Businesses in the Snowy Mountains are celebrating the return of Selwyn Snow Resort, reopening its doors next weekend for the first time since the Black Summer bushfires.
The New South Wales ski resort based within Kosciuszko National Park has been on the road to recovery after its infrastructure was wiped out by the 2019-2020 bushfires.
COVID-19 delayed the rebuild, as well as processing a significant insurance claim and plans to reopen in 2022 were thwarted due to unprecedented early snowfall.
"We've waited a very long time for this so we're absolutely stoked to be back," Selwyn Snow Resort general manager Lucy Blyton-Gray said.
"We've had to rebuild from scratch."
Selwyn is based on the northern side of the mountain range, between Talbingo and Cooma, and is one of four ski resorts in the NSW Snowy Mountains alongside Charlotte Pass, Thredbo and Perisher.
The business has hired 100 workers to cover the season, with 30 staff staying on site and 70 staying in nearby towns like Adaminaby and Talbingo.
Ms Blyton-Gray said the reopening of international borders has allowed the company to hire overseas workers, but admitted it had been a challenge finding accommodation for everyone.
"It was tough, and it was time consuming," said Ms Blyton-Grey.
"Last year we would have really struggled to find workers but this year we were overflowing with staff."
Alan Jugovic, who runs an accommodation business at nearby Providence Portal, has been looking forward to Selwyn's return.
"We lost a lot of business but this year we hope to make it all back," Mr Jugovic said.
"This is a really big deal, especially for the north side of the mountains."
"The amount of tourism that comes through is significant and makes up for the whole year."
The calm before the storm
The town of Cooma, about 100 kilometres south-east of Selwyn, is considered to be the last stop for tourists before they decide whether to pick Selwyn or one of the other three resorts.
Owner of Murphy's Cafe Mark John-Natley said Selwyn's absence has had a major financial impact on local businesses and he was pleased to see its return.
However, he said finding staff was still proving difficult.
"The two years we've been without Selwyn over winter we do notice because it's not as busy," he said.
"Staff at the moment are very hard to come by. We're just hoping we can get through winter."
Gareth Rees, who co-owns Ski Co in Cooma, said staffing this year has been a lot easier than last, but he's always looking for more workers as the season progresses.
"Staff has been a problem in the past, but this year it's looking better," he said.
"We've had people overseas come back into the country."
In a bid to overcome the housing crisis, Mr Rees said he allowed his seasonal staff to live in a property he owned in the town.
"We kept finding staff and they couldn't find anywhere to stay, so they would go through to Jindabyne," he said.
"We thought the only way to fix the problem is to have accommodation for them."
The ski season is set to kick off on June 10, with the peak period coinciding with the July school holidays.
It will continue through until October, weather permitting.
