photo shoot

while the snow was melting I took the opportunity to head to Melbourne for a few days in my other role overseeing marketing and publicity activities for "i ski for tommy".

it rarely happens, but the three isft. ambassadors were all in the same place at the same time, resulting in a great opportunity to get everyone together for a photo shoot before they all go their separate ways for training and racing commitments throughout the duration of the upcoming northern winter season.

uber-talented Charlie Payne who is based in Melbourne shot the pix and we are thrilled...

I had fun producing the shoot and it was refreshingly unpretentious working with athletes as opposed to [ahem] fashiony types. The gorgeous Katya didnt even need hair and make-up...the sum total of her make-up for the camera? a bit of Blistex for the lips! [no photoshop required for these athletes!]

the outcome of the photo shoot is still under wraps, but here are some sneaky behind-the-scenes snaps...

just do it

skiing elsewhere

Buller is done and dusted for another 8 months (yes - the countdown has begun!)...the village is empty, the crowds have dispersed and even though there is still snow on the hill, the locals have all decamped to warmer climes.

What an amazing season ! after last year we didn't really get excited by the first falls, knowing how easily it can all turn to slush.....or entirely disappear, seemingly overnight, in the middle of the season. but it just kept steadily snowing, slowly but surely inching up the official and unofficial snow depths... and the mega-dump mid August will, I'm sure, be talked about wistfully for years to come. so all-up a satisfying few months, a successful season and one for the global warming cynics, methinks...

They're still skiing at Thredbo, open till the end of this week, and really milking the most out of the school holidays. Here in Sydney that seems like an almost preposterous idea.....it's sunny and balmy and Bondi is looking inviting with clear water, nice waves and a lack of crowds..

If you're in need of a snow fix between now and the start of the northern winter you may be a little envious of Australian Olympic skier Katya Crema, who is already in training in Austria - at the Stubai Glacier.

Katya reports that while they train up top on the glacier, its 25 degrees down in the valley... which is quite amazing when you consider that in less than 2 months the entire place will be cold and white and getting ready for Xmas..