Blizzard of Oz: The Story Book…

By Zoë Fitzpatrick

For anyone who had the delight of being in Thredbo for the Blizzard of Oz, the feeling of winter magic was so real, you’d think you were living in a life-sized snow globe. The village was covered in white, the cars were stacked with powder and there were fresh tracks to be made all through the day as the snow just kept dumping for four days straight. For those living and working in the Thredbo-snowglobe it was unbelievable…walking around the village and on the footpaths involved stomping through deep powder and getting your car out required quite a bit of digging (and chains of course!) Check out the pictures and video get a feel for the magical time that was the Blizzard of Oz…

Night 1 / Day 1 (Thursday Night / Friday Day)

Friday August 4^th marked Day 1 of the Blizzard of Oz and we got our first 15cm of beautiful white powder to shred. You could almost taste the excitement in the air as mountain riders headed out to make the most of it, and little did they know, the best was yet to come.

Day 2 & 3 (Saturday & Sunday)

Days 2 and 3 brought us a whole lot of powder – 40cm on Saturday and at least another 20cm on Sunday, and they were absolute shredders on the mountain. You’d be forgiven for thinking you were in Japan with all the snow, it was difficult to find somewhere that wasn’t epic powder skiing. The strong winds brought in truckloads of drifty windblown stashes up the top, and with almost too much choice, mountain riders were pumped with despite the reduced visibility and winds.

Day 4 (Monday)

The real action came towards the end. On the morning of Day 4, Thredbo woke to an incredible 40cm up the top and at least 15cm in the village so that in total we received a massive total of 115cm of fresh snow – and it continued to snow all through the day. If there was one word to describe what it was like to be here during the blizzard it has to be white. The mountain was white, the trees were covered in white, the rooves were white, the lake, the creek, the bridges, the footpaths…all white.

So what’s the total snow falls from the blizzard…here’s our summary.

Day 1 – 15cm overnight Thursday/Friday

Day 2 – 40cm Saturday

Day 3 – 20cm Sunday

Day 4 – 40 cm Sunday Night Plus 15cm Monday

Total so far = 130cm…WOW

… so make sure sure you get up here and enjoy all the beautiful snow it’s left us to shred! #LoveWinter