If the ski-weather gods are not with you, it's hard to get motivated to hit the slopes.
But on those less-than-ideal alpine days, a Yeti Snow Shoe Tour with Alpine Recreation (formerly the Australian Alpine Institute) might be just the ticket.
"If it's a nice day we go up along the ridge for a view of the resort and mountains, but for low visibility it's good to get among the trees," guide Anthony "Combo" Comben says.
It's definitely the latter today, with a virtual white-out in Mount Buller village, so we grab our shoes and head for the lower slopes.
I'm disappointed mine look nothing like the tennis racquets of my childhood images of the polar explorers. Instead, I have a pair of paddle-shaped shoes made from metal and plastic with sharp metal teeth underneath to bite into any icy patches.
Combo, an alpine veteran, opts for Yowies, lighter flat plastic shoes that are well named since they look like a walking sandal designed for Big Foot.
The shoes strap on in three places across the top of my foot and around the heel of my apres-ski boots, but I'm still snapping Velcro when Combo start striding off confidently.
I take off after my guide but it turns out I'm more Sideshow Bob than Edmund Hillary and I end up flat on my backside.
Combo tells me to plant one foot firmly before lifting the other and I stay up for the remainder of our guided walk.
We trudge among the heath bush and alpine grasses, the low cloud and fog giving the forest an eerie vibe and I wonder if we might see any alpine animals.
"You get some wombats and there is a pygmy possum that is unique to the alpine environment," Combo says.
"There are also some native rats but you don't see any kangaroos up this high; you do get deer but not normally in the village."
We hit a service road and the walking becomes a little easier but the larger strides, and keeping up with an expert, means that snow-shoeing is no quiet constitutional.
In among the trees, though, you do get a different perspective of the mountain, observing the beauty of the gnarled trees and tufts of grass poking up through the carpet of snow and, when our walk finishes, I feel I have seen more of the countryside in an hour than in a week of regular skiing.
Still, I haven't given skiing the boot just yet and, when the following day is a stunner, I swap my snow shoes for skis again and get some great runs in along the Wombat and Little Buller Spur trails.
TRIP NOTES
MORE INFORMATION
mtbuller.com.au
GETTING THERE
Mount Buller is a three-hour drive from Melbourne. Virgin Australia, Qantas, Tigerair and Jetstar all have regular flights to Melbourne from Sydney and other destinations.
STAYING THERE
SkiLib Alpine Club is a basic and friendly lodge in Mount Buller village with large communal kitchen and living space. Double rooms with ensuite from $128 a night at weekends, 2 Goal Post Road, Mount Buller; see skilib.com.au. Or try the Buller Base Camp Retreat a little further down the mountain. Two separate dwellings, the Barn House (sleeps 10) or the Pioneers Cottage (sleeps 12) are close to both Mount Buller and Mount Stirling. From $400 a night for the Barn House; see bullerbasecampretreat.com.au.
SEE AND DO
A Yeti Snow Shoe Tour forms part of the "Snow Play in a Day" itinerary giving visitors a flexible list of activities outside the usual skiing options. Phone Combo on 0409 775 872 or Rob on 0432 494 249 to book. See snowplayinaday.com.au.
The writer was a guest of the Yeti Snow Shoe Tour.
FIVE OTHER NON-SKIING ACTIVITIES
A JAFFLE FROM T'S
New this season, T's High Country Cafe serves up killer toasted sandwiches at very un-snow prices, try the pulled pork or the egg, bacon and cheese. Coffee comes from the Mansfield Coffee Merchant at the base of the mountain. The Ave, Mount Buller village
PADDY'S NIGHT
Popular musician Paddy Campbell draws an amped-up apres-ski crowd wherever he goes. Currently it's Tuesday nights at The Whitt, but check the Mount Buller website for details. Expect jugs, singalongs and all-night partying.
195 Summit Road, Mount Buller; see skivictoria.com.au.
CATCH SUGAR MOUNTAIN
A group of local ski nuts made a documentary, Sugar Mountain, about the month they spent camping in an Alaskan glacier in search of perfect powder. This film and other movies screen in the 180-seat cinema in Alpine Central.
See mtbuller.com.au.
GET SCHNITZED AT PENSION GRIMUS
The perfect Euro-alpine diner, Kaptans restaurant in Pension Grimus has a huge carved fireplace, a mounted moose head and pictures of Hans Grimus, a Buller stalwart for more than five decades. Hans is also father to Olympic skiier Anton Grimus, who works in the family business now. Follow your schnitzel with the Saltzburger Nockerl, a chocolate-chip and hazelnut souffle that looks like a snow-covered peak.
224 Breathtaker Road, Mount Buller; see pensiongrimus.com.au
BEER AT THE KOOROORA HOTEL
A legendary beer barn in the heart of the village, the Kooroora has live bands, staff drinks nights and is always worth dropping into to see what is going on.
4 The Ave, Mount Buller; phone (03) 5777 6050
