If I had this season again I would have been in Portillo in mid-August when seven feet of snow dumped in two days; I would have chosen New Zealand in snowy July not wet August; I would have been pipe side when Shaun White won the Burton Open and I would have gone to bed early my first night in Falls Creek and not have a scar from stitches in my head thanks to rather vigorous moves on the dance floor from my disco partner. Hindsight is a wonderous thing.

You may not be able to send back that third bottle of wine or get up earlier on that powder day when you overslept, but there is still time to set the season record straight and get some boasting rights in this spring if you’re willing to give Mother Nature a go.

September is often the best time of the season when the slopes are less crowded and when those late season snow storms come in there are more fresh turns for those left behind. With a few weeks left of chairlifts turning it is too early to give up hope, the best day of the season may still be ahead of us. Some Kiwis say we scored it at Treble Cone yesterday with 25+ centimetres of the driest powder I have skied this southern season under a blue sky.

It took a while after an August that saw too much rain and too much sun but not enough snow. Miss Snow It All was camped out in Canterbury and Wanaka in the South Island of New Zealand waiting for the rain and wind storm clouds to part for well over a week before she could click back into some skis.

In weather cycles like these there is plenty of down time by the lodge fire to contemplate the 10 ‘must-do’s’ or ‘wish-I-hads’ before the season closes.

One night in Park City, Utah (before the drinking laws had changed) a friend suggested we go for a drink at midnight. I pointed out there was only an hour left of serving time to which he responded “a lot of damage can be done in an hour”.

The same can be said of the last four weeks of the season. Why stop skiing now? If there’s still snow there’s still hope to tick things off that snow check list.

Backcountry ski touring

There is something to be said for earning your turns with a good hike and some body sweat. Thredbo Outdoor Adventures guide alpine skiers out the back of Thredbo through the main range for full day trips.

Charlotte Pass offer backcountry half days, full days and steep ‘n’ deep days from the boundaries of their resort. At Perisher the guys at Wilderness Sports will have you and your skis on skins and guide you for a full day off-piste.

Avalanche and mountain skills

Avalanches have been big news this season for all the wrong reasons and the New Zealand Snow Safety Institute at Temple Basin in Arthur’s Pass has a seven-day multi-skill mountaineering course in both September and October.

Alpine Guides run both multi-day winter mountain skills and ski mountaineering courses throughout September in the Canterbury and Mt Cook regions for those wanting to improve their safety skills in the backcountry.

The Australian School of Mountaineering runs a Ski Mountaineering course from the 7th to the 11th of September. You must be at least an intermediate skier for this five-day off-piste adventure.

Heli skiing or boarding.

The rotor blades on helicopters are still turning for heli-skiing and boarding in September in New Zealand. If you’re short on cash but ready to take on the big mountain with a chopper for transport then try Heli Park near Christchurch for a controlled heli-ski experience. You choose how many runs you do and pay NZ$85 per run.

At the other end of the scale you could hire a private charter and take four friends for as many runs as they can get in a day. How much? NZ$1400 plus with Southern Lakes Heli including a swanky pants lunch.

Ski South America

When it snows in South America it really snows. Two metres in 48 hours is not uncommon and August 2009 delivered the goods to both Chile and Argentina. September skiing means longer days so you can sleep in after the midnight dinners that are standard in this part of the world.

Try Portillo in Chile for a one-stop lodge shop but be prepared to hike to the good stuff, it’s worth it. Las Lenas is the freeski centre of Argentina while further south Bariloche is a lakeside resort town that is home to a number of ski fields including Catedral.

Ski or snowboard with legends

The Winter Games, Burton Open and Stylewars may have put August on the ski-and-snowboard-legends map but there are still plenty of ‘big names’ floating about Australasia. Tanner Hall’s Armada skis are shooting their catalogue in Wanaka, New Zealand with the world’s best adventure photographer and founding member of Armada, Chris O’Connell pointing his lens at a host of elite athletes including his fellow company founder and man behind the philanthropical program ‘Alpine Initiatives’ JP Auclair.

The World Heli Challenge base camp is in Lake Hawea in NZ until September 12 so expect to see the likes of skiing icons Ingrid Backstrom and Mike Wilson, US snowboarder legend Andy Finch and Aussies Russ Henshaw and Charlie Timmins warming up their turns at Treble Cone and Cardrona before taking on the big mountain terrain for three days of heli competition.

The One-Hit Wonder series in Thredbo from September 14 to 18 will see the likes of snowboarder Robbie Walker and skier Charlie Timmins working their tricks for the camera off a Charles Beckinsale designed eighty foot jump. The results will be posted on the web for the public to vote on the best ‘one-hit wonder trick.’

If you had the season again what would you do? How do you like to spend your spring time on snow? Share your tips with a comment below.

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