Snowmaking

Preparations are well underway at Perisher for the opening of the ski season, with snowmaking giving mother nature a helping hand.

The new snowmaking system at Perisher has extended right up to the halfway station of the quad, so it might be possible to ski from there, right from the word go!

Opening Weekend Activities @ Perisher Blue

Blog Visitors

Here are some interesting facts about the Illabunda News Blog from last season:

• 199 different people visited the blog!
• Those people visited the blog a total of 1096 times!
• 163 of those people viewed the blog more than once.
• Blog visits came from Australia, United Arab Emirates, United States, Solomon Islands, Jordan, Singapore, Italy and the UK!
• 70% of the visits came via the Illabunda website, 26% visited the blog directly.
• 20 comments were made on the blog using the comment feature.

Illabunda Member Seen On Every Qantas Flight For Months

One Illabunda member has been seen on just about every Qantas flight for the last few months!

Ian Gracie has been featured on Q Media's "Australia - Behind the Scenes" updates on the progress of Baz Luhrmann's new film - Australia.

Ian is the Supervising Art Director for this project and is a long time member of Illabunda.

The Q Media update is screened on most Qantas flights both domestic and international. So next time you are aboard a Qantas plane - keep your eyes peeled.

If you haven't heard of this new film, check out the trailer that has just been released and admire some of Ian's work.

The Perisher Card

Perisher Blue has just announced a new deal that might be of interest to
Illabunda members and guests.

From Perisher:
The Perisher Card
The Perisher Card offers loyal guests the chance to save on day passes. Designed specifically for those who fall short of spending enough time in the resort to purchase a Season Pass, the Perisher Card can be purchased for $45 from all Perisher Blue ticket outlets. It then entitles frequent skiers and boarders to buy mountain passes for just $85 per day from Friday to Sunday and $79 from Monday to Thursday. Perisher Card holders also receive the benefits of two for one First Tracks access. The Perisher Card can be purchased at any time through the season.

So if you're skiing just two weekends or more over the season, it might be worth your while taking advantage of this offer.

Winter 2008 Bookings

Illabunda Booking Officer Leo Delissen says that winter 2008 bookings are the best they have been in years.

As usual, strong demand has occurred for the prized mid winter dates especially July and August weekends.

However the shoulder season is a great time to visit the lodge with a quieter mountain and great skiing conditions can be had at any time in the season.

Improved snowmaking at Perisher will improve early and late season conditions and cross country / backcountry skiing is great at any time of the season.

Cheaper rates at the lodge in the early and late season is one reason to take a look at the vacancies here and book yourself in for what is always an awesome stay at Illabunda!

Many thanks to Leo for doing a great job of sorting through the mountain of booking requests he gets each winter.

Revamped Deck

The fabulous Illabunda deck has been revamped and is looking fantastic!



The wood has a great colour and the balustrading is super safe and kid friendly.

Thanks to Les Smith for the photo and thanks to the members who made this awesome improvement happen.

Online Bookings

The Illabunda website has a great new feature that will greatly benefit members and people on the membership waiting list.

ONLINE BOOKINGS!

Simply log on via the Illabunda website and you can:

• Submit booking requests
• Retrieve and modify and resubmit existing booking forms - greatly simplifying multiple bookings for large groups or for families from year to year
• See how much a booking will cost

Check it out!

The Ski Season Opens In Just 20 Days!

Welcome to Winter 2008!

With the ski season just 20 days away it is time to get excited - I know I am!

Snow has started to fall tonight - and Perisher have fired up their snowguns.

The lodge has a new look thanks to the hard work of all the members and friends that attended working bees over the summer - make sure you get down there this winter to check it out.