Behind the scenes - preparing for snow season

While you are counting down the days to your winter break the team on the mountain is getting the resort in shape for the season kick off – just over 50 days away!

What do the mountain operations do outside snow season?

If you’ve wondered what the lift and mountain operation teams do up here all summer (spoiler alert – it’s not just fishing and mountain bike rides) the answer is – a lot!

As soon as the snow melts in spring the maintenance team make the most of ‘green’ season to work through a program of essential maintenance and repairs that ensure the lifts, vehicles, pumps, snowmaking systems and buildings are serviced, compliant and ready to roll.

“The alpine environment is tough on equipment and infrastructure,” explains maintenance manager Brett Smith. “Everything on the mountain endures fluctuations in temperature, wild weather such as gale force winds and electrical storms. The crew are continually working on a series of compliance and maintenance checks so equipment such as chairlifts are serviced and maintained for the safety of our guests.”

Some of the work includes load testing chairlifts. “We use weighted bins to simulate a fully loaded lift line and run a series of tests on all aspects of the lift operation to ensure it’s safe for our guests before winter,” Brett explains. “The sight of all the yellow bins going for a ride on the lift often gets a chuckle – no, it’s not us putting out the recycling!” The data collected during these critical load tests is used as a benchmark for daily and weekly checks across the season.

The team from Doppelmayr have been visiting resort and Mt Buller mountain maintenance team works closely with them to test the lift infrastructure and run a series of routine checks.

One of the jobs that has been completed this month is maintenance on the ABOM Express haul rope – which measures a hefty 43mm in diameter. The huge steel cable that carries the chairs along the lift line is systematically scanned and tested to make sure it’s safe and ready for the winter ahead. The ABOM Express lift line is just over 1000m long stretching from the ski school to the upper mountain. The lift can carry around 3,200 skiers and snowboarders an hour when at full operation in snow season.

It's a smart time to secure your winter accommodation, savings on lift passes and more...