I heard that Thredbo might be discontinuing the snowplay area . There are massive parking issues already at Thredbo and Perisher right through the season and Id say the move by Thredbo will send more snowplay people to Perisher . Solution ? Perisher have an off peak reasonably priced skitube family snow play day ticket say from 9 30 am to 3 pm this gives snow play people plenty of time to head up the tube and back for the day not putting extra pressure on it at critical times . Keeps cars out of the park and punters can easily enjoy all the facilities at Perisher without driving hassles . Isnt this the idea of Ski tube anyway and a more efficient use of it ?
That's stupid. a) Ban the future generation of first time skiers and boarders. So many Vic skiers and boarders had their first snow experience as snow players as small children. They learnt to love the snow and when the opportunity came for them as young adults to ski, they lapped it up. b) Ban a whole sector of society (who are willing to pay) from a National Park. If parking's the issue, build another friggin car park.
Most profitable lift area on the mountain But. I've noticed its not being used as much as it used to be (compared to ant hill)
Thredbo free snowplay area draws in hundreds. They use so much of the parking, they do not pay one cent within the resort. They bring their picnic food and they do not use any lifts. They are not interested in any form of snow sport. Btw, it's nickname is curry corner.
IMO the infrastructure can only deal with so many people, so trying to increase the numbers may not be the brightest thing to do anyway. Economically speaking, sustainable is not a concept that can apply. You must grow and grow. So I dont think they need the snow play area to get new sliders. Its all about the toboggan hire.
I thought the OP's solution of off-peak Tube rides was a good suggestion. Getting the word out to random punters with no other connection to snow would be the issue. Although, as the vast majority hire stuff, that could be a channel.
Infrastructure. ie: car parks. What's the issue with toboggans? Too few? Too many? Too cheap? Too expensive?
No room for a carpark..plus the road is now a carpark on weekends . Last year I heard they blew out Perisher's carpark 55% of the season. A few years ago, say 2011 ..I've heard that number was 11%
As a newish father I hadn't even given a second thought to going to a resort for snow play. We tried winter once but that was too cold, we find it best to wait til the resorts closed, the weather warmer and snow softer, and find somewhere uncrowded off the CP road.
falls has had a policy of wooing snowplayers as a feeder to skiing and snowboarding. seems to be working. where asian faces were only common at the toboggan run, there are an increasing number on the lifts.
There is no such thing, they are all agents. They change yuan into aussie dollars, to buy gold to trade for oil, so they can burn all the USD they get paid for selling future landfill, all the while pretending to be checking out our snow. Australian snow, do you know how ridiculous that is?
This. Skitube is at max price and max peak time capacity. The thing was built to "solve" the Perisher road capacity problems ..... alas An off peak snow play ticket may help but it would be required to be marketed I such a way that snow players are funneled into using it. Ski tube user cost is ridiculous. A lot of these issues are exacerbated by the "cheap season pass" strategy.
These posts are funny! They are obviously having to much fun in snow play activities and are not paying their way!!Oh the commercial dollar.... A special tax needs to be levied on such folk.....because they are having to much fun! Perhaps an opportune time for Vicco to launch into the Snow Play Market with special packages to capture more of the demographic.
… 'Relax' said the night man, 'We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, But you can never leave!'… DaBo
You have to remember that one of those free-riding snowplayers will eventually sue Thredbo for an injusy that occurred while free snowplaying. Someone has to pay for the lawyers and insurance
There seems to be an assumption that "if" Thredbo has abolished the snow play it is because of parking issues and not other factors. Remember Thredbo has a new manager and they may different views on the snow play so this rumour could be true. On Parking I think last season was bad, but I'd blame the high level of excitement about the amazing snow year which drew in hundreds of additional skiers, more so than the "snow play" area. If parking continues to be an issue it would be much easier getting the buses to park elsewhere on busy days and free up an entire car park. I would have thought the removal of the snow play area probably has more to do with the fact the cost of running it out ways the benefits i.e anyone who has been there can confirm it is dangerous, my kids hate it! I think the liability side is starting to become of concern, which would mean actually supervising the area and this will cost money and increase liability. Last year I noticed more and more people starting to use the ski run (lover's leap) as the snow play area (it is directly across from our unit), watching skiers fly around the corner seeing toboggans was interesting. Even when people weren't using the run to toboggan, I watched a skier crash and almost wipe out the snow play crowd. So my guess is that it has grown too big for the area, whilst initially it was an add on for people staying in the village, the fact it has become a popular destination activity means the resort has to properly manage and staff and they don't want to do this. P.S my heart would like to believe it is because they are preparing this area for the redevelopment or at least redevelopment of the Merrits chair so eventually it had to go, but this would be like admitting to believing in Santa.
As Busy as Thredbo is with snowplay, Perisher is five times more. Thats the crazy thing. This is growing at an alarming rate. They* also know now they have to leave Jindy early. This picture is at 2.30pm
Come to Tassie where everything is snow play. Would be good if they made it official and had toboggan hire in places like cradle mt or mt wellington.
Jindy needs the ring road development.... And the locals need to stay off the drugs so the police testing stations can be removed! Jindy and the traffic jambs !!
With a modicum of snowmaking & appropriate services, they might just be able to make that a decent day destination for the snow play crowd.
We need to nurture the young talent.....well they may turn to bob sledding in a few years and bring in gold at Olympic Level !! More energy needs to be focused on these dare devils of the vertical....... We need to take the aspirations of this maligned group more seriously !
Ideally, Selwyn, Corin Forest, Lake Mountain, Baw Baw etc could lure away some of this segment. Unfortunately, I don't think any of them have the budget for advertising spots in front of the movie trailers at Hoyts.
The Thredbo and Perisher issues are totally separate and IMO very different. Perisher I understand offer very cheap ski tube tickets with the annual pass to try and keep people from parking up there, to leave room for the snow play people. So yes parking is an issue but that is because people aren’t using the tube, why? Thredbo issue is one of real estate there isn’t enough car spaces and this needs to be addressed. I don’t believe the lack of parking is due to snow play and I believe snow play has been canned before the resort had to deal with a major court case. I believe the influx of people staying in vans on site, extra people skiing because of an epic season and overflow from overnight spots has caused a perfect storm last year. I know we often have three cars at our 3 bedroom apartment and only two spots on site which puts pressure on the “on site” parking.
If you travel from Sydney to the resorts, every public rest area is brimming with snow play families. The queue's to the toilets in these public rest areas are something to be seen to be believed. They are also dining at these rest areas with their boot loads of cooked food also, just like when they are in-resort.
Sorry but I just don’t see that at Thredbo, as I say I look out across the road to the snow play and yes I can see the double parking and picnics but I also see people spending money. I can’t speak for Perisher.
First time we ventured to Thredbo in 1994, we snowplayed near the angled parking just before the roundabout/ FF. We took our packed lunches etc etc Its obviously not a reliable location but some snowmaking could be added there if they were serious. We’ve now stayed in Thredo approaching 20 times and spent a motza there - so supporting snowplay and encouraging curiosity does pay off occasionally
If Thredbo really needs a snow play area I would have thought the golf course was the best option, albeit parking is an issue but they could set up a tube park and snow play area very easily.
Easy access parking for all on the golf course! Solution solved! Best ever usage of that area. Move on ...... next thread.
You miss out on snow play, you miss out on so many potential punters in the future. Simple. Problem is the resort thinking that they don't spend enough now, but not looking long term.
Thredbo could always bring back the old ice skating rink that was near the ponds and yeah, let them park on the golf course! hahahaha
Thredbo have invested a shed load into the mountain biking, remember. It's not like a theme park...um, actually it is heading that way. How about pool play instead whilst they look at the hill as they to and fro.
