And so it is we come to the end of another Australian snow season, and what a season it was. For all intents and purposes, this was one of the worst snow seasons on record in terms of snow cover. Most resorts are closing well over a month early. Many barely got to open at all, and that’s before a near apocalyptic amount of rain descended down upon the Snowies.

So yeah, not the best skiing, but we were able to get out there for a few days and take advantage of what cover there was before it really started to become more like grass skiing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it quite so patchy before.

The cloud formations in alpine regions are absolutely fascinating to me.

The Ricoh GRiiix continues to be a really fun little camera. I cannot tell you how refreshing it is not having to bring a bag when you’re heading out. You pop it into your pocket, and that’s it. There was one instance at the top of the chairlift where I stepped into a snowdrift with Ricoh in hand an dropped a good four feet or so into the snow. The Ricoh went down with me, the lens compartment completely stuffed with ice and leading to some interesting hazy images like the one below before I was able to completely clear out the snow. I have heard these cameras hate water, but for now it seems to be working okay.

With snow still on the lens, you get this old-timey almost archival feel to the image.

The Hard Monotone preset in the Ricoh GRiiix yet again working wonders with light, here with Australia’s highest ‘mountain’ somewhere there in the background.

This is the view from the top of the chairlift at Charlotte Pass. It’s always changing according to the weather.

Given the lack of snow, we ended up doing a couple of short walks: one across the summit, one to Spencer’s Creek and another up the hill the start of the Main Range track. The latter is where things went sideways.

Long story short, I slipped on some black ice, fractured my spine and required a bit of a rescue mission to get out of there. That’s why I’m sitting here writing this in a brace about to go into surgery tomorrow. Not the greatest of ends to our trip, but that’s how it goes. A big thankyou to all the medical, emergency and rescue staff who helped out on the day.

The chalet at Charlotte Pass has been there forever. I love the alpine, historic feel of the place.

Walking down to Spencer’s Creek, again with the Hard Monotone and again with snow on the lens.

Once I’m recovered up, expect more photos soon. I’ve also bought a couple of rolls of Kodak 120 (yet again balking at the price), so let’s see what happens there.

More images below.