Australian ski season off to a ‘magic’ start with more than 60cm of snow falling over the long weekend

The Australian ski season is off to a “magic” start with a dumping of snow over the weekend creating ideal conditions on the slopes.

A whopping 62cm of powder has fallen on Mt Hotham in the Victorian Alps in recent days, giving the resort a cracker opening day on Saturday.

Videos posted by the resort show people trudging through deep snow at night, with a fresh 32cm of snow hitting the slopes by Saturday alone, and others opening their cabin doors to stunning winter scenes.

“Hotham in its true winter wonderland form this morning,” the resort posted to Instagram.

While the boarders and skiers are thrilled, some drivers got into trouble, with the heavy snowfall bogging down more than a dozen drivers and passengers in their cars on slippery roads enduring a freezing night before rescue workers freed them.

Victoria Police said 13 people had already been rescued following reports several cars had become stuck due to the snow about 10.30pm on Friday. A man in his 40s was also treated for minor injuries after his vehicle rolled.

Authorities are warning snow-goers to obey road closures signs to allow emergency services to continue their search of the area.

Across the border

Across the border in NSW, the town of Orange turned white with the ski season getting off to an ideal start on the King’s Birthday weekend.

Residents in the Central Tablelands town were left in awe as they woke to a winter wonderland on Monday.

“I wake up to a magical blanket of snow right outside my window,” resident Riana Nilasari wrote on Instagram.

“For the very first time in my life, I got to enjoy snow right in my backyard. Pure bliss! My heart is absolutely melting (just like the snow eventually will). I’ve truly fallen in love with Orange.”

Snow has fallen across many elevated areas of the state — especially the southern, central and northern Tablelands, due to the cold air and showers that have spread across much of southeastern Australia over the weekend.

The Bureau of Meteorology says snow has been observed at Cooma, Orange, Guyra, Jindabyne, Ben Lomond, Blue Mountains, Oberon and many other locations along the NSW ranges.

Popular ski resort Thredbo, in the Kosciuszko National Park, part of the Snowy Mountains region, received a dumping of fresh powder to kick of the season, posting 26cm had fallen at the weekend.

“Yesterday was unreal — and the magic’s not over yet!” the resort posted to Instagram.

“Opening Weekend is still going strong with 26cm of fresh snow on the ground and more falling fast.”

Snowfall has continued across ski resorts in Victoria and NSW, adding to the more than 60cm that has already fallen so far this long weekend.

Snow showers would continue on Monday across the NSW ranges and tablelands above about 900m, the bureau said. Cold weather will linger for much of the coming week with snow showers becoming confined to alpine resorts from Tuesday.

-- With AAP