Road the the snow reopens

A snowboard at the ready at Mt Mawson this morning.

THE road to the snow at Mt Field National Park is open again after being closed for most of the week to allow for snow, ice and tree-fall damage to be repaired.

The Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service reports that the Lake Dobson Rd is once again open to four-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles with chains. Low-clearance AWDs may still be unable to use the road.

"Conditions in the alpine areas are icy, so be extra careful. The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting ripper conditions for Saturday and more snow (with wind and rain) coming on Sunday," PWS reports on its Facebook page.

Advice for anyone visiting this weekend is that rangers will be controlling access to the road, which leads up to the Mt Mawson skifield. For road access updates call the Mt Field Visitor Centre on 6288 1149, check the Tasmania Police Community Alerts or keep an eye on Facebook. All facilities at the base of the mountain are open.

The Southern Tasmanian Ski Association has reported a very successful opening weekend at the Mt Mawson Ski Field last weekend, with still sunny conditions and plenty of fresh deep snow after the winter storms of the previous week.

Writing on the Mt Mawson blog, STSA president Peter Davis said the Lake Dobson Rd was "pretty challenging, with snow and ice meaning that the road was only open to 4WDs fitted with chains."

"Nonetheless a good crowd of skiers and boarders made it to the skifield on both days, and there were also a large number of people out enjoying perfect backcountry conditions. A number of skiers put in a few runs on Rodway, and others were seen skiing the Golden Stairs," Mr Davis said.

"A big thanks go to the volunteers from the Oldina Ski Club and the Southern Tasmanian Ski Association who put in a huge effort to get the tows operational for visitors. The rope, poles and pulleys of both tows had been partially buried – in some cases under 2m of snow, and it took a team of more than 20 people almost five hours to excavate the tows and get them operational," he said.