Snow Report Hotham 2022 - Trip Reports, Pics & Conditions

[_Yossarian_]

The bumps on Slalom Gully aren't the issue. It's the traffic.

That's just a product of the terrain and geography.

The problem isn't unique to Hotham - other ski areas can suffer as much. St Anton's Ski Route 4 in the afternoon can resemble Slalom Gully .. i.e. half the mountain's skiers being funnelled through a narrow gully covered in hard pack snow mixed with re-frozen slush... not much fun.

EDIT : I just showed my wife a picture of her standing on the side of Ski Route 4 on a Sunday afternoon back in 2008 - I think I just triggered her.

She got taken out by a snowboarder on Slalom Gully in 2019, taken from the side while skiing down the guts.

She got taken away by ski-patrol. Had a bruised shinbone for about six months.

Hasn't skied since.

Take care out there.

 

[snowgum]

The bumps on Slalom Gully aren't the issue. It's the traffic.

That's just a product of the terrain and geography.

The problem isn't unique to Hotham - other ski areas can suffer as much. St Anton's Ski Route 4 in the afternoon can resemble Slalom Gully .. i.e. half the mountain's skiers being funnelled through a narrow gully covered in hard pack snow mixed with re-frozen slush... not much fun.

EDIT : I just showed my wife a picture of her standing on the side of Ski Route 4 on a Sunday afternoon back in 2008 - I think I just triggered her.

She got taken about by a snowboarder on Slalom Gully in 2019, taken from the side while skiing down the guts.

She got taken away by ski-patrol. Had a bruised shinbone for about six months.

Hasn't skied since.

Take care out there.

Sorry to hear about your wife. My wife has similar if less extreme (final?) views about SG.

She’s lost count of the times she’s been taken out - mostly by a young hero, not an out of control newbie!

Her view is the hero just use slower skiers as gates, so it’s only natural slowbies will hit and fall now and then.

I’d like to see patrollers black mark more idiots but to be fair, these sort of incidents are so common, they’d never be enough patrollers. I’m sure they’re busy across the whole mountain, ~ 70-80 runs?

Another gem: a boarder used my wife as a gate while on the back of the sled on SG. She was strapped in unable to use her arms and ended up covered in snow - her head too. Patroller up front of sled never saw it happen, unfortunately.

But it shows you what low lifes exist (thrive/feed?) and how small their brains must be to get off in spraying an injured, cold, distressed and immobile female on a sled.
(Its no wonder some people never return to the mountain -sadly!)

Fwiw, blatant cases like I’ve described should see be instant loss of pass for the rest of the day. That might lead to more sober celebrations back in the pub?

…when I rule the world? (With a white cat on lap?)

This SG ‘thing’ is as much or more about OHS & duty of care, than it is about simply keeping lesser-skilled skiers ‘happy’.

 

[kimberlee81]

Maybe instead of running the groomers mid afternoon have you thought about maybe just learning how to ski better. If you can't navigate slalom Gully maybe go back to the big d and learn how to ski. Shutting the mountain down at lunch time so we can take a few bumps off slalom Gully might just be the stupidest thing I've read on this forum. Close to the thread about adjusting to the 'new normal'' of bulk Australian snow.

What a retarded attitude!

 

[Parallax]

Grooming Pump House Drop on non powder days would encourage more advanced people to skip Slalom Gully altogether when coming from Village or Road Runner. It would only make a small difference, but it would be quick and easy to implement.

 

[snowgum]

Grooming Pump House Drop on non powder days would encourage more advanced people to skip Slalom Gully altogether when coming from Village or Road Runner. It would only make a small difference, but it would be quick and easy to implement.

Hotham needs to look all the quick wins. Might have to add some SM below the catwalk to be viable. It’s a very under-utilised part of the mountain most days.

 

[mr]

 

[Tanuki]

Best view in Australia IMO.

 

[mr]

Indeed. Today the cloud in the ovens valley was spectacular

 

[PG2736]

Was an absolute cracking day up there today. One solution to SG traffic would be to better groom Sundowner and cut an easier run off that that takes you into village chair. The other option once a new lift goes in is to load down behind the snake gully hut so you don’t have multiple runs & a lift line all converging.

 

[Adrenalin Junkie]

Slalom Gully will forever have that problem, it seems. It's where a good 40% of Hothams runs collide. Everyone of all skill levels will usually end up either on or at the bottom of that run. You have people stepping away from the summit coming down Sun Run, basin, playground trail. You have the more comfortable skiers coming down lower imagine and snake. You have the speed freaks jumping out of the trees, kids going parallel the whole way down, combined with the build up of people waiting to go back up and the extras coming back from the valley trail it just becomes a mess, new skiers get overwhelmed, this usually ends in some form of chain reaction which is ultimately the cause of its reputation.

P.S. Snowboarders sitting in the middle of the run don't help either.

Grooming Slalom Gully won’t really address the issue of large numbers of skiers/riders merging onto a fairly narrow slope. The best way to address it is through education at all levels. Many years ago when I was learning everyone knew to look uphill before turning across the fall line or starting off, trying to keep relatively consistent, constant radius turns etc and to be as predictable as possible. For faster skiers there is a need to moderate speed (in this case really only 200m), look downhill at least 3 turns in advance to spot possible issues and be respectful for those who may be struggling. Some polite education may also help although it is difficult to stay polite in the heat of the moment!!
I can’t recall ever seeing patrollers chatting skiers there.

 

[Marsh]

Grooming Slalom Gully won’t really address the issue of large numbers of skiers/riders merging onto a fairly narrow slope. The best way to address it is through education at all levels. Many years ago when I was learning everyone knew to look uphill before turning across the fall line or starting off, trying to keep relatively consistent, constant radius turns etc and to be as predictable as possible. For faster skiers there is a need to moderate speed (in this case really only 200m), look downhill at least 3 turns in advance to spot possible issues and be respectful for those who may be struggling. Some polite education may also help although it is difficult to stay polite in the heat of the moment!!
I can’t recall ever seeing patrollers chatting skiers there.

Slalom Gully is always groomed. They've added SLOW signs to help, I presume if it gets bad fences will go up, but I hope that isn't the case (Like what they had to do at Big D).

 

[snowgum]

Slalom Gully is always groomed. They've added SLOW signs to help, I presume if it gets bad fences will go up, but I hope that isn't the case (Like what they had to do at Big D).

Hotham crew often place compact lateral fence tape at a couple of points along SG. It’s a good idea imo - a place of refuge for struggling or simply tired riders or even separated families waiting to meet up?

As long you’re not trying to your SpaceBalls’ ludicrous speed thing through the slowbies, the small refuges work well and only cover ~ 1/4 width - from memory?

 

[PG2736]

Snowboarders a big part of the issue. Half of them can’t Board properly & they are always blind to one side

 

[CarveMan]

100% agree, Hotham is awfully awkward for low end intermediates. Falls is great and where I take any newish skier to help progress

This. It’s why I always put my hand up to take APSI courses at Falls - that place is like a laboratory for teaching skiing.

 

[Marsh]

Snowboarders a big part of the issue. Half of them can’t Board properly & they are always blind to one side

Caught this pic off the cams 2 days ago on Saturday around 11 ish. Not sure how many have fallen over, but those 3 in the middle and 2 up the back are part of the problem. Wasn't too busy though thankfully. (this is snake gully though not slalom, but the point still stands).

 

[Adrenalin Junkie]

Slalom Gully is always groomed. They've added SLOW signs to help, I presume if it gets bad fences will go up, but I hope that isn't the case (Like what they had to do at Big D).

Sorry for not clarifying. My comment was in response to earlier comments regarding grooming SG during the day.

 

[nezumi]

Snowboarders a big part of the issue. Half of them can’t Board properly & they are always blind to one side

Do I need to summon Donza's video here?

 

[snowgum]

Sorry for not clarifying. My comment was in response to earlier comments regarding grooming SG during the day.

All good - certainly generated much healthy debate.

Fwiw: would be interesting to know as to how many people know someone who’s been taken out on SG.

At the risk of singling out Hotham, it’s pretty common on SG to see a little pile of fallen newbies, injured and rescuers. A few onlookers too?

Buller and Falls, NSW, NZ…all have their hotspots. It’s a congested arterial - on the law of averages, a bump will happen every so often. Thank goodness for modern helmets and ski patrol/ med centre crew! (;-)

 

[hongomania]

All good - certainly generated much healthy debate.

Fwiw: would be interesting to know as to how many people know someone who’s been taken out on SG.

At the risk of singling out Hotham, it’s pretty common on SG to see a little pile of fallen newbies, injured and rescuers. A few onlookers too?

Buller and Falls, NSW, NZ…all have their hotspots. It’s a congested arterial - on the law of averages, a bump will happen every so often. Thank goodness for modern helmets and ski patrol/ med centre crew! (;-)

Ex GF got POLE AXED by snowboarder full speed out of control...luckily his gf was with him to render assistance as I was about to go super sayian. He got the fright of his life when I casually took skis off mid run and bootpacked towards him, I was about 105kg bodybuilder at the time

Luckily she was a tough one and picked herself up and went back to the chalet

 

[snowgum]

Ex GF got POLE AXED by snowboarder full speed out of control...luckily his gf was with him to render assistance as I was about to go super sayian. He got the fright of his life when I casually took skis off mid run and bootpacked towards him, I was about 105kg bodybuilder at the time

Luckily she was a tough one and picked herself up and went back to the chalet

Would have been packing himself? These idiots don’t expect ramifications. Don’t think or plan more than one turn ahead? If that far?

 

[Any]

My Oppo neo P2 something phone. I get nervous holding the gloves and sticks so I sort of half rotate and barely raise my arm when taking shots. That's the secret.

haha

 

[StashyMcStash]

Snowboarders a big part of the issue. Half of them can’t Board properly & they are always blind to one side

Ban them!

 

[hongomania]

Ban them!

Seriously though. Powder days ruined by the ones who dig holes in the snow with the tails of their board to get face shots (can't actually charge hard enough for it to occur naturally from sweet turns)

Most riders are punters who can't handle the terrain and don't even link turns, just stop jump and boardslide the entire way. Further trashing the snow. Prime example being noticeboard run

Let alone the return trail blockers and stompers

Decent riders are few and far between there

 

[StashyMcStash]

Seriously, they just sit on their bums all day in the middle of the run. And when they're not on their bums they are out-of-control crashing into me wife!

Now which one of you was the skiier had a go at the bus driver for being a few minutes late on Sunday?

 

[StashyMcStash]

Seriously though. Powder days ruined by the ones who dig holes in the snow with the tails of their board to get face shots (can't actually charge hard enough for it to occur naturally from sweet turns)

Most riders are punters who can't handle the terrain and don't even link turns, just stop jump and boardslide the entire way. Further trashing the snow. Prime example being noticeboard run

Let alone the return trail blockers and stompers

Decent riders are few and far between there

this is laughable. angry skier dude vibe with confirmation bias.

 

[StashyMcStash]

tHey uSe TheiR TAils tO diG HolEz iN dA Sn0w and wEcK My PoW daY

should be put in a museum as one of the finest examples of weird anti-boarder sentiment

 

[hongomania]

Seriously, they just sit on their bums all day in the middle of the run. And when they're not on their bums they are out-of-control crashing into me wife!

Now which one of you was the skiier had a go at the bus driver for being a few minutes late on Sunday?

At least I'm putting my money where my mouth is and not skiing the resort this year/saving good coin in the process

Nothing against snowboarders, just ones that don't show any etiquette

another example, when I get on the chair I don't want your board hitting my skis. Keep your legs straight, dont scratch my gear

It's a fact the snow gets more chopped up by snowboarders at hotham

 

[StashyMcStash]

At least I'm putting my money where my mouth is and not skiing the resort this year/saving good coin in the process

Nothing against snowboarders, just ones that don't show any etiquette

another example, when I get on the chair I don't want your board hitting my skis. Keep your legs straight, dont scratch my gear

It's a fact the snow gets more chopped up by snowboarders at hotham

cue the opening drums to Foo Fighters' 'My Hero'

 

[hongomania]

Thanks for a good laugh this morning

 

[StashyMcStash]

Thanks for a good laugh this morning

have a great season

 

[MHzMe]

It's a fact the snow gets more chopped up by snowboarders at hotham

Snow at Hotham mostly gets chopped up by snow riders of both skiing and boarding persuasions who bite off more than they can chew and traverse across slopes rather than ride the fall line. c.f. Wall of Death, Notice Board, Off the Edge, Playground, Snake Gully sidewalls etc.

 

[Boodwah]

Nothing against snowboarders, just ones that don't show any etiquette

Too funny.
Using ‘snowboarder’ and ‘etiquette’ in the same sentence.

 

[Boodwah]

Hills are so caked, seeing possible lines never skied before everywhere.

 

[cookieman]

Hills are so caked, seeing possible lines never skied before everywhere.

wow, my favourite aspect.
Eagle Ridge is there for the taking

 

[Hermannator]

...
Eagle Ridge is there for the taking

She'll be a bit solid...

 

[Boodwah]

North aspects corned up enough yesterday, those gorgeous infinite lines down from the road.

 

[mr]

Yes as we drove off yesterday at 1pm the cross area looked fiiiine indeed...... i had thought the crust was solid enough to hold the corn

 

[mr]

Its a low sun in june though, anything south was in the shade all day

 

[kimberlee81]

Grooming Pump House Drop on non powder days would encourage more advanced people to skip Slalom Gully altogether when coming from Village or Road Runner. It would only make a small difference, but it would be quick and easy to implement.

LOVE PHD! Short'n'sweet!!!

 

[_Yossarian_]

FYI Kids' lessons has sold out for the second week of the school holidays.

Mt Hotham ski school is unable to provide a waiting list.

Sensible.

Available again. I grabbed a slot.

 

[snowgum]

Best view in Australia IMO.

Yep, I love Kosi & the MR - but for actual views, Hotham/ Loch to Feathertop is hard to beat (especially on the mainland).

 

[_Yossarian_]

Hello...what do we have here?

Backcountry

www.mthotham.com.au

 

[_Yossarian_]

Hello...what do we have here?

Backcountry

www.mthotham.com.au

Although a friend also pointed me to this : http://traversehotham.com.au

 

[StashyMcStash]

Saw this coming a mile away. Next step is roped off and patrolled backcountry zones with skin tracks formed by patrol in the morning. Way cheaper than building new lifts hey, and adds tons of 'core' marketing content

 

[StashyMcStash]

Although a friend also pointed me to this : http://traversehotham.com.au

That's just a touring business? Been around a few years now

 

[CarveMan]

Saw this coming a mile away. Next step is roped off and patrolled backcountry zones with skin tracks formed by patrol in the morning. Way cheaper than building new lifts hey, and adds tons of 'core' marketing content

Might stop idiots from making a million skin tracks and then the boarders from post-holing them.

 

[StashyMcStash]

Might stop idiots from making a million skin tracks and then the boarders from post-holing them.

Gentrify the slackcountry. Ban snowboarders. I'm into it

 

[StashyMcStash]

Maybe they could, instead of a cat, offer up a Hotham and Vail approved parallel skin and boot track out to Golden Point. Next up, a little something easy out to Eagle and pre-form a little something up Pink Hamburg. Patent a fuckin bootpack and skin track machine and boom send the hoardes into Hongo's zones... boarders digging their tails in all over the joint trying to get a faceshot. The no lift ticket crew will be refugees, forced out on longer days to Workshop or Machinery and swearing about snowboarders the whole way

 

[CarveMan]

Gentrify the slackcountry. Ban snowboarders. I'm into it

Nah snowboarders are great if they make their own bootpack.

I could deal with one more skin track for splitboarders as they tend to go steeper to avoid sidehills.

 

[StashyMcStash]

Nah snowboarders are great if they make their own bootpack.

I could deal with one more skin track for splitboarders as they tend to go steeper to avoid sidehills.

Okay, a skin track for skiers, a skin track for splitters, a bootpack for booters and shoers. I know a guy in Harrietville that could make the machine to lay this...