pass on fizzy drinks in general (unless they're of the grape-based variety of course

) and prefer cool fresh water when skiing.

I eat more when skiing than I generally do, too. I wouldn't normally eat burgers/chips for lunch. Lunch would otherwise be a sandwich or some soup. I wouldn't eat apricot pies & cream for afternoon tea ordinarily either. More likely fruit or some chocolate teddy bears if I'm being decadent.

But skiing seems to burn way more energy and requires a heartier appetite. Even moreso for some of the bigger guys, I imagine. And at a whopping total mass of 54kg, I don't think I need to worry too much about morphing from miss_b into miss_piggy.

Indeed

 

[Sadie]

My day trip routine usually is.

Breakfast at home (bowl of cereal).
Morning tea on the hill (Snickers bar).
Munch muesli bars throughout the day. Drink Mizone during the day, maybe a gatorade.
Afternoon tea, more Snickers bars and muesli bars (I may splash out on apple pie from Koflers)
Get back to the car, apples and bananas. Maybe another Gatorade.
I might have dinner in Yea (steak sandwich) or perhaps just a few calamari rings, dim sims and a potato cake and have dinner when I get home.

This sounds a bit like me except for the Yea bit.

Mine is more:

Breakfast in Melb
All through the day I eat fun size snickers.
Drink water, cordial or gatorade
Lunch can be either snickers or rice cakes with tuna and a banana
Dinner is usually whatever I can find on the way back. Usually more rice cakes and tuna with another banana.

 

[schmick]

So guys, is it worth venturing up this weekend to potentially test out new skis?

I assume this will pretty much be the last weekend given the forecast?

Anybody doing any day trips with a spare seat? =)

 

[Stratus]

This will be the second last weekend.

 

[CarveMan]

Absolutely worth it. Snow will last beyond the closing day of the 3rd.

 

[djam]

check the current temp...

 

[CarveMan]

Inversion.

Doesn't matter, it's not like the Fast One is going to disappear overnight.

 

[VSG]

http://www.snowatch.com.au/1-7-day-snow-forecast.php

 

[schmick]

Anybody ever caught the bus from Melbourne? Or can a bus be caught from Mansfield up? With ski gear in tow?

 

[CarveMan]

http://www.mmbl.com.au

 

[SkiMun]

Good to hear Buller is holding up. I will be there till the bitter end.

BTW Skied Thredbo for the first time last weekend. Sweet hill. Perfect weather, great snow, no one there, had a blast. Spring skiing at its best.

 

[schmick]

http://www.mmbl.com.au

Thanks CarveMan....

Hmm, reason I ask is that I've never driven up to the mountain myself and don't have chains...

Buller Website says not required for 2WD vehicles, but you do need to carry them at all times don't you?

Anybody know price of hire chains and where's the best place to hire?

Soo keen to get up there this weekend but my usual crew has hung up the skis for the season!

 

[CarveMan]

No, on nominated days 2wd cars on day trips only are not required to carry chains. All overnight visitors require them.

Not sure of the best way to find out about chains at 5am though.

 

[schmick]

Out of curiosity, when are chains generally needed to be fitted? Eg. Only when lots of snow over on road?

 

[pezza]

when the road is hazardous due to snow or ice. doesn't have to be a lot of snow, just has to be a hazard. at Hotham earlier in the year had to fit them for >5 cm but it was fairly hard packed and slippery.

 

[Stratus]

Or one day at Buller mid august, some doofus made everyone fit them when there were no hazards. Logic

 

[kimberlee81]

Or one day at Buller mid august, some doofus made everyone fit them when there were no hazards. Logic

But, for all you know, the half dozen cars immediately ahead of you all broke up the icy patches that had required the chains. Or the cloud had cleared and sun had melted the icy section where someone had slid earlier in the morning. Or.... etc, etc.

I know we all think the chains signs are out for no apparent reason sometimes, and maybe that's right - at that exact minute. Perhaps the patrol crew is five minutes behind you, ready to flip the signs, and if you'd been those five minutes later, you wouldn't have had to fit your chains. Sometimes shiit just happens, but I'm pretty sure the chains signs don't go up for no reason at all.

Also bear in mind that the majority of us on here go up and down the mountains fairly regularly, and probably all consider ourselves pretty dab hands in the various conditions. BUT, the CRB and resort staff have to work to a "worst case scenario" of Joe Public, who has never been to the snow before, and who is likely to hit the brakes at the first icy patch, and we'll be reading about it in the papers. (It's the same as those black-and-yellow speed advisory signs on bends - they're officially rated to the "standard" of Mrs Joe Public, who is assumed to be a "timid" driver, behind the wheel of a 15 - 20 year old family wagon!)

 

[luvthabumps]

I can't imagine you'd need chains anytime this week and worst case scenario, if you get to the bottom of the hill and the sign said you needed them, you can catch a bus with luggage / ski gear from Mirimbah ( park for free) to the Village.

My parents usually leave their car in Mansfield and catch the bus from there or at Mirimbah - very easy, the only downside is that you have to time it to the bus schedule.

Go - you'll have a ball. Sunny, perfect Spring day yesterday. Jnr LTB training on soft Wood Run bumps course, the other 2 kids are trying snowboarding this week in the afternoons - Nooooooooo

 

[miss_b_haven]

Hmm, reason I ask is that I've never driven up to the mountain myself and don't have chains...

Buller Website says not required for 2WD vehicles, but you do need to carry them at all times don't you?

Anybody know price of hire chains and where's the best place to hire?

Soo keen to get up there this weekend but my usual crew has hung up the skis for the season!

Given the current conditions and forecasts, it looks like you might not need them. The Buller website has indicated no chains required over the past couple of days, unless you’re an overnighter.

As others have said, there are always bus options.

There is an announcement board on the side of the road, a couple of hundred metres before the gate entry, which states whether chains are required or not. So if you drove there and arrived at the base to find you needed chains, the Mirimbah store hires them for $20/day (or free with two ski/boot/pole rentals).

The store is just up on the embankment, opposite (and just before) the Buller gate entry.

If you're thinking of going - go! You just need to look at the snowcams to see how much snow there still is. It looks bewdiful.

It softens through the day, but that's what Spring skiing is about - enjoy the snow beneath, the sunny skies above!

 

[FixedGrip]

Not one bikini pic in the reports thread over spring

 

[skiflat]

^^^^ So appropriate these two posts together

 

[miss_b_haven]

Not one bikini pic in the reports thread over spring

Gosh, sorry about that.

But considering when I was there last week, and it was below zero with the windchill factor taking it to something like -750, my flesh would have been a rather unattractive shade of blue, so no.

However, last Spring, when it was milder, of course. . .

 

[miss_b_haven]

^^^^ So appropriate these two posts together

lol. Timing.

 

[FixedGrip]

^^^^ So appropriate these two posts together

pure coincidence

 

[miss_b_haven]

pure coincidence

I must say, I did a bit of a double-take given that it was replying to my post and I'd just recently posted pics of my last trip up. I did a slight impersonation of:

for just a moment there, before realising the general context.

I was amused at that timing though.

 

[kimberlee81]

Bikini skiers has always been a late season thing at Hotham. A popular sunning spot in the old days was the pile of dead timber at the top of the (old) Mary's Slide. Once the sunny days of September rolled around, there'd always be a group of girls out there - along with a couple of guys in shorts, (just to keep them company, of course).

 

[luvthabumps]

spring bumps today are awesome!

 

[bubbatheboarder]

Chamois and canyon tows closed? Please explain...

 

[kimberlee81]

Yes, I wondered about that, too.

 

[luvthabumps]

the only people on Chamois for the past couple of weeks have been TBR kids training. Bottom half is pretty smashed. I can live with this being closed.

I mean, the place is dead - school hols, cheap lift tix, bluebird days, good snow and no-one here - not a surprise they're winding back.

 

[skiflat]

Chamois and canyon tows closed? Please explain...

2 and a bit weeks of the season left

Lifts close

It's a business

 

[Rush]

Forecast for Friday still looks good so the missus and I will head up on Friday. It will be her first ski in two years (since #2 was born) so we'll be taking it easy and sticking to the groomers...although I'll probably get some playtime by myself at some point to hit the bumps.

 

[2ndeffort]

If you need chains you can can hire them from the restaurant across the road from the mountain entry booths.

 

[djam]

2 and a bit weeks of the season left

1 and a bit I think is all you have left... 3rd of Oct

 

[SNOW_dj]

Awesome day at buller today! Sunshine, warm weather and no crowds. Will upload pics later.