The Sydney Ski Club was established in May 1937 by a group of skiing members of the Millions Club in Sydney, and was subsequently incorporated in April 1959 as a company limited by guarantee. The Club celebrated its 60th anniversary in 1997. In the early years of the Club, there was no private accommodation in the mountains available to skiers, so Club members organised regular Club weeks at The Chalet (Charlottes Pass) and other similar places.

With the opening up of Perisher Valley in the 1950's, the Club's members resolved to build their own lodge in the mountains and, in 1954, obtained the lease of a site near the North Perisher Rope Tow which was, at that time, the only lift and the focus of skiing in the valley.

In 1955, the Club built its first lodge in Perisher Valley; this contained 12 beds on the site now occupied by the present lodge. It was organised on a self-help basis with members providing their own food, linen, etc., and members were responsible for the cleaning of the lodge on their departure. The lodge was designed by one of our Club members, Frank Thorpe.

The original lodge was the seventh lodge built in Perisher Valley. In order to build the lodge, funds were obtained by the sale of Lodge Memberships (also known as debentures) which were sold to Club members. These debentures carried with them priority booking rights and were transferable between family members. The debentures were repurchased and cancelled by the Club in 1997.

In 1958, the Club decided to obtain land at the then new resort in Thredbo and a large block near the floor of the valley was obtained after an earlier club had been unable to build on the site within the time required. The Sydney Ski Club was then required to commence building within 12 months and, as the Club had not long previously built at Perisher Valley, funds for the development of the site were scarce and, again, money was raised by issuing Lodge Memberships.

The 12 bed lodge, designed by Club member Jim Anderson, was completed in 1961 and, in 1974, a self-contained four bed annex designed principally for weekend accommodation, was added. Like the Perisher Lodge, it was organised on a completely self-help basis with members supplying their own food and linen and being required to look after themselves and the lodge.

In 1962,the Perisher Lodge was destroyed by fire, believed to have started from an electrical fault in the drying room. All that remained were the stone foundations and the wood shed, which also housed the generator. In 1963, the second lodge was built on the same site, incorporating the original stonework. Frank Thorpe also designed this lodge.

By 1986, the Thredbo Lodge had begun to show its age which, together with the need to make significant changes because of fire regulations and other Council ordinances, necessitated the building of a new lodge. This also provided the Club with the opportunity of building a larger lodge and increasing the number of beds. At the end of the 1987 season, the Thredbo Lodge was demolished and rebuilt during the summer and opened in May 1988. Another of our Club members, David Jackson, was responsible for design.

For similar reasons, the Perisher Lodge also required major renovations to comply with fire and health regulations, standard bedroom size, etc., and was substantially renovated at the end of the 1996 season, opening in June 1997. The architect for these renovations was again a Club member, John Stokes.

The Club has remained at a membership level of around 450 members. There are categories for skiing members, juniors, non-skiing and a small number of honorary life members to whom this honour has been given in recognition of exceptional service to the Club.

The Club is constituted as a company limited by guarantee and is a non-profit organisation operating in the interests of its members, with the liability of the members under the Memorandum and Articles of Association being limited to $20.00 each in the event of a shortfall on winding up.

A Board of Directors administers the Club and is empowered to make rules from time to time, both as to the organisation and the running of the Club. The Club has an Annual General Meeting for the transaction of Club business and the election of the Board of Directors comprising a President, three Vice Presidents, an Honorary Treasurer, an Honorary Secretary and up to six Directors in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association. That elected Board administers the Club throughout the year with the assistance of a part-time professional Company Secretary. Membership of the Board is, of course, open to all members.

As the Club is a non-profit organisation, the assets and income of the Club can only be applied to the purposes of the Club and, in the event of the Club ever winding up for any reason, the assets must be transferred to another similar organisation. The Constitution of the Club prohibits the payment of dividends to members. An Annual Report is published for members, together with newsletters as the occasion demands.

The Club has a social calendar ranging from regular gatherings such as a summer party and a dinner associated with the Annual General Meeting, to occasional golf weekends, ski races and junior members' events. These functions are held to allow members to stay in contact with each other in Sydney, and to provide contacts within the Club.

Membership of the Sydney Ski Club provides guaranteed private accommodation in the snowfields well into this new century at prices cheaper than comparable commercial accommodation. The Club's policy of not going into significant debt means that our accommodation charges are not governed by interest rates and can be kept far lower than commercial rates.

Both the Club's lodges are available for booking during the summer months at lower rates than in peak season and, as summer activities are being increasingly catered for by the resorts, particularly Thredbo, this should prove attractive to more and more members.

Sydney Ski Club is a most fortunate club having two lodges, one at each major resort in New South Wales, and is able to offer accommodation for a total of 50 people (38 beds at Thredbo, 12 beds at Perisher). Although there are 450 Club members, there are at any time, of course, a considerable number who do not choose to use the Club's facilities. Accordingly, over a 10 week season, there is ample accommodation for all members and most get the week(s) of their choice.

Both Club's lodges are extremely well located. Perisher enjoys privacy and good views while being extremely close to, but hidden from, uphill transport (Pretty Valley Chairlift and the Interceptor Chairlift which provides access to the Blue Cow and Guthega resorts). The Thredbo Lodge is in a prime position on the floor of the valley, close to all amenities. It has parking space available for 16 cars and is only a very short walk from the lift terminals.

The present lodge at Perisher consists of the original 1955 stonework and the ground floor of the 1963 lodge with the top floor (bedrooms, bathrooms and living/dining area) completely rebuilt in 1997. The lease for Perisher has recently been renegotiated and is current to 2025. It contains five two-bedrooms and two single bedrooms to house a total of 12 persons and is organised on a totally self-help basis.

The Club does not supply food and members must bring their own food, etc. Bed linen, tea towels, hand towels and bath mats are provided. Bath towels are not provided. The care and cleaning of the lodge is the responsibility of the members at the end of their stay, and the Club does supply basic cleaning materials for the care of the building. Change-overs between parties are effected on Saturday mornings, and outgoing parties are expected to leave the lodge clean and secure for the incoming party.

The Perisher Lodge is only accessible during the winter by over-snow transport and members must make their own arrangements for the transport of themselves and their luggage to the Lodge. There are various minor rules as to how the lodge should be used and protected, and these are notified to members both by letter when bookings are confirmed as well as by information within the lodge.

Because of the small size and low cost structures of the Club, much of the maintenance is done by members on a voluntary basis during the summer season and members in occupation are expected to do necessary repairs and maintenance themselves, as far as possible, to keep costs to a minimum.

A communal games room on the top floor is available to all members staying in the lodge. On the middle floor, there are two apartments. "Snowgums" has four twin bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, kitchen, lounge/dining room. "Meritts" has three twin bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, and dining/living room. Both have wood burning combustion stoves and access to a balcony with a barbecue and are completely self-contained.

Thredbo Lodge location plan

The ground floor accommodation consists of the "Chalet" which is a self-contained two twin bedroom apartment, and the caretaker's unit. Also on the ground floor is a spa, sauna, small bathroom, a ski room, drying room, laundry and workshop.

The new lodge has been laid out so as to offer a variety of types of accommodation to appeal to all skiers within the Club. Thus, there is the traditional "club" type of accommodation with shared facilities for a large group, much the same as the original 12 bed lodge, and then a number of self-contained units of varying sizes to allow members to conveniently arrange the size of their party.

The caretaker is not a manager, but performs minor maintenance work and distributes keys to members on arrival.

The lodge stands between Diggings Terrace and Friday Drive, and there are a set number of designated parking bays for each of the units and two loading bays for the loading and unloading of supplies.

As Thredbo continues to expand, and with the Ski Tube Terminal a few miles down the Valley, the Thredbo Lodge will be providing quality accommodation for skiers intending to ski both at Thredbo and at Perisher/Blue Cow for more than 50 years to come.