Snow never was created quite equally around the planet. Local climate and geographic location play a huge role in how the snow feels or behaves when one comes to its contact.
Just like for baking a cake, snow depends on temperature, moisture and ingredients. It’s clear that the Australian ski resorts low elevation didn’t help much, considering their low latitude (36-37 degrees) relative to the equator.
In simple terms, cold spells were much rarer and temperature tended to be higher. Relative humidity also played a huge role on snow texture and quality.
Water contents in very humid regions, or in the case of man-made snow, can be extremely elevated (Eastern US, Japan, Australia or New Zealand) which makes for super-dense snow, while water contents is generally extremely low (5 to 15%) in regions like Utah or Iran, allowing for super light powder and a virtual absence of ice on ski slopes.
Because Mt. Buller was located only 85 miles from the ocean, its weather could change in an instant and was always very humid, if not downright misty or rainy, a reality for which skiers and instructors alike had to be fully prepared, from dripping ski goggles to garbage bags, to slicks and rubber gloves.
All this gave us a snow that stuck well on its steep, south-oriented slopes, and that could make for good racing conditions when the base was there, and good edge hold in the few steep couloirs that could be found, like around Mt. Buller’s summit, provided the night before had been cold enough.
On the other hand, alas, hardly ever any good powder at all. In many ways, I consider Australian skiing as a small window opened on the bleak future of skiing everywhere else, as we step seriously into global warming!
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