Updated April 25, 2025
Look—if you’re coming to Australia expecting Japow, go ahead and slap yourself with a wet Tim Tam.
You want truth?
It rains here.
A lot.
You’ll have days where you’re riding slush while wearing a garbage bag over your hoodie, wondering how anyone on the mountain still has hope left in their eyes.
But—and here’s the cursed part—sometimes it’s actually good.
Like, weirdly good.
Like, thigh-deep-at-Thredbo good.
Like, “how is this Australia?” good.
It lasts one day, max. Maybe two if you’re lucky.
Then it’s back to grass patches, wind holds, and 12-year-olds in footy shorts eating pies on the T-bar.
Here’s how you make it work:
You don’t plan. You chase.
Forget booking your trip six months out. You wait. You watch the forecast. You stalk BOM, Weatherzone, resort webcams, and every weird Facebook group with names like “Ski Ya Later NSW Snow Frothers 2.0.”
Then you bail on work, burn your long weekend, and send it.
And when it hits?
You get a 24-hour window of weird, wonderful, Australian pow.
Just don’t blink. It’ll be gone by lunch tomorrow.
It’s chaos. But I like it.
You’ll ride slush. You’ll ride mud. You’ll ride literal rain.
You’ll also have some of the most fun days of your season.
Because no one expects it to be good—which means when it is, it’s a party.
Everyone’s stoked. Everyone’s underdressed. Everyone’s drinking beer in the car park at 11am like it’s the X Games.
It’s not glamorous. It’s not consistent. But it’s pure.
And when the flakes line up?
You’re not just riding powder.
You’re stealing it.
Final Thoughts
Look, Australia’s never going to be the powder capital of the world. No one’s pretending otherwise.
But if you live here, or you’re visiting at the right time (like me), it can still surprise you. You get out of it what you put in. If you’re willing to chase storms, embrace the slop, and reset your expectations, you can have some genuinely great days.
Not perfect. Not deep all the time. But real. And fun.
And when it’s good?
It’s better than it has any right to be.
📝 TL;DR
Yes, you can ski powder in Australia. No, it’s not common. But when it hits? It’s beautfiul chaos. It’s muddy, it’s gone by lunch, and it... kinda rules.
