Wind 🍃 Why we love it, and why we don't.

With school holidays starting on Saturday, we are excited to see so many keen skiers and boarders join us at Perisher. Adding to the excitement is the amount of snowfall we've received recently, allowing us to open all four Resort areas. As much as we love snowfall, unfortunately at times it brings its lesser-favoured partner in crime...wind. Don't get us wrong, wind can be great! It usually means a snowstorm or two; bringing cold fronts to the mountains and leaving a covering of fresh powder for us to enjoy.

We agree...the wind has overstayed it’s welcome, but as much as we try, we can't seem to control the weather! The safety of both our guests and staff is at the forefront of operations at Perisher. As a result, on windy or blizzardy days chairlifts will go on and off wind hold throughout the day depending on conditions. This is why we recommend planning ahead by keeping tabs on our Snow Report and Lift Status.

Safety first: Why we put chairlifts on wind hold

Perisher is well-recognised for its fleet of T-Bars, and there is a good reason for it. As Perisher is situated 1,720m above sea level, it gets windy up here! With altitude comes snow, but unfortunately with altitude also comes great wind gusts. As T-Bars transport our guests at surface level, their performance is not affected as much by wind as the chairs on a chairlift which are located many metres above the ground.

Every chairlift is different and will be able to handle wind from different directions and varying strength. For example, The Village 8 is located lower down the mountain than the Quad Express, meaning it has more shelter from the wind. Its heavier chairs and design make it a reliable and popular lift on most windy days. Other areas of the resort that are more sheltered, such as Smiggin Holes, are also recommended on windier days. Our highly- experienced Mountain team will make the call and put a lift on hold if it is unsafe for guests to ride, and staff to operate.

Why has it been so windy?

Temperatures have been getting colder and colder as we venture further into winter and cold fronts will bring snowstorms and strong winds. This explains why every day cannot be a bluebird day. We need to do our best to make the most of windy conditions as the snowfall it so often brings helps build out great terrain for the season ahead.

Winds create more lift lines

It's true... windier days usually means longer lines. With less lifts operating across our mountains, lines begin to build up around our lower altitude chair lifts and ground lifts. You would have felt it this weekend if you were on the mountain. With the combination of school holidays beginning, the weekend, and fresh snowfall, there was congestion around the front of Perisher Valley.

Our mountain team works hard to keep lifts running to give our guests the best experience possible, and with saftey at the forefront, that may mean you will have to line up for longer than usual as other lifts wait to be taken off lift hold.

Wind? Bring it on

Perisher’s Operations Director Michael Fearnside shared some words about the conditions yesterday: “Staff and guest safety is our top priority, and in certain weather conditions it just isn’t safe to operate every lift. Yesterday [Saturday], we saw wind speeds of around 100km per hour at the top of the mountain which limited the number of lifts we could safely open. Perisher has the advantage of a network of surface lifts which can operate in higher winds, and we had all the surface lifts that could safely operate spinning, in all four areas of the resort.”

So, grab your buffs, high-vis goggles, and get out there and brave the wind!

You gust correctly. It's windy up here!