Perisher Valley

Postcode: 2624

Perisher Valley is a ski resort village in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy River Shire. It is primarily a winter only resort village, although all-year-round accommodation is available. It is within the Kosciuszko National Park, and is administered by The New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). Access to the Valley is via the Skitube underground railway, or by road. There is an access fee payable to the Park's Service, and motor vehicles are not permitted to stay overnight in the winter months.

In winter, the population is approximately 2,500 guests.

Perisher Valley is one of four villages making up the Perisher Blue ski resort. It is 1,720 metres above sea level.

In the area of Mount Kosciusko there were a total of 19 camps including ones at Island Bend, Crackenback, Smiggin Holes, Guthega, Spencers Creek and Perisher. In the years after the completion of work the roads into this area drew tourists and skiers so that now the old campsites of Perisher, Guthega and Smiggin Holes as well as Charlottes Pass and Mount Blue Cow have become the centre of Snowy Mountains skiing. All these sites are located above the snowline and consequently in winter they attract thousands of people both from Australia and from overseas.

At the heart of this complex of snowfields is Perisher Valley - made famous in recent times by the fact that Kerry Packer, Australia's richest person, owns a lodge and has a major interest in the ski lifts.

It has been claimed that the Perisher valley was named by James Spencer, who had settled in the area in the 1840s, when he was caught in a storm. His comment 'What a perisher' is probably apocryphal but it is a reasonable account of both the weather and the location. The first ski lodges in the valley opened in 1951 and by 1957 there were a number of ski clubs operating. Since then it has continued to grow so that today it is widely regarded as the premier ski spot in the Snowy Mountains. Unlike Thredbo it is not a 12 months of the year resort and looks a little like a ghost town during the summer months.

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