Mt Buller celebrated 75 years of the Mt Buller Ski Patrol making it the longest continuously operating Ski Patrol service in Australia. Patrollers skied down Mt Buller’s Bourke Street ski run in front of a cheering crowd of locals and guests carrying bright torches to create a beautiful display.
The parade was led by current and former Ski Patrollers and included their friends, family and members of the Mt Buller community, concluding with a fireworks display that lit up the village and the mountain.
Ski Patrol manager Ed Mahon said: “It’s been a great evening celebrating with our community and our patrol ‘family’. We have parents and children, and grandparents participating this evening who have all donned the Patrol jacket and served Mt Buller.”
Mt Buller spokesperson Rhylla Morgan added: “We’d like to acknowledge the handful of patrollers who were unable to participate in the parade last night because they were responding to a call out to assist an injured guest. As the group was setting up with the torches for the parade a radio call came in and several of the team went into action to assist, executing a rescue in the darkness and ensuring a guest received the care they needed. Our community is grateful for the commitment and skill of the Ski Patrol and that was on show again last night.”
The National Alpine Museum of Australia at Mt Buller is hosting a season-long exhibit celebrating the founding, development and changes of ski patrolling over the decades, “Lifesavers of the Snow” includes a fascinating collection of stories, photos and artefacts that capture the history of the Mt Buller patrol and the work they have done for 75 years to support skiers, rescue injured guests and find lost people in the alpine environment.
Conditions continue to improve on the mountain with good skiing and boarding on increasing terrain for the school holidays.
