The Perisher XC Centre Trails and Conditions Report
Sun, Jul 19th, 2026 8:20 pm

Despite the warm temperatures the trails are holding up well.  The 3.5km was in excellent shape for the NSW Distance Championships and Arnold has done a few laps with the Ginzu to try and keep the surface more forgiving.  Despite our best efforts and the many hours of volunteer shovelling at the weekend the return legs of the 2.5 and 3.5km are both quite sparce in places so should be navigated with care.  Similarly the outward leg of the 2.5km is in good shape but once you reach the plateau you will need to pick your line.  The Sprint Loop and Valhalla remain in good shape for practise. 

We have also started what we expect to be a 2 day project to try and get the 7.5km up and running - its likely to be a work in progress tomorrow but worth an explore - I went round it today and there are some early bushy patches but thereafter the many previous visitors have created a form of groomed trail that is very pleasant to follow in this weather.

As with today early skiers should expect fast hard surfaces which will likely last well into the afternoon before the higher temperatures and sunshine soften conditions.

The 5km has some good stretches of snow cover once the 7.5km has rejoined but the uphill stage from the Watertank link up to that junction has little to no snow to work with.  We have had reports from people who have been round the 10km that there is good cover in most places - Touring Skis remain a good choice if you were to venture out that way.  If you don't mind hopping the occasional bush or grass cover then I had a very enjoyable foray around Possum Loop, following the pink pole markers - unless you are exceptional on cross country skis then touring skis would be an essential.  As ever we are making the most of what we have got but there is vegetation, rocks and water at points on all the trails so please ski with caution.

The forecast for the next two weeks is disappointing light on any snow so we will be reviewing the events for next weekend and the following XC Ski Week and keep you updated so you can plan accordingly.  At the moment we need some form of miracle to have enough cover to run safe and competitive senior races, although we will be trying to get some form of course for the Paddy Pallin Junior event next Sunday at 11:00am so cross everything we get a much needed top-up.