As we roll into springtime, it’s a great time to look laterally for some additional activities which can spice up the tail end of the winter.
We all love a crispy spring morning followed by a soft afternoon, but there is an abundance of other activities that spring brings with it at Hotham.
Let’s have a look at a few of the best options to fill a springtime afternoon once your legs are quivering with fatigue from the slush in Slalom Gully.
Carmichael Falls Walk is only an hour long return walk out of Dinner Plain - it is well signed and has some beautiful aspects in the Alpine Ash.
The start of the track can be found behind the Dinner Plain Hotel.
The waterfall is skiable in some winters by intrepid adventurers, but during the spring it is a lovely stroll through the crisp air to the viewing platform that offers a stunning view of the waterfall.
Dinner Plain Disc Golf (also known as Frizbee Golf) is one of my favourite ways to spend an afternoon in the springtime as the snow begins to thaw.
There is a nine-hole course which runs through the town, discs are available to rent from Snow Monkey and Hoys.
Take a group of friends down, and maybe a few carbonated beverages to work the arms through the same sort of challenge the legs have had during the winter.
Cross-country skiing can sometimes be pooh-poohed by the downhill skiing community, but there are many kilometres of pristinely maintained and picturesque cross-country trails which leave out of Davenport Village.
Appropriate for every level of skill, you can break a sweat by really pushing the tempo or simply enjoy a relax slide out in the Victorian high country.
With the sun out and blue skies, you’ll be amazed at the ease of which you cover ground and the side of the resort you may not have seen before.
Snowshoes are also available for rent at several places around the resorts and you can have many great adventures out towards Mt Loch or along the Razorback.
Spring is the perfect time to get into ski touring and split boarding if you have never had a go in the past.
The weather can be much more consistent, and with predictable warming you can time your run to get some lovely spring corn snow, second only to powder in my personal hierarchy of Australian snow surface.
Equipment is again borrowable or rentable from most rental shops.
Always take appropriate precautions when venturing into the backcountry, but don’t let that dissuade you from a great day out.
Summit and Higginbotham sunset missions are a must for the Hotham springtime - take the last chair up Summit or Big D with a few pals and look out over the magnificent vista.
The ski down in the fading light is quite something, the whole mountain to yourself.
Be sure to take gloves and one more layer than you think, as it will get cold very quickly without the sun and I have ruined more than one of these missions by forgetting either the gloves or the extra layer.
Switching disciplines for a day can give you a fresh outlook on the mountain and the sport when the days and conditions become a bit more repetitive.
I find skiing slush in the afternoons challenging, but flipping the script and strapping on a snowboard to surf around in it is elite.
Join the dark side for a few days, change it up - if nothing else you may have a newfound appreciation for your primary discipline.
Finally, and I would say this is the pinnacle of the activities, a cold beverage in the afternoon sun, on a deck.
