Craig Tansley discovers some of the southern hemisphere's best ski terrain is right under our noses.
The snow outside is falling ever so slowly - star-shaped flakes so dry and weightless they don't fall so much as float through space like Santa's Beards kids blow on from dandelions. Centimetres upon centimetres of the white stuff is collecting in the rims of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Yama Kitchen & Bar at Hotham Central. Wily Hotham veteran, and head of ski patrol for the mountain, Bill Barker, has seen it all before in his 20-plus years here, but he's still got the look on his face only a skier or snowboarder really knows anything about (like a kid the night before Christmas).
"Yep, there's just something about snow, isn't there, you never lose the excitement," Barker says, looking out past his reflection in the window. But then, he says there's a good reason for that. It's not so much the snow as it is this mountain. His mountain. He says no other mountain in Australia offers skiers and snowboarders the thrills and spills this mountain does on a powder day. 
"It's got the best chutes and the best steeps [ski runs] in Australia," he says. "It's a lot better on the world scale than you'd think. A lot of people think Australia's a long way behind when it comes to ski terrain but on a good day you'd be surprised by what you'd find out here. The only thing holding people back is their imagination, I've had some of my best ski days anywhere in the world right here."
Considering Barker spends his off-seasons guiding skiers across the Himalayas, he should know a thing or two about deep snow and steep mountains. Beside him at the dinner table - attacking a plate of spanner crab rolls and pork gyoza - one of Mt Hotham Alpine Resort's greatest skiers, media identity and village DJ extraordinaire Paul "Buff" Farnell, looks just as lost in the snowflakes. He's skied all over the world searching for the wildest peaks and the deepest snow in a lifetime of ski travel - he spent six winters in Austria, and lived in Chamonix (France) and Steamboat Springs in Colorado and skied right across Japan's famed powder island of Hokkaido; but he says Hotham can match it with the best ... on the right day.
"My best days have been at Hotham," he says between mouthfuls. "I live here in winter and so I get to dive in when it's on so I can tell you, it rates with the best. The terrain and the way the big steep mountains here collect the snow reminds me of other box canyon towns like Alta [in Utah] and Telluride [in Colorado].
"There's steep chutes down natural half-pipes with hits everywhere. Hotham ticks all the boxes for expert skiers and boarders. It's got the steepest terrain in Australia. Period. There's such radical terrain that you can just traverse into and hike out of, and it's got the best snow-collecting valleys anywhere in the country."
Hotham is regarded as one of the best places to ski in Australia on powder days and, what's more, 40 per cent of the resort's in-bound terrain is designated advanced, meaning it has the highest proportion of black runs in Australia.
And Hotham offers intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders the chance to sample the best spots that are otherwise secrets to the locals.
Specially trained coaches will take skiers and snowboarders into the steepest descents in Hotham's extreme zones to refine the technique required to ride some of Australia's toughest terrain, in its deepest snow. There's also a class for skiers and snowboarders wanting to refine their tree-riding skills.
On a powder day, the best runs can be found here off the Gotcha chairlift, where only intermediates and advanced skiers and riders should venture. But for those wanting untracked snow away from crowds, the trees to the side of the Gotcha chairlift lie in wait.
Hotham offers free Kat Skiing when snow conditions are favourable - an eight-seater Oversnow machine (the snow kat) picks us up at the top of Spargo's ski run and drops us off at the top of the peak opposite us, at Golden Point.
"Don't look at the trees when you ride through them," my guide says, as we strap into our snowboards above a forest of snow gums.
"Look at where you want to go between them, if you look at the tree, you're going to hit it. Plot your path three turns ahead."
I'm surprised by the scale of the terrain here, and the length of the runs through the trees. But you don't necessarily have to venture into the trees to find powder snow and challenging terrain. Hotham records the most natural snowfall of any ski resort in Victoria and has the best aspect - along with Thredbo in New South Wales - for trapping powder snow when storms hit the Australian Alps. As a result, there's no better place to be on a powder day.
And if you'd like to make the most of fresh snow before others wake up, Hotham opens its Heavenly Valley chairlift at 7.30am from Wednesday to Sunday.
"There's a frontier feeling here that reminds me of resorts like Jackson Hole and Steamboat Springs," Farnell says. "You have to cross the highest mountain range in Australia to get here. This is gold mining country."
TRIP NOTES
GETTING THERE
Mt Hotham Alpine Resort is located at the top of the Great Alpine Road in Victoria, 4\xC2&#189; hours north-east of Melbourne and eight hours south-west of Sydney. Take the Hume Highway, then follow the signs to Mt Hotham Alpine Resort.
STAYING THERE
Check out which runs you'd like to ski tomorrow from a lounge overlooking the slopes at Sambuca Apartments, see hothamholidays.com.au.
SKIING/ SNOWBOARDING
For more information on ski and snowboard master classes with elite coaches, see mthotham.com.au/lessons-gear/snowsports-lessons
Craig Tansley travelled courtesy of Mt Hotham Alpine Resort.
MORE INFORMATION
mthotham.com.au