Tracey Spicer heads to Perisher with tweens in tow
Tracey Spicer for Holidays with Kids, 20 August 2019
After three years away from the snow, Tracey Spicer takes her family to Perisher and falls in love with skiing all over again.
We arrive to a blizzard of biblical proportions.
“That’s why it’s called Perisher!” the driver says, skilfully steering an all terrain vehicle from the Skitube to our accommodation.
Apparently James Spencer, who settled in the area in the 1840s, coined the expression after being caught in a storm.
Suddenly, Eiger Chalet emerges from a sheet of snow, an Arctic oasis. Run by the aptly named Frost family, this is a traditional Swiss-style chalet. After staggering into the drying room with frozen faces, we immediately thaw as host Hayley greets us with her warm smile. Helping to lug our bags to one of the Mountain View Family Rooms, she opens the door to a sight for sore eyes: panoramic views of the ski fields, and the Perisher Quad Express Chair a short 100-metre walk away.
The room is cosy and comfy with a queen bed, set of bunks, and extra single bed, ideal for larger families. Our package includes a two-course dinner and hot breakfast daily, so we wander downstairs to the White Spider Restaurant & Bar for ricotta gnocchi, veal schnitzel and a dessert called ‘The Deliverance’: hot chocolate fudge pudding with cocoa and cashew ‘soil’, vanilla bean ice-cream and dehydrated strawberries. Fortunately, there are no duelling banjos in sight; this is dining at its finest.
I throw back apple schnapps to calm my nerves about the following day. At 51 years of age, I’m less concerned about elegant parallels than fracturing femurs. As the mother of tweens, I’m acutely aware of their aspirations to race down the mountain and envisage a day full of hubby and me hollering “slow down!” as they carve it up.
Stars and slopes of Perisher © Perisher
The family that skis together
Sunrise brings a surprise: a puffy carpet of powder. First, we must hire ski equipment and I’m delighted that we’re kitted out with boots, skis and poles in 15 minutes.
Due to a hiatus of almost three years, we’re kicking off with a family lesson. Our instructor Peter is terrific, mixing light humour with gravitas. Grace is nervous about the T-bar we come to, not quite sure where to place the precarious bar. After putting it between her legs and coming a cropper, she re-mounts and remains upright all the way to the top. Not so 13-year-old Taj who – no doubt distracted by the urge to race his sister – veers left, falling face-first into a ditch. Like any good mother I’m doubled over with laughter, tears freezing in rivulets down my cheeks.
Within minutes we’ve regrouped at the top of Front Valley for our first run. If you’re new to these fields, Perisher is the biggest ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere, covering more than 1,200 hectares. It’s divided into four interlinked sections: Perisher Valley, Blue Cow, Guthega and Smiggin Holes. The Valley has a variety of runs from beginner to advanced, plus a terrain park and Australia’s only superpipe. Blue Cow is higher, with lovely long runs such as Easy Rider and Roller Coaster. Guthega has been transformed in recent years, boasting 16 runs including double-blues and blacks, while Smiggin Holes is better for young children.
Peter acts as the head while we caterpillar down Front Valley, taking it slowly to work on technique. We make it to the bottom unscathed, and he takes us up the Perisher Quad Express Chair to explore Goats Gully, Happy Valley, Bullwheel Run and Pretty Valley. Hiring an instructor for your initial hit-out is worth every cent. You’re entitled to the shortest queues for lifts and T-bars, plus priceless information about the right runs, depending on the conditions.
We stop at the Mid Perisher Centre for a hot chocolate and chips, when Taj realises that he has been skiing for two hours with his boots on the wrong feet. “I wondered why it felt so weird!” he laughs.
Enjoying the slopes, Tracey Spicer
All smiles and confidence
The next day we ride the Quad to Back Perisher Mountain, cruising along the Blue Cow Home Trail to check out some blue runs. (Well, it’s kind of cruisey, aside from Gracie sobbing that, “We’re all going to die!” because of the move from beginner to intermediate slopes.) Roller Coaster turns out to be our favourite run, with stomach-fluttering ups and downs.
On our final afternoon we enjoy the Après Ski Party with live entertainment in the White Spider bar, catching up with friends who are staying nearby. The kids play pool, foosball and ping pong, while the parents partake in a vat of gluhwein.
Grace’s best friend Jemma is a champion skier, so we allow the girls to do a few runs on their own. Before too long they’re back, buzzing from their big adventure.
“Mum, I love skiing!” Gracie says.
“So, you no longer think we’re all going to die?” I ask wryly.
“Don’t be silly, Mum,” she huffs.
Tucking into a roast at the restaurant that night, we reflect upon our improvement over the past three days. Taj has learned the difference between his left and right feet. Grace has lived to tell the tale. And Mum and Dad remained vertical, with all bones intact. We finish with a dip in the hot tub, to soothe some sore muscles.
Far from “perishing”, we feel as though we’ve peaked. We’ll definitely return to pay our respects to these mighty mountains next year
Little snow bunnies © Perisher
This article originally appeared in Ski & Snowboard with Kids magazine.