Jumping for joy: Grace Falconer-Smith and Justin Koncz brave the cold at Falls Creek to welcome winter and raise money for charity.
The cold snap has been welcomed at alpine areas, with Victorian ski resorts opening early after an early dump of snow.
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Mt Buller, Mt Hotham and Falls Creek all opened early, on Saturday, June 4.
Thirty-five centimetres of snow had blanketed Mt Buller resort by late last week since last Monday and the forecast was for more snow over the weekend.
Magic: Mt Hotham has a good covering of snow and has joined the rush to open early.
A limited number of lifts will operate and the Village Toboggan park will be open for sliding.
At Falls Creek resort staff had to change plans for their annual ice plunge because the road to Rocky Valley Lake was closed by snow.
Fresh: Snow covers the ground at Falls Creek.
Only a few hardy souls made the trek to raise money for Fight MND.
Falls has an average of 37cm of snow, while a snowstorm had been forecast over the weekend. The Halley’s Comet and Towers Quad chairlifts were set to be operating, with the season declared open two weeks early.
Mt Hotham was also set to open at weekend with a blanket of fresh snow.
The early start is a blessing for the resorts after two years impacted by the pandemic.
More to fall: Mt Buller has already had a dump of snow and more was expected over the weekend.
Although for much of last season regional residents were able to access the alpine resorts, access from Melbourne was restricted in the early part of the season.
Victorian alpine resorts received 341,000 visitors — a 57 per cent decrease compared to the 10-year average from 2010 to 2019.
With temperatures hovering around 0℃ during the day and -3℃ overnight, all resorts are expecting more snow to set up a great season.
17°C