Perisher Ski Resort
Perisher Ski Resort
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Perisher Ski Resort

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Perisher Ski Resort

Perisher Ski Resort (known as Perisher Blue until 2009) is the largest ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere. Located in the Australian Snowy Mountains, the resort is an amalgamation of four villages (Perisher Valley, Smiggin Holes, Guthega, and Blue Cow) and their associated ski fields, covering approximately 12 square kilometres (5 sq mi), with the base elevation at 1,720 metres (5,640 ft) AHD, and the summit elevation of 2,054 metres (6,739 ft) at the top of Mount Perisher. 4.4 square kilometres (1.7 sq mi) of this area is covered by 240 snow guns, which are used to artificially supplement the natural snowfall. Perisher was acquired by Vail Resorts, United States on 30 March 2015 for a sum of approximately AU$177 million.

The resort is accessible by road and by the Skitube from Jindabyne, Australia's only underground rack railway. The main skiing period is in July and August, with the official season running from the second weekend in June to the first weekend of October. Perisher consists of 45 lifts: The Village Eight Express, an eight-seater chairlift (built in 2003), one high-speed six-seater chairlift, two high-speed quad detachable chairlifts, five fixed-grip quad chairlifts, two double chairlifts, one triple chairlifts, eighteen T-Bars, two J-bars, seven ski carpets, and two rope tows. The run difficulty distribution is 22% beginner, 60% intermediate and 18% advanced.

The Snowy Mountains region is thought to have had Aboriginal occupation for some twenty thousand years. Large gatherings were held in the High Country during summer for collective feasting on the bogong moth. The area was first explored by Europeans in 1835, and in 1840, Edmund Strzelecki ascended Mount Kosciuszko and named it after a Polish patriot. High country stockmen followed who used the Snowy Mountains for grazing during the summer months. Banjo Paterson's famous poem The Man From Snowy River recalls this era. The cattle graziers have left a legacy of mountain huts scattered across the area. The Kosciuszko National Park in which Perisher ski resort is situated, came into existence as the National Chase Snowy Mountains on 5 December 1906. In 1944 this became the Kosciuszko State Park, and then the Kosciuszko National Park in 1967.

The four resort bases of Perisher had their origins as separate ski resorts, which developed between 1939 and 1987. Smiggins had its origins as a service point for the journey to Charlotte Pass, while the development of Perisher and Guthega were spurred by construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme and Blue Cow was the last resort development in the Snowy Mountains.

In 1995, Perisher, Smiggins and Alpine Australia Group (Blue Cow/Guthega) merged to form Perisher Blue, which merged all four resorts as they are today, now known as Perisher. In 2009 Perisher had 47 lifts covering 1,245 hectares and four village base areas: Perisher Valley, Blue Cow, Smiggin Holes and Guthega.

A story, which may be apocryphal, credits James Spencer, who settled in the area in the 1840s with saying 'What a perisher' when caught in a storm. The area was used by mountain graziers during the summer months for many years.

It was the construction of the vast Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme from 1949 that really opened up the Snowy Mountains for large scale development of a ski industry and led to the establishment of Perisher as a leading Australian resort. The first ski lodges opened in 1951 and by 1957, a number of ski clubs operating.

As the number of skiers increased, services, facilities and means of access were improved, and Perisher's first lodges were constructed. Telemark and the Snow Revellers Club being completed in 1952. In the winter of 1953 the first oversnow transport operated to Perisher Valley. It was greeted by the inhabitants with cheers and celebrations.

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