I wouldn't think that Corn Hill is the best indicator of snow conditions over the years. That picture was taken in 1981, one of the best seasons. A better indicator would be looking at Mt. Buffalo, where they used to ice skate.
JEEZ P&S....lol i wish the drought would hurry up and break cause if it did then buller would reclaim its title as the best resort in aus
Correct July was looking great, except for the floods, but August, September have been very dry with September being one of the driest on records again
aagh grasshoppers , great thread Its Howqua quad . Also there is heaps more snow in that photo in the 50s to the one taken this year , you are for a start looking at the northerly aspect , secondly the snow is lower down , its just hidden in the trees , Thirdly have a look at the shot of the summit cornice where those people are walking up , a more southerly aspect and true indicator of coverage . Sheesh i used to hate those arrogant blue lift people with a vengeance , and it was a great day when orange and blue were bought out , held the mountain back for years and we are still paying the legacy of suboptimal lift and run positions in part due to that history .. Photos were definately 81 as i skied there in 82 and it was pretty ordinary , only early july offered around 40cm from memory
Simply fantastic thread, I think my first ski at buller was in 1982 / 83 as well! PoleCams ... you wouldnt just happen to be the writer of the most fantastic bit of weather software that exists on my computer would you? Does this look familiar? BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY http://www.bom.gov.au Mount Buller Date / Time 05/07:00pm Temperature 5.6 C Apparent Temp -6.0 C Dew Point -0.6 C Relative Humidity 64 % Delta-T 2.9 C Wind Direction NNW Wind Speed 50 km/h Wind Gust 63 km/h Nautical Wind Speed 27 kt Nautical Wind Gust 34 kt Barometric Pressure N/F Rain Since 9am 0.0 mm © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2007, Bureau of Meteorology. Thanks for the memories!
Was there more snow back then ? I ask my parents this question Father stills skis at 76, skied this year for 2 weeks at Buller. His answer is no, but that we did have smaller gaps between good seasons. In other words, the snow line at its best hasn't changed much, but now we get more poor seasons in a row than in the past. The folks walked up buller a lot and skied on it for 50 years now, thats their view of it. Ask me, worked in 81, worked bottom of Tyrol then a few times. Actually that reminds me, the guy at the mid station copped it in the back of the head with a hangar and ended up in Mansfield hospital seeing stars. Anyway, bottom of Tyrol there where times I was shoveling over entry path patches. Going over it last month it all looked pretty much the same coverage to me as anytime Ive seen it at its best bottom of Tyrol. And bottom of Tyrol is way down the hill as the snow line goes.. Also noted some snow down near tip corner on the way up. So I agree with the old man. We get just as much snow, only we dont get it as often, and the gaps in between good falls is larger, means the season is more volatile to long spells of heat during a seasons, or for a few seasons in a row average. But as mentioned here,a big one will be back some time, . Have patience. Till then, get it where you can when you can. Yeah skimax (put on my granpa voice) Folks these days don't know how good they have it at Buller compared to the old days of Blue and Orange. And this snow making gear we have now. Coulda used that idea a few times over the last few decades, like 82. Great to see they now have it all over the mountain and not just the dire spots like when it first came in. trappers. gee that does look familiar ;-) Yes I wrote it, not much time for software these days. I get an update in for WS now and then. I make 20 metre tall telescopic Polecams now. http://www.rvv.com.au Cheers Dave.
I found this in the text on the first image. Which moron came up with those colours, the blue lifts staff have orange on their jackets and the orange lifts staff have blue jackets.
I started at buller in about 1967 and I was more inclined to be an orange lift person. I broke my leg in 1972 at the top of Boggy creek. My best memory of that was after being wrapped up in that sled, the two guys made their way down the baldy/bourke st pomas, one holding the sled in front and one behind. I was lying there looking uphill and the guy behind lost his balance and fell over! I started to swing around and the guy in front soon realised what had happened and somehow kept going. The reason I broke my leg was, being dirt poor, we had to ski with whatever we could get. I had a fixed strap around the back of my boot with no release mechanism. So when one ski went down a hole and I kept going forward, my bone was basically pulled apart. Those were the days.....
pole cams you have bought back serious memories for me I was a member of the Chisholm Institute of Tech ski club in 1981 and I learnt to ski in fantastic snow The next year was a rude shock for me I still spent a week in late june 82 at buller
I remember a relative who made the parkas etc for ski school etc. Gee he looked the part, and "Somehow" queues weren't a problem. As for MUSKI, we painted it khakito blend into the trees. People forgot it was there.
What a great Post! Brought back many memories of great snow and the Abom with its windows snowed in so you couldn't see outside...Oh those were the days...hot chocolates,spag bol at the Abom after a white out morning ski session. I would trade our balmy bluebird days for that snow again any time. My kids have seen maybe 10 whiteouts at Buller in the past 3 years. They had great tans but really ...where was the snow?? All that money for below average snow...it is clearly an addiction!!! ...and one I never want to be cured of
Yep - Keeps the punters away and still heaps of places to play and see what your doing! That being said I like the odd sunny day here and there
thats it...i recall one trip in 04 where i had a bright blue sky following a big dump...awesome but, i burn fairly easily, and love the cold...so would always prefer to see snow falling as a rule of thumb
Did anyone archive the old pics in the first part of this thread?? I remember looking at them when they were posted but they now don't link. I will post some others I just got from the mother in law, showing her and others at Buller from the early 1950's to mid 60's in slide format. Yet to be scanned but they shows a rope tow up Bourke St. and one lodge, believed by the old man to be the old Whit. building plus amazing fashions and state of the art equipment, not to mention a serious cornice on the summit and generally, more snow than you could poke a stick at!!
whiteman, make it happen! cant wait is the buller museum worth a look? want to check it out this year...
Whiteman: Those pics would be great, many many years before I was even born but would be great to see
MXB. The Buller Museum is a mixed bag. There are lots of old artifacts, but not a lot of information, interpretation or even photos on display that help people get a feel for what the ski experience was like for our ancestors in the 1930's or even the 1960's. They have a fairly good library, but you have to know what to look for. They probably need a professional museum curator to set up interpretive displays and a good librarian to catalogue their library and index their old photos, magazines and annuals (which go back over 80 years). But they probably don't have the money. The place has the feeling of being run by amiable amateurs.
Three cheers for the staff at the museum. If anyone wants to convert their ideas into action, simply volunteer.
I agree the museum and Marg do a fabulous job with non-existant funds but one thing I'm not too sure about is the SCV/Whitt management giving the museum ALL the old photos from the Whitt that a member went to a great deal of trouble taking the photos over the decades and framing etc. I agree the place needed a facelift but the govs lounge would have been a better place for the club memorabilia than the museum... it seems his efforts have been disrespected and cast aside...Just a thought I have found some 60's 70's and 80's shots which I'll post soon
Some were re-done after the storm damage and others were needed for the updated edition of the Buller History book and are to be returned when the book is ready. (Speaking of which, has it been published yet).
The much delayed Buller history book is at the printers. Don't hold tour breath though, even after it's printed it will have to get here on a slow boat from Hong Kong, then there's the wharfies... then there's the distribution... Don't expect to see it for a while yet!
looking thru PILES of old family photos tonight, and theres a good 20 or 30 pics of buller circa 88-91, my first seasons as a 3+ yo scanning them now and will post a few good ones. unprotected BB1 lift towers mere metres from the kids slalom racecourse....gotta be the 80s
Thats a great memory. We used to do spag bol at ABom nearly every day. Followed up by a stack of pancakes. That was the 60s and 70s for me.....
Having laced up boots replaced with the weird buckle boots. Aluminium skiis. Safety straps New safe bindings that actually released you Step-in bindings rather than those lever jobs: poor mum was stuck in the treees, you know, slid, and couldn't get her skiis off, or her pants up. ("Fannys Finish" was named after something similar happened). Going into Bill Duffs chockoblock ski shop with all this fab modern gear. Shopping in Hardware Lane and actually wanting tight elesse pants, Gaberdine pants. Stumbling in the dark around the lowest reaches of the Abom. Not seeing as many buildings that now cram the area near Ski Rescue Seeing my rellie crash queues: he made the ski school parkas, and he had some 'left overs'. Lessons, french style I think, from a nice fellow who became Judge Hampel at the Supreme Court. US instructors teaching some 'sit back' style and hotdogging. Austrian instructors with their poofy wiggling bottom style. Being lifted off the ground by a certain t-bar on Shakey Knees. Only ski tips let one guide the tee. Waiting for a jeep by the side of the road. There was no organisation in those days. Digging out the lodge's door - on the 1st floor balcony Finding the cases of coke cans had somehow evaporated between summer and winter. Watching movies at The Whitt Racing the rellies and kids Waiting in the summit poma queue Going down Bull Run at the age of 5, and dad carting 2 kids up the t-bar. People acidentally skiing off the cliff at the then-bottom of federation. Dating the Forras and Adam's girls, and Cathy. Staying at Pontracina with its austrian touches and view to stirling. Being looked after by Willy Kovac from Kooroora and looking up to this big kid, - he was huge by comparison - Tony Forras Using Kooroora's out door pool. Was very reminisect of squaw valley in april. drinking underage 'bulls blood' wine from hungary, and eating some 'hot' dish called 'kerdnlicky' with paprika. In those days, that was spicy. horse riding with Happy Valley with the Purcells water skiing in summer - kooroora and clubs did that sort of thing. Ahh, I must be getting old.
Here are a few of the shots the +1 has scanned in from September, 1955. I know that a few are slightly out of focus and some have been scanned in backwards and she is working on those. As you will note, this first one has had a little bit of tidying up in photoshop. I know this one is scanned in 'backwards' but it does show a rope tow up Bourke St. More to follow when we get time.
where can the museum, aust womens, usc and scv get duplicates of these photos??? The Resort Management should hand them out to lodges too i think. Thank you thank you thank you Whiteman. What is the lodge in the 3rd last pic??? Boy don't the new borns have it soft.
The +1's parents at Buller, Sept. 1955 When blown up, and turned around (yes, scanned backwards!)the writing on the side of this building says, Ski School Chalet. I think it is the old SCV Ivor Whittaker Lodge.
For an old bugga, your eyesight is pretty good to read that sign. I've asked the SCV to request a copy.
Ah yes, but I have the full sized scan which actually blows up fairly well!! In the first shot, with the border around it, you can actually see 3 skiers on what is now the summit run, and one other, over near where Koffler's is. They just look like little specs, to the left of the left hand pair of skis. A couple more we are working on.
Oh wow! Those photos are superb. Thanks so much for posting them! I thik all of us would love to see as many of them as you can scan!
I love her style. Was she skiing French, English under the scv's Maurice Selle, Austrian, Sacha Nekvapil's czech style or Forras' Hungarian?
I think her style was her own invention. Speaking of instructors and olde photos, AWSC Lodge has a poster sized B&W of Forras' instructor Charles Bozon, World Champ in the early 60s. Did you know Jean Claude Killy stayed at Kooroora. And I ask why doesn't Thredbo laud its place as the site of the Winter Olympics like other resorts. That might help bolster the o/s tourism market and displace a few misconceptions about Australia.
"And I ask why doesn't Thredbo laud its place as the site of the Winter Olympics like other resorts. That might help bolster the o/s tourism market and displace a few misconceptions about Australia." Probably because Thredbo didn't hold the Winter Olympics, it held a leg of the World Cup!!!! I intend to post them all on the Buller Pics page when we have scanned them all properly and done some work to tidy them up. And yes, I think it is her own style, posed for the camera! What about the rope tow!! Her old man said that there were only 2 tows in those days, you walked everywhere!! I have another shot of a group standing by an electric lamp at the top of what appears to be Bourke St.
Whiteman - great stuff. Gallery is down at the moment as we are migrating servers and moving to new systems, will be down for at least another month. wikiski.com would be the best place to put them with some text, create a buller history page. Leave it there as a resource to all.
Ernest Foras' autobiography is on sale at the Buller shop in Elizabeth St, Melbourne. (I think the shop is called 'Summit'?) The book had a good editor, so it's remarkably readable and quite fascinating, chockers with his perspective on the history of Mt Buller. The only bad bits are him bragging about his female conquests as a young man. Whiteman, Buller's early lifts were: - Bourke St, 1949 - Bull Run, 1953 - Baldy, 1957 - Tyrol, 1957 - Another 4 lifts in 1959. There was no tow on the summit until 1964! More details at: http://wikiski.com/wiki/index.php/Australian_ski_tow_directory#Mt_Buller
