Monday, December 1, 2008

MY WORLD ~ 6 ... Our Ski Lodge

Last week I missed posting because we drove
over 1,000km to attend the 45th. annual general
meeting of the A.N.A.R.E. ski club. My husband
has been a member almost since it's inception, I
am only an associate member.
The initials stand for Australian National Antarctic
Research Expedition. The criterion for membership
is obviously, that one must have taken part in at
least one expedition. Members are quite diverse,
ranging from scientists through all necessary trades,
and, all expeditioners having undergone rigorous
psychological asessments, are easy to get along with.


My husband designed the lodge and made a model
from which an architect friend drew up the plans. We all
pitched in and spent many summers building it. From
the front there are two floors, from the back there are
three. Initially we had accomodation in the dormitory
for 12, four doubles and four singles. As regulations on
the mountain have changed, 6 more beds have been added.

The lodge is situated on Mt.Baw Baw in the Victorian Alps.

There are a few good down hill runs and a large plateau

excellent for cross-country skiing.

We arrived late afternoon and had a great view down the

chair lift easement into the Latrobe Valley.

Would you believe it, during the night it snowed!


Now for those in the northern hemisphere that's

no big deal, but we're on summer time here.

None the less , we were thrilled. We had not been
up here for twenty years, so snow was a real bonus.



Here are the same trees as in the first picture,
only slightly more bent from the added load.



This blue shot was at dawn the next morning
just in case it all melted away again.



The lodge sitting pretty in the fluffy
white stuff.



Meanwhile we were snug inside by the fire waiting
for the others to arrive. A happy reunion with those
of the old guard. After 45 years we were all a little
more mature and 20 years of absence had in no way
dulled old friendships.
Although the planned BBQ was out of the question since
it had a foot of snow on it, we all had a great time together.



With these snow laden trees I feel Christmas is
just around the corner.
Next week God willing, snippets from the 1,000km
treck back home.

For wonderful sights and stories from around the
world, click on the logo on the right.

Thank you MY WORLD team for gving us this splendid
opportunity to post what is dear to us.

58 comments:

  1. Those are beautiful photos. Snowing here too, but it's to be expected in the US in December;)
    Marnie

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  2. That reminds me of the mountains in Colorado. You can have snow in any month of the year.

    An Arkie's Musings

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  3. Glorious snow pix, Aria! Your trees have such a romantic shape down there! We have snow falling this morning, too. Stay warm!

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  4. What a wonderful snowy visit in time! There is something so cozy about being with good friends, snow and a warm fire. Beautiful photos and post.

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  5. Absolutely gorgeous! Such great photos! We don't get a lot of snow here in Seattle, but I raised my family in Montana and always loved the winter magic that the snow created.

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  6. Beautiful pictures.The area most be fantastic.So glad you got some snow.Does this happen often?

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  7. Lovely photos and a very interesting post. The same weather system cooled things down for us in SE Qld - but nothing like that of course.

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  8. so beautiful photos!
    have a nice week!!

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  9. Hallo Arija,
    eine weiterer Blick in eine wunderbare Welt. Es gibt nicht viel schöneres, als in einer stillen Schneewelt zu leben. Leider sind meine Erinnerungen fast alle auf Dias verewigt, deshalb geniesse ich deine Bilder.
    Liebe Grüsse
    Hartmut

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  10. ... ach ja, ich habe es vergessen, das Kaminfeuer flackert auch bei mir, und ich trinke dazu ein wunderbares Winterbier.
    Hartmut

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  11. I am surprised you had snow in summer.

    When it's cold enough for snow I think sitting inside beside a warm fire is absolutely lovely.

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  12. What a beautiful place. I'd love to be sitting by the fire in the lodge.

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  13. That fire looks cozy. Your winter wonderland photos are soo beautiful.

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  14. I like the first snow photo a lot! You got thicker snow than we did!

    The lodge looks/sounds like a fun play to stay....

    Thanks for the info about the flower...have a nice week!

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  15. Looks a beautiful place with all that snow.

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  16. Oh, wow! Great story, great photos. I'm so glad you shared this with us.

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  17. A wonderful post, Arija! I love the snow photos! I expected, of course, more wonderful summer shots! :-) What a treat for you all to get to enjoy the snow! And, your expedition team sounds so interesting! Can't wait to see the photos from the homeward trek, too. Really wonderful My World Tuesday!

    Marie

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  18. What a completely beautiful, dreamy place. Gorgeous.

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  19. Arija: What a neat look at the ski lodge and it is great you got a Spring snow.

    BTW: My wife works at Ksu and three of my children have five degrees from Kent State.

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  20. I've never really got a handle on where Mt. Baw Baw is. I've have to check it out.

    I remember buildings like that when I was little and went to visit Mt. Buller.

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  21. I grew up near Wabonga on this map.

    http://tinyurl.com/5bkhvj

    top right.

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  22. wow...how amazing and so very interesting your post is. love the snow shots.
    thank you for sharing with us.

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  23. It looks like a wonderful retreat, stunning piccies

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  24. Fantastic post. Driving a 1,000 miles, awesome. the farthest I can travel on the island is 30 miles. it just seems odd that Australia has snow, something I don't imagine. Thank you for sharing.

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  25. What a beautiful area Arija. My husband and I used to cross country ski for years until I got too sick to go anymore, now he goes alone. I did love it...fond memories..

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  26. WOW! What a fabulous place! Very pretty scenery.

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  27. I love the cute little lodge! Snow would have been wonderful to me since we don't get much here in Georgia.

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  28. Beautiful set of photos, i saw on tv were there was snow somewhere in Australia. We have ski lodge here too but unfortunately it was not able to open for the Thanksgiving holiday as usual as we did not have enough snow . Your lodge is very pretty. Thanks for sharing your part of the world

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  29. Gorgeous shots! I am amazed at the difference in color of the same place shot at different times.

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  30. That is a great post and I loved your photos. Thanks for taking us along.

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  31. what a lovely lodge in a beautiful spot. thanks for sharing.

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  32. what a wonderful world....!!!


    you may get to see the moon with venus and jupiter for a few days more now. keep trying.

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  33. Nice lodge, and like the way you framed it. I'd like being by the warm fire inside looking at the snow. Safe journey ahead.

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  34. Oh gosh, summer snow? I guess on higher ground it might be expected once in a while, but an interesting thought none the less.

    You got some wonderful pics there.

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  35. What a wonderful post to show us that you actually have snow there in Oz. And that in your summer!. Thanks for the comment.

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  36. The pictures were truly superb......

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  37. That's really amazing - beautiful pics! Perhaps our snow came to you because we have nothing today, warm came back...

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  38. What a lovely place! Although I love our sand here in the Sahel, I sometimes miss the snow, especially around Christmas time. Unfortunately, there is little snow in Scandinavia these days, even during Christmas! So I'm good with my sandy horizon, and enjoy a snowy view from other people!

    Warm greetings from West Africa,
    Esther

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  39. That looks really so cosy ! What a beautiful lodge.

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  40. Breathtakingly beautiful photos, really magical.

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  41. This is one, very cozily and warm lodge - very nice pictures indeed! Thank you for your visit and greetings from Croatia.

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  42. Cool! Australian snow! Love the fire photo, I can fall asleep looking a photo of a fire, let alone the real thing.

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  43. This series of photos is great. The snow gives the photos some special, mysterious feeling, just like from some fairy tale. And, with that beautiful lodge all the feeling is complete especially when you enter there and see that beautiful fire and its crackling.

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  44. Excellent post! The snow is amazing. I was at a ski lodge last weekend that didn't have snow--in the NORTHERN hemisphere. They were sweating bullets waiting for it. It was snowing when we left, but probably not enough.

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  45. Wonderful pictures. I enjoyed this post. It must have been really interesting with such a diverse group of people.

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  46. Wonderful post and photos. Sounds like a great visit.

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  47. Wow, just beautiful. The snow topped it off. Thsnks for sharing & have a good week.

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  48. Hi Arija, the names from the locations there always make me smile... and yes we heard about the snow fall you had.. it must have been sent to celebrate your return to the Mtn....certainly was beautiful...
    Your photographs always show the beauty of your amazing surroundings... the snow along side the glowing fire.. perfect... you must have had a wonderful reunion....

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  49. I was astounded when I heard on the news that it was snowing in the Vic Alps. At the same time, there was hail on the Nullabor that took nearly 24 hours to melt - and yet half way inbetween, where I was, it was 30C. Beautiful pictures though. Thanks for sharing

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  50. Beautiful lodge, especially in the snow. I guess sometimes you can go back and find things just as good as they were way back when. Thanks for visiting my post about the Hulks in Powell River. -- Margy

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  51. How beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

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  52. There was some arctic scenes I wasn´t excpecting from Australia. Those bent trees were just magnificent.

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  53. i love the snow photos but it look so cooooold! :) i imagine the place to be so beautiful.

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  54. Great snowy World.
    Beautiful shots and view.

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  55. lovely pics !!! so lucky of u to see such beauty :)

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  56. Arija, what a great reunion. the pictures are wonderful with the changed weather conditions from summer to winter in one day! I know there is "Snow in summer" but "Summer snow" is very special.
    I am glad for you to have met up with friends which you haven't seen for such a long time.
    I am always amazed how quickly one takes up again where one has left.
    Ich wuensche dir schoene Adventstage. Herzlichst T.

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  57. I'm glad you pointed it out to me! What a great time to pick a summer getaway!

    Cheers!

    Sunshine Coast Daily - Australia

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