Falls Creek Ski Tour 2022 - Pretty Valley Hut to Falls Creek

Pretty Valley Hut to Falls Creek - 7th Sept

A bit of a sleep in on our last day. We had 6km to ski from Pretty Valley Hut to Falls Creek. We had to be at the bus stop for a 3.20pm pick up.

So thinking about getting up then hearing rain on the tent promptly stopped any thoughts of getting up. We did not emerge till about 9am. The toilet block was about 500 meters from the camp site. Parks really needs to install another one closer to Pretty Valley Hut.

As we were packing up a whole bunch of SES and police arrived to get signed off on Skiddoos, how to read the terrain to avoid falling into soft snow and streamlets. There would have been about a dozen skiddoos there - they all headed out in the direction of the SEC hut returning an hour later as we were about to head off - unfortunately no offers of do you need a lift - oh well.

Leaving the camp site at around 11am proved to be a good move as the snow had softened a lot making it easy to get grip off our skis. We made our way to the top of Cattle grid before blasting down Boomerang Link. The ski down Boomerang Link and onto Sun Valley Road was great with silky snow helped by the graders having earlier groomed the track fro skaters.

We were back in the resort and patrolled areas skiing along the bottom of runs like Ruined Castle, Drovers Dream and other runs that ended down at Sun Valley Road. We were planning on having lunch at some stone cottage that John B seemed to remember, but was in fact a toilet block so we pushed onto Windy Corner. Taking a wrong track we steadily climbed until we hit some down hot ski runs. the track we were on was nicely groomed and well covered with snow - so we shushed down to the aqueduct were we bumped into some Rovers who were leaving the Rover Chalet.

Eventually we got to Windy Corner and had our lunch in the visitors centre. I got the guys coffees and a tea and we had our track lunch. Before the bus arrived we played a few hands of 500 as a large school group who had come up from Deniliquin entered the visitor centre for their lunch. 

As we were waiting for the shuttle bus service to take us back to the Village, the falls Creek Primary school who were finishing their PE lesson - X country skiing. They joined us for the bus trip down. Asking them about their skiing they were super enthusiastic in telling us about how the could ski double black diamond runs and theta they were not allowed to try telemark turns just yet. A really delightful bunch of young people.

As we were being driven off the mountain back to Mt beauty it started to rain as if on queue and in alignment with the weather forecast. Collecting cars and returning back to bright it was great to get in under a shower and wash off the past 7 days of sweat and sun screen. We had a couple of beers before heading off to Soul e Luna for a lovely dinner.

A great nights sleep in a comfy bead before our return back to Melbourne.