Rather than relaxing on Tahoe's shorelines this summer, Granite Chief employee, Jesse Cassidy, had something different on his mind, and that was skiing Australia.  After Tahoe's largest winter in years, he packed up and headed to the Southern Hemisphere in hopes of a "never-ending" winter...

Skiing Australia

"Telling people you are going skiing in Australia often draws the same reaction as telling people you ski in California, disbelief..."

Generally, when one thinks of escaping the heat of summer, and heading down to the Southern Hemisphere to satisfy their craving for sliding down snow, South America or New Zealand are often at the forefront of the mind. And while the Andes and the Southern Alps provide excellent skiing, one place is often overlooked, and that place is Australia.  Telling people you are going skiing in Australia often draws the same reaction as telling people you ski in California, disbelief.  And while the skiing in Australia is often times overshadowed by the bigger mountains in the Andes, or the more consistent snowfall in New Zealand, when the conditions are right, Australia provides you with an amazing skiing experience.  Our backshop manager, Jesse, is currently spending the summer teaching in a shop down unda’ in Melbourne, and as luck would have it, conditions were just right for his first Aus ski day, keeping stoke levels high and providing him with an amazing first experience.

Upon arriving at Falls Creek, a resort with backcountry ski terrain location Victoria, the clouds broke away providing a beautiful bluebird day without a whisp of wind.  The temperature hovered around 0° Celsius, or freezing temperature as you may know it, and a few centimeters of fresh had fallen overnight.  Upon reaching the peaks, Jesse was told, "it’s all downhill from here... this is possibly the best day you can ask for in Australia." Granite Chief's backshop employee, Jesse, was there with two other guys from the ski shop he's currently working at in Australia, and set out to demo new Rossignol skis and explore the side country of Falls Creek, along with Australian skiing legend, Steve Lee.  Steve runs tours out of Falls Creek into the backcountry, using two snowmobiles towing trailers that have plastic seats, and snowboards for runners as the means of transport, which means heading out in search of your next line tends to be an exhilarating experience.

Falls Creek Skiing

The backcountry ski tour lasted all morning and consisted of about 7 runs on some pretty decent pitches, complete playful rocks and cliff drops. The snow was soft and silky, of which consistency Jesse had never really experienced.  "All in all, it was great," he said.  After a big day in the backcountry skiing the crew returned to the lodge for beers and lunch, where they were regaled with stories of Steve Lees days on the World Cup, from Hahnenkamm to the Olympics.  Still not able to get enough of the conditions, the crew later geared up and headed back out when, unfortunately,  the beautiful weather window then disappear.  The rest of the day consisted of a cloud socked in summit, winds, and flat light, which Jesse was told is pretty typical  of skiing in Australia.

"My first day skiing in Australia was an amazing one.  Skied fun, playful terrain on silky soft snow on a beautiful bluebird day.  Skiing with an Australian legend, Steve Lee, and a great crew didn't hurt either.  Aussies are a fun and friendly bunch. While Australia might not provide the steeps or snow of South America or New Zealand, it is still a great place to ski... because when you're making turns in July, you can't really complain." - Jesse Cassidy