Name: Katie Balfe
How long have you been visiting Mount Buller?
I’ve been coming up to Buller all my life. Initially I explored Buller with a back seat view from a rucksack on my dads back. Dad would do a few Summit to Howqua laps with me on his back, then hang me up in the trees, whilst he cut a few more laps before picking me up, to do it all over again. We call those Summit trees “The Rupert Stop”. Rucksack days over, I started skiing, chasing my brother and sisters around when I was six.
How long have you been a ski patroller?
I think it’s coming up to 15 years (I’m never sure as I took a couple of years off when I have my twins). I joined after coming back from living in China, 2010/11 maybe?
Where do you normally live?
Cheltenham – centre of the Universe. If you know, you know.
What is the best part of being a ski patroller?
It’s the unique combination of things that are important to me: Comraderie, teamwork, continuous improvement, giving back & fun. Patrol in once sense attracts a “type” of person, yet in another way it’s the diversity of people, skills amd backgrounds that is the secret spice. It’s like an extended family that works like a corporate team, you’re always learning & you’re always collaborating.
Do you ski or snowboard?
I like both (in fact I’ll give anything a go if it’s in the snow) but I am a skier at heart.
Do you ski/snowboard anywhere else?
Yes, back in Nam I was a skibum for a couple of seasons in St Anton, a tourist in Chamonix & various Japanese resorts, fell into a tree well in Galena & busted career moves heading up Sales & Marketing for SilverStar Mountain Resort in Canada for a couple of years, spending the winters on the ground in resort and FIFo the rest of the time. I’ve been very lucky.
What do you enjoy most about visiting Mount Buller?
I think a lot about this, why I’m so happy when I’m here. I don’t actually look at it as “visiting Buller” as it’s simply a part of the fabric of my day to day. I have a sense of balance being here, perhaps it’s nostalgia from childhood, winter friends, mountain folk and the lovely little bubble we create together. Perhaps its choice? That choice that my family and I have up here to live a little more simply, with less stuff, less noise, less complication, with days dictated by Nature and her show, not by Teams meetings, incompetent idiots talking rubbish & algorithms? It’s a luxury to be able to jump in the car and head 180kms up the road to hang out in a little alternate universe.
For those who pontificate “Why ski in Aus, there’s no this, there’s no that blah blah blah”, I say: you’re simply in the wrong universe, go find the one that suits you best, Buller’s an old girl, she’s not very high, she’s pretty moody, love’s a gum tree & she’s not going to change for you because you’ve been to Niseko. You choose to either love her or leave her."
Do you have a favorite place to go after a day on the slopes?
Can’t really go past our Saturday Patrol Base debriefs where our team, fambams and friends get together to unpack the day over a drink and Alans famous nibble’s!
I did catch myself, the other day, reminiscing & pinning for the dirty old Dump Inn Sunday Cook it your self Steak Night. It was so awesome! Bring Steak Night back!
What is your favorite run on Mount Buller?
It’s a rarity these days, perhaps this season? Maybe? But when it’s on, can you really beat an early morning Cow Camp romp in amongst the Wooly Butts? Nope!
