Words and photos: Reed Robinson (Boardworld Member)

It’s the holy grail of snowboarding, that big dump that comes along once maybe twice a season where the conditions here in Oz rival those of any resort anywhere in the world.

Season 2014 is a little over a month old and already we've had three of these mythical snow storms dumping upwards of 40cm of soft, dry, and dare I say it powdery snow in each fall.

This got us thinking here at Boardworld, about dropping everything and heading to the snow to chase one of those rare Australian powder days, so we did.

The biggest thing you need to do to pull off a spontaneous trip to the snow is be committed! Remember when it dumps everyone thinks about getting away and hitting the hill but not everyone does.

An epic snowstorm has just hit — dumping around a metre of snow in just over a week — and you've got some mates together and decided to go. What’s next? Grab your gear, jump in the car and go! Everything else can be organised on the way. Trust us, we’ve just done it and we’re going to tell you how.

You've hit the road and you’re in the car driving, get one of your mates to jump online on their smart phone and start looking for accommodation. There are two ways you can do this, either book it yourself by contacting each place directly, or the way we did it, by using one of the travel/booking companies such as Oz Snow Adventures.

By doing it the way we did, it takes out all of the headache of organising somewhere to stay, after all and you’ve got someone else doing the all hard work for you. But a word of warning, we found when looking for last minute accommodation it was easier to find somewhere that could accommodate smaller groups of around 2-6 people, so try to keep your crew a manageable size if you can.

Once you've found somewhere to stay next it's time to sort out lift tickets. Yes you can do this once you get there but believe us, it’s easier, faster and in some cases cheaper to do it online. We chose to head to Perisher so there are a few options for lift passes. A late start ticket if you get there around 12 on the first day or the freedom pass if you’re there for 3 or more days is what we reckon should get you out of trouble. But remember to keep an eye out for specials as they can make things considerably cheaper.

On the road and while you’re away make sure, where you can, you split the costs of everything, fuel, park entry, etc and don’t forget to look after whoevers car it is you drive to the snow in and buy them a few beers at the end of each the day. Also hand over the cash to whoever paid for the lift tickets, because no one likes a tight arse.

Speaking of being a tight arse, a camel pack is a great investment, you’re not paying resort prices for water, its always with you and if you get one of the better ones its also a backpack, so you can carry some food and your camera keeping your pockets free for other stuff.

Once you arrive in the Perisher carpark, get in your gear, pick up your board and head to the ticket office. Because you’ve prebooked and prepaid this is a breeze. Show them the confirmation email, grab or upload your ticket and away you go. Time to hit the hill and get some turns in.

I don’t know about you guys, but when I first arrive I like to get my legs in, so I head to Front Valley for a run. The V8’s quick to the top and you have the added advantage of being able to board down to the bottom of the Perisher Quad, from there you can pretty much get anywhere you want in the resort. Or if jibs and rails are your thing, do a few more runs on Front Valley hitting the park, it’s all up to you.

So now you’ve got no excuses, we’ve shown you just how easy it is to organise a spontaneous snow trip. We’ve had a look at the forecast and the conditions look promising, another big dump is on its way! So what are you waiting for? Get your crew together, jump in the car and who knows we might even run into you carving up the mountain.