Thredboland forever
I have happy memories of Thredbo; when
my son was small he found his ski legs
here. A kamikaze by nature, he loved a
particularly vigorous set of bumps on the
beginners’ slope over which he used to
gather speed until he ended with a splat,
sprawled spread-eagled in the snow. Luckily
he didn’t have time to hurt himself since
the Thredbo instructors kept him happy with
games and treasure hunts while he learnt to
stay upright.
Thredboland still gets my vote for one
of the best kids’ ski schools in Australia.
It is innovative and fun with a great level of
teaching. Children aged three to six years
even have their very own kids-only area,
where they meet, have lunch and chill out
during the day. Special fun events are
organised throughout the week such as
a kids-only flare run down Friday Flat
(fibre-optic flares, no flames – relax mum)
and a Thredbo World Cup Race Day.
Wombat World is a special terrain and
teaching area and kids love taking the little
Freddy Express train ride from Thredboland
to Wombat World.
For older kids aged seven to 14 years,
there is the Thredbo Freeriders program.
The Jump ‘n’ Jam Friday in the terrain park
is a big hit with the early teens. My son and
his friend join a group lesson to improve
their snowboarding.
One day I meet the ski guides at the
top of the main chairlift and get shown
the mountain; on another I splash out on
a private ski lesson. At $160 an hour it isn’t
cheap but even parents who have been
coming to the snow for years will find they
are skiing at the next level after a little
one-on-one encouragement.
It turns out the trip has quite a lot of
mum-to-mum bonding, too. We ski the
mountain together and sip champagne
around the outdoor fire at the Thredbo
Alpine Hotel.
“Where ARE you?” come the text
messages from our sons. Nice to have
the tables turned occasionally. | 
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