SAM Magazine (SnowHunter) - October 6 --Perisher Blue in Australia finishes its 2008 winter this weekend. The resort was able to offer excellent riding conditions across its four resort areas for the majority of the southern hemisphere's 2008 season. Despite a slow start for snowfalls, the resort managed to open its first lifts on Saturday, 7 June 2008 and will be the last of the NSW resorts to close this Sunday, 5 October.

Perisher Blue's investment of $9.7 million into its snowmaking infrastructure over the summer months was a significant factor in the resort being able to open on time. The investment helped the snow cause along during the first few weeks of the season, when natural snowfalls were few and far between. A series of big snowfalls were recorded during the middle of the season dumping 3 metres of accumulated snow.

Plans are currently underway to extend snowmaking even further in 2009 to include Happy Valley and Mount Perisher with 80 additional automated snow guns to be installed at a cost of $5.66 million.