Thinking Allowed: Snowdrifting

As our North American friends shed layers, here in the colder part of Australia, we are just starting to cover our ears and dream of fluffy frozen water. The business of snow in Australia has always left me feeling a little bit dubious. This is mostly warm desert country with most of the sledding taking place on sand dunes. But, there is a very small part of this vast country that reaches a just barely high enough elevation that it gets snow, or just barely snow for a couple of months of the year. The Snowy mountains are beautiful and only a couple of hours drive from us so we can just barely feel like we have winter fun too. Except the cost of going to the Snowy mountains in the winter time is jaw dropping. Just accommodations - if you can book them early enough - are easily a thousand dollars a night for a family of four (of which we are not). A day on the ski hills for a family our size would be that cost again. So we don't even bother with downhill skiing and mostly stick to long day trips to satisfy our cross country skiing cravings.

I happened to be organized enough this year to manage to book a weekend at the hostel early enough to get a family room in that undesirable (and thus still affordable) part of early winter. A gamble- I thought - but the mountains still hold appeal with no snow on them, so, a worthwhile gamble. And then the mountains got hit with an early cold snap and dumping of snow just before our booked weekend. A win - I thought - until I realized this was Australia where snow falling before a long weekend in a country locked into its own borders was not really a win for a person who is crowd averse. The kids did get to cross country ski but it was not really a trip that endeared Australian skiers to me. It felt like the excitement of Christmas for a Canadian springtime. Crowds. Hype. Lines. Puddles. Melting snow. But the three older girls got to cross country ski for an hour or two each day. One day in the backcountry in melting sleet conditions, one day on the beginner ski slopes before the chair lifts opened, and one day on the groomed but rapidly melting cross country trails. Tova threw her hearts desire of snowballs at people, houses, signs and nature (so nothing was safe from her) while Sophia meticulously made perfect snowballs that she carried around with her and tried to sneak into the hostel. We swam. We watched fireworks. We hiked. We had hot chocolates. We sat in the sunshine watching live music and fancy lunchers. I learned about all the ruthless business tactics used to drive locals away and make even more money off of the limited resource that is snow. It was a fun but exhausting time. Also, sort of depressing in that bustly make as much money as we can off nature sort of way. I am thinking I will never be a fancy lunch, skiing, golf, polo sort of person. Its empty backcountry and a bowl of soup for me.