Sweet 16… What a winter!
Posted on 28 Sep, 2016 in Festivals & Events
What a winter! From massive snowfalls to powder hungry brumbies, huge events to non-stop parties and everything in between, let’s take a look back at the top 10 moments.
Opening Weekend
Everyone loves Opening Weekend, it’s the official start of winter and no matter the snow conditions excitement is always in the alpine air. This year was no different with one of the largest firework displays in the region lighting up the alpine night sky before Yolanda Be Cool and Art Vs Science set the bar for winter entertainment. The traditional long lunch was a standout with around 150 wining and dining in the crisp outdoors under a sunny mountain sky. The kids were well looked after with a huge line-up of adventures and entertainment across the weekend.
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Powdermonium, Snowmageden… This winter had it all.
After a relatively slow start, the end of June saw one of the heaviest snowfalls in years dumping a massive 70cm+ in 24hrs. The resort was blanketed in a fresh layer of snow just in time for School Holidays with the majority of the mountain opening shortly after. Cold nights for snowmaking followed before another snow laden storm mid-July dropped over 50cm. There were plenty of top-ups throughout giving us a cumulative snowfall total of 423cm, one of the highest in the past five years. Experts are forecasting this weekend’s snowfall to add up to 50cm’s to that depth, what a way to wrap up the season!
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Stacked schedule of events all season.
Thredbo is synonymous with good times and an unrivalled apres entertainment and this year it escalated, with a huge line up both on and off the mountain. There was something for everyone and a few of the on-mountain highlights included:
The Thredbo Snow Series – four big event s that took skiers and boarders across multiple disciplines across the winter to battle it out for personal victories and overall titles. It came down to the final Big Air showdown with Norwegian superstar Markus Kleveland shaking up the Australian field with his incredible double cork 1620.
Around 150+ snowboarders raced it out for the 3rd annual Banked Slalom title with Californian Austin Sweeten pipping World Champion BoarderX star Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin by a mere millisecond.
For years Australian snowboarders have eyed the chance to session the Friday Flat stair set and this year a hand-picked group of riders jibbed their way through the night at the inaugural ‘Jyes Jam’.
Junior shredders loved every minute of the Torah Bright Mini Shred. Around 150 kids revelled in the chance to ride with Olympic Gold Medallist Torah Bright and her pro rider friends. Here kids were shown new tricks and nurtured over the features in the custom built park on Friday Flat.
Season 2016 saw the celebration of 30years of snowboarding in Australia, there were exhibitions, talks from the pioneers, hand-dug halfpipe and some seriously good times rolling down memory lane.
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Love Winter… Love Apres
It’s not all about going downhill in Thredbo and this winter it was as if the village never slept. The outdoor Corona Concert Series warmed the mountain crowd throughout winter featuring Gyspy and The Cat, The Jungle Giants, Art Vs Science, Yolanda Be Cool playing to huge crowds with some serious FOMO for those that missed out on Safia playing his electrifying set to finish off the series. Oakley Prizm Party put on one of the best parties of the season with Client Liaison bringing their groovy, electric beats poolside while Uni Week mixed huge nights of partying to Yahtzal and Young Franco with on snow activities like Zorb Ball bowling. On the slopes skiers and boarder were treated to impromptu pop up gigs thanks to Coca Cola with bands, duos and soloists playing around the resort from the top of the mountain to Friday Flat.
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The Today Show live from Thredbo
The Today Show rolled into Thredbo broadcasting live across the nation from Friday Flat with Karl Stefanovic, Sylvia Jeffries and the rest of the team sampling Thredbo’s activities, entertainment, mountain and après.
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Top to Bottom Champagne Showers
One of the longest running events in Thredbo, the Top to Bottom, was again a highlight of the event season. With perfect conditions and a huge line-up competition and parties across the resort, this was one to remember. Australia’s best electronic dance duo the Bag Raiders headlined poolside with champagne showers , with the on-mountain venue Kareela Hutte the destination for a Champagne breakfast and live music while competitors raced the 3.2km course for the massive prize-pool of over $15,000.
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A great winter for Thredbo Parks
The Terrain Park crew, led by Reuben Cameron, stepped it up this year with some incredible features and jumps for all levels and abilities. International Superstars and Olympic teams from Canada and Norway trained on the purpose built features in Antons Park as well as first-timers learning the basics and stomping new tricks across the smaller progressive parks. There were plenty of magazine and film shoots including Torstien Horgmo and the crew from Shred Bots, sharing their videos and imagery across the globe.
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A wild Brumby scored fresh tracks.
Early September saw a powder hungry brumby ploughing through fresh snow at the top of Sponars T-bar much to the delight and surprise of onlookers. It’s not every day a wild horse drops in on you!
Toyota One Hit Wonder Mountain Festival
Returning for its 8th Year the Toyota One Hit Wonder again led a procession of impressive riding and big tricks. Some of the best skiers in the world took to one of the biggest jumps in the Southern Hemisphere to push themselves for the love of their sport. Alex Hall from the USA took the win with a world first switch triple cork 1800 with two other triple corks rounding out the podium. It was an incredible display of talent and a great testament to the Thredbo Park Crew who built the world-class jump allowing for such progression.
World First Triple 1800 Wins Toyota One Hit Wonder Big Air from One Hit Wonder Event on Vimeo.
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Closing Weekend Snowfall… Bring it on!
Mother Nature always seems to come to the party when we least expect it with all forecasts and models pointing to a significant cold-front to slam into the Aussie Alps over the October Long Weekend. Snowfall totals of up to 60cm are potentially on the cards to wave goodbye to what has been an interesting winter.
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A mighty thanks to everyone who dropped by this winter, we look forward to seeing you in 2017! Love Winter – Love Thredbo .
Now the mountain swaps skiers and boarders for bikers and hikers as we get ready for a massive summer of adventures.
Make sure to head to www.thredbo.com.au/seasonpass to secure your pass now for a deposit of only $49 before the sale ends midnight Monday!
Whether you ski, snowboard, hike, mountain bike or are visiting for the first time, our app is your companion to Australia’s Premier Adventure Destination.
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Thredbo sits on the traditional land of the Monero – Ngarigo people who have looked after this land, water and community for over 60,000 years. We thank them for all they have done and continue to do to look after their country, a special place which we all love and respect.
