Snow Machines Help Ski Resorts

Perisher's Front Valley snow cam shows the snow from June 27 to July 7.

The photo was provided.

Five years ago, the ski lifts at Tasmania's Ben Lomond resort were open for 17 days.

In 2023, they were open for 60 days, and last year for 104 days.

The resort's manager, Ben Mock, said snow machines were the key to their success.

Making snow helped the business a lot. In the first year, sales increased by 280 percent, and the next year by 150 percent.

Skiers see man-made snow at Perisher during school holidays.

The photo was taken by Toby Hemmings for ABC News.

Almost $1 million was spent on six snow guns at Ben Lomond.

Without them, the business would not be viable.

The snow machines give us a guaranteed product.

Snow-making is like insurance for ski resorts.

We do not know when it will snow, but we can make snow when it is cold.

As the snow gets thinner, snow-making is crucial for ski resorts.

It snowed after a poor start to the season.

Snow cameras showed a bad start to the season in late June.

People skied on thin strips of man-made snow at Mount Buller, Thredbo, and Perisher.

A snow dump in early July helped the resorts.

Barney Davis has worked at Perisher for most of his life.

He said the improved conditions made people happy.

People came from far away to ski after the snow dump.

Mr. Davis said the start of winter is often unpredictable.

Sometimes we do not have snow until July.

Snow is getting thinner.

It is hard to predict the snow season in Australia.

Data shows that natural snow is getting thinner.

A report found that snow cover decreased by 30 percent between 1954 and 2012.

The ski season is getting shorter.

There are natural changes, but good seasons are rare now.

Snowy Hydro has collected snow data since 1954.

The data shows that last year was a good season, but 2023 and 2024 were bad.

This year, there was almost no snow until July 7.

Forecasts say it might snow in the coming weeks.

Climate change is affecting snowfall.

Late starts to the season and poor seasons have always happened, but climate change is making it worse.

It leads to a shorter season.

Warm temperatures are affecting snowfall.

A couple of degrees can make a big difference between snow and rain.

Climate change is giving us more warm precipitation events.

The Bureau of Meteorology declared an El Niño this year.

El Niño can result in lower peak snow depths, but cooler nights can help retain snow.

The average global temperature is 1.2 to 1.5 degrees warmer than before.

This year's start to the ski season was the warmest June in 59 years.

Warmer temperatures are threatening the ability to make snow.

Certain temperatures and humidity are needed to make snow, but climate change is reducing those conditions.

Reducing emissions can help the resorts adapt.

Thredbo and Perisher have a high elevation, but other resorts are affected.

Temperatures drop as you go higher, so higher resorts are more likely to get snow.

Cold and dry nights are ideal for snow-making, but climate change is threatening those conditions.

If we control global warming, the resorts can still be viable.

We can still have around 60 days of snow-making each winter.

But if we do not control global warming, it will drop to 20 to 30 days per winter.

Other countries face similar challenges.

NASA said the western United States was facing a snow drought.

Most regions got average or above-average precipitation, but it fell as rain due to warmer temperatures.

Some European resorts at lower elevations have closed.

Japan still has good snowfall in winter.

In New Zealand, the season started slowly, but more runs have opened due to snow-making.

NZSki's CEO said snow-making is critical to start the season.

They are investing $150 million in their Remarkables resort.

There is a lot of variability in the weather, but modern technology helps.

The industry's future is uncertain.

A report 20 years ago said the Australian ski industry was a 'canary in the coal mine' for climate change.

The industry is one of the first to be visibly impacted by climate change.

Most of Australia's snowfields are close together in Victoria's High Country and the New South Wales Snowy Mountains.

Thredbo is the country's highest ski resort.

New Zealand has more ski resorts, with the Tūroa ski area at Mount Ruapehu being the highest.

All countries are vulnerable to climate change.

New Zealand has higher mountains and better snow conditions, but they are still exposed to warming.

Resorts are adapting with features like jumps and half-pipes, and introducing season passes.

Some resorts have reciprocal arrangements with overseas resorts.

If we have a bad season, we can use our season pass at other resorts.

Thu 9 Jul 2026 at 4:49am

Thu 9 Jul 2026 at 8:49am

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