Myself and brunette pom are going up to Mt Buller for a week tomorrow.
We're staying in the resort. Any advice on how to keep the costs down - I've already been bankrupted by the hotel!
I am guessing you have a kid?
The Mrs and I share a single day lift pass and do snowboard/child minding shifts. Good thing with Vic resorts is that you generally stay close to the runs, so swapping shifts is quick and easy.
Apart from that, keep costs down by taking up XC skiing or a cheap sport like windsurfing 
Food and Booze! Those are the 2 essentials that hurt the most!
Even though the mountain charge to get you from your car via cab to your lodgings, it's worth throwing in a case or 2 of beer and whatever else you fancy.
There's a small supermarket at the bottom of Bourke St that stocks a pretty good range of food items and other stuff.
Don't buy a consecutive day lift pass until you've checked the weather outlook. There have been numerous days this season where the entire mountain closes due to wind hold..........No lifts at all!
The Abom offers a pretty decent feed for the $$$, with pleasant surroundings.
Kooroora is also a hot spot for well......everything after dark. Cattleman's is also a rated spot to have dinner and not too pricey.
If you don't have your own gear, sometimes it pays to hire off the mountain. Usually cheaper and you don't waste time once you're there fluffing around organising it, that goes for chains as well.
The snow is at it's peak right now, so you should have an awesome time.
Cheers
thanks guys.. no kids as yet so should be a bit cheaper. We've got our own gear so that should be simpler
We're taking a couple of big bags of food..
It looks to be cheaper to drive to Mansfield, bus to buller bus station and then taxi to our hotel. For two of us this works out at $104 on bus and $19 on taxi vs $35 entry, $70 on taxi and $63 on parking
We're there for six days... not sure if we're committed on the lift pass yet.
Take your own food and booze.
Lunch and dinner on the mountain is a killer.
Do yourself a favour next season and head over to NZ. It costs about the same as a week on Buller.
Or, hire a house down the mountain (Sawmill Setllement or Merijig). Turns out to be heaps cheaper.
Your right on about the carparking on the mountain. It's F***n stupid the prices they charge.
Oh and one more tip. Be careful of not having your ski gear flogged from the front of the pub. Teams go up there every year and nick ****. I've worked up there and seen it and even had our taboggin nicked in front of Abom. Bastards!
Save some money by not wiping out. I need to book another physio appointment. I don't think my knee will be the same again!
I'm interested to hear how much it works out costing for you because I've thought it was just too much.
I've been to Lake Mountain for Cross Country and that was cheap:
120km drive each way. $35 car entry, $30 ski hire, home in time for tea !
Cost me over $700 last weekend at Buller for me and my daughter to ski 2 days and that's with free accommodation at friend's apartment, fully self catered and byo, and ski hire only for me. Lucky wifey doesn't ski.
Oh for the days of a quick afternoon zip around the trails at Lake Mountain after uni when the only cost was petrol (before entry fees were introduced)
we're staying up the mountain. The hotel works out at $250 a night for the pair of us...
for this you expect something pretty good.. and it isn't. Seriously piss taking.
The snow is great but the hotel is seriously resting on its laurels.
I just saw skiing film "Children of Winter" on ONE,
I really want to go for proper skiing now!
especially with such a flat,wet weekend forecast
BawBaw: $64 lift pass, $52 for skis and clothes, $35 for car entry
$25 for chains
I reckon thats c. $150 each for 2 of us for a day trip + food & petrol
anything I've overlooked?
just got back. have posted a "review" of the hotel online...
Snow was awesome and light was great yesterday but hotel gouged us big time on price.
