Snow Time!

We had such fun on our day trip to Selwyn that we persuaded some of the family to join us for a few days in the snow at Guthega. With such good snow conditions the lodge was understandably quite booked up. However there was enough space for us, Nana & Grandpa as well as Susie, Patrick, Josh & Mia from Sunday 31st August til Wednesday 3rd of September.

Leading up to our mini break, there was much discussion and debate about planning in regards to lifts and lessons. There are a multitude of options which didn't make the process any easier and of course it all depended on the weather conditions too!

By Saturday afternoon, the weather forecast for the next few days looked mostly favourable and included possible snowfall with one day of possible windy weather. As a result we purchased a 3 day lesson and lift pass for Ella and I while Andy and Katy (who was too young for lessons) just needed a lift ticket. This arrangement meant we were entitled to take advantage of the lifts on the Sunday afternoon too.

Our run to Guthega was relatively relaxing - left home at the sensible hour of 8am, a quick stop in Cooma to pick up skis and then again at Jindabyne to pick up lift tickets and have coffee. The road to Guthega was clear of snow so no need to test out the new chains! Arriving at Guthega village bang on midday we were treated to beautiful blue skies and glistening white slopes. A perfect way to start our holiday :)

Eager to let the kids loose on the slopes, we kitted up and made our way to the Carpark double chairlift which would take us to the top of Blue Calf. The ramp off this chair is particularly steep and unforgiving as most of us found out. Once on our feet or should I say skis, we made our way to the new Freedom quad chairlift.

It was another challenge for most of us snowploughing down the steep incline to the next lift and a baptism of fire for Josh and Mia who had only done cross country skiing. Again at the bottom we regrouped and took breathe readying ourselves for the next obstacle. This chairlift was way easier dropping us at Guthega Peak and we were soon making tracks along Blue Cow Way.


Arriving at Blue Cow Terminal we did a few laps on the gentle Easy Starter slope practising our techniques learnt at Selwyn. A quick snack before beginning the journey back via Guthega Way.

This is a lovely run finishing at the Burning Log cafe at the top of the village. From this point the trail has several slight inclines and without poles, the kids found it difficult to continue so we took our skis off and walked the final 400m.

Once at the lodge, the kids went upstairs to eat and play with Nana and Grandpa while the rest of us started the long and tiring process of lugging our belongings on sleds from the cars that were parked about 1km away.

Our wonderful start to our snow holiday was capped off by a delicious dinner of sausages and mash cooked by Andy. Needless to say the kids were tired but all very keen for what adventures the morning would bring!