A year-round holiday destination with some of the country's longest and steepest trails, and housing the Australian Institute of Sport's Alpine Training Centre since October 1996. Thredbo has the largest snow making system in the southern hemisphere and Australia's highest peak, Mt Kosciusko (2228m), is accessible in summer on a 4 - 6 hour walk (round trip).
Mountain
Skiers of all standards will find plenty of good terrain at Thredbo. At Friday Flat there is a purpose-built area for beginners - a gentle wide slope and a slow quad chair - which helps novices build confidence and acquire skills quickly so they can progress to tackle the vast array of easier trails. Intermediates of all levels can ski all over the mountain and while experts may not find limitless runs to excite them, they will enjoy the variety of trail skiing. Thredbo does have some of the best steep skiing in Australia and runs like Cannonball, Funnel Web and Michael's Mistake are tough enough for most. In addition to the regular ski classes, the Thredbo ski school offers several schemes including special women's courses and SLAP (Ski Like a Professional) clinics.
Families
Thredbo has made great efforts to develop some of the best children's facilities around. Thredboland, at Friday Flat, is a special area for children from 3 years, mixing fun activities with ski and snowboard lessons. One of the activities entails a sort of trail map adventure where the children follow clues to get to the next spot on the mountain. As they travel around, they learn about the ecology and history of the Thredbo area. Sadly, the ecology programme is for 14 year olds and under! 15 to 18 year olds have their own 'Too Cool for School' courses which are available during school holidays only.
Eating Out
Eating out in New South Wales is a treat. Australia cooking is a fusion of several cultures which benefit from the excellent fresh local produce and you can expect large portions for your money. For the wine-lover, NSW is a paradise, being the source of some ot the world's finest wines - so eat, drink and be merry! There are far too many good places to mention them all but some recommendations are the seafood at Drakes' Restaurant, the recently-opened Segreto or, for a more casual eaterie, the Loose Goose. For a real treat (if you can get a table) try the Credo, which was recently voted the best restaurant in New South Wales.
Apres
Once the lifts shut down the village lights up as the 20 restaurants and 6 bars get into their stride. The nightlife is certainly lively and you need plenty of stamina to keep up with the regulars, who love to party. Lots of the pubs have happy hours and some strange antipodean cocktails are consumed in quantity. If you can stand the pace there is a night club where you can rage until the early morning. Those who prefer a more relaxed kind of apres-ski can seek out the more 'grown up' bars and restaurants - the locals will give you recommendations.
Boarding
Its relative proximity to Sydney makes Thredbo very popular with the snowboarding community and deservedly so, Off piste skiing is not allowed but there are great trails for carving at all levels plus a funpark with half pipe.
