SNOW dump in Mansfield

Snow adds magic to the High Country Festival

To the delight of locals there was a dump of snow in the Mansfield Botanical Gardens on Sat 31 October!

Mt Buller worked with Mansfield Shire to bring a rail jam ‘spring shred’ event to the Botanical Gardens in town and transformed a corner of the popular park into a snow experience for the weekend, complete with rails and a huge in-run scaffolding tower at one end. Skiers and snowboarders came from across the region, and some from as far as NSW, to show off their skills in the pop-up terrain park adding some alpine action to the festivities in Mansfield over the Halloween and High Country Festival weekend.

The snow park was built with an army of volunteers and members from the Mt Buller mountain operations crew who shaped and shovelled over 4 truckloads of snow delivered fresh from Mt Buller. 

Nick Reeves from Mt Buller was thrilled to bring a taste of winter to Mansfield in spring,

“When the season wrapped up in early September, the mountain operations team carefully salvaged the snow from Bourke Street and have kept it under wraps with the plan to do something cool and fun with it for the community.”

“We decided to bring snow to the valley as Mt Buller’s contribution to the High Country Festival and it’s been wonderful to work closely with Mansfield Council and the festival to provide something unexpected for spectators and an opportunity for young people to shred on snow in the heart of town.”

“An interesting fact,” Reeves added “is that some of this snow was made back in April or May when the snow factories first started producing cover for the start of the season. The snow we make is super chilled and it’s resilient stuff. It’s been sitting deep on Bourke Street for months as skiers have slid down it and now it’s getting a final hurrah in Mansfield before melting into the gardens.”

Over 50 skiers and boarders brought their skills and passion to the pop-up park to compete in a free jam event and a bustling crowd gathered in the park for the three hour 'jam' including a delicious BBQ by the scouts and refreshing local ale from Mansfield brewer Uncle Beer. The DJ beats kept the vibes pumping as families and kids enjoyed the spectacle. The weather cleared perfectly for the event window after some wild storms and heavy rain. 

Mansfield Mayor Steve Rabie opened the event and Council CEO Kirsten Alexander was delighted to be part of the day, "What a terrific addition to the festival, it's great to see so many families here enjoying this special experience."

The Mansfield Rail Jam event is a collaboration between Buller Ski Lifts, Alpine Resorts Victoria and Mansfield Shire with Altitude Mt Buller, HEAD skis, Oakley and Burton Snowboards generously contributing towards the pool of prizes up for grabs on the day.