Established in Vermont, USA, in the early 70′s, Burton is made by snowboarders, for snowboarders, so their snowboards, clothing and accessories are the very best quality, completely functional and fashionable.

Burton make a great range of Burton snowboards and related snowboard apparel, with their ranges of Burton menswear and women’s clothing including jackets, snowboard pants, gloves, hats & beanies, layering, bags and other accessories.

They offer snowboards, snowboard boots, bindings, binding accessories and all the tools and tuning equipment you need to keep your snowboard in tip top shape. Burton also make a number of different snowboard clothing ranges for men, women and kids to cater for all capabilities, sizes and requirements.

In menswear, Burton offer the Burton, AK, RONIN and The White Collection ranges and in women’s clothing, they offer the Burton, B by Burton, AK and The White Collection ranges. Kids are also catered for, with clothing including jackets, pants, one pieces (all in one) and vests.

Burton make 3 different types of snowboards to suit all kinds of riding styles; the Freeride, perfect to keep your legs fresh in powder conditions, the All-Mountain Freestyle, which is a great all rounder snowboard for different terrains including park, pipe, rails, trees and groomed runs, and the Park, which provides excellent performance for jumps, rails, cans etc. They make 44 different men’s snowboards, 16 women’s and 6 kids snowboards, and all are offered in a variety of sizes, to suit all builds.

If you want a custom snowboard, choose the Series 13, and the Burton designers will work with you to create your ultimate snowboard, complete with your own photos, art or graphics.

Amazon sellers offer great deals on a huge range of Burton snowboards and gear; visit now for discount Burton snowboards, clothing and accessories.

Conditions in Australia rarely fall below -5°C (even with wind chill), so your ski clothing doesn’t need to be rated much below this. In fact, you will probably find that you might be a bit hot in your northern hemisphere ski clothing, particularly on sunny days!

You need to ensure that your ski or snowboard clothing and equipment is comfortable, waterproof and doesn’t restrict your movement. The snow in Australia can be quite wet, so it is very important to have waterproof clothing.

If you are snowboarding or skiing, you will need waterproof snowboard pants and snowboard jacket with a t-shirt underneath (or if you get cold a long sleeve shirt under the t-shirt). You will also need a scarf or neck warmer, waterproof gloves (mitten style is probably better for snowboarding), thick comfortable socks, beanie and snowboard goggles.

If you have little kids, then bib and brace or all in one style ski clothing is probably better, as this will stop them from collecting snow under their jacket when they fall over.

A helmet is a very good idea for Australian ski conditions regardless of your ski and snowboarding experience, particularly as the snow can turn quite icy in patches and there are quite a few rocks (large boulders and smaller rocks) on the ski fields.

Regardless of whether or not you hire or have your own equipment, it is very important that you have well fitting ski or snowboard boots, bindings and skis or snowboard. If your ski or snowboard equipment doesn’t fit correctly, then you will have a very uncomfortable holiday.

Some of the best brands on offer in Australia include Burton (for Burton ski/snowboard jackets and pants, gloves, clothing, boards, boots and bindings and other equipment), Rossignol (for Rossignol skis, race skis, ski boots and bindings, ski jackets and other ski clothing), Fischer (for Fischer skis, race skis and ski boots), Head (for head skis and head ski boots and other ski equipment) and Atomic (for Atomic skis, race skis, ski boots and bindings).

The best time to pick up discounted ski clothing and ski equipment is at the end of the ski season, which, in Australia is around about October. Generally discounts on ski jackets, ski pants, ski clothing, snowboards and skis are quite generous, with some stores offering up to 50% off during ski sales.

Amazon.com offers great discounts on Burton, Rossignol, Fischer, Head and Atomic, and is a safe and easy way to buy online.

All of the resorts and many other independent operators offer ski, snowboard and gear hiring options, and provide equipment to suit beginners, right through to advanced skiers and snowboarders.

Some of the fitting queues can be quite long during the winter season, so some operators (such as Rebel Sport) offer fitting in the major capital cities; meaning you can get fitted before you go, and then simply pick up your gear when you get there.

You can, of course, choose to take your own gear if you have it, but be mindful of additional/oversize baggage charges if you are traveling via plane or coach.

Most of the resorts offer numerous dining and bar/pub options, although be prepared to put your hands in your wallet, especially as the operators try to make their money over the (very) short ski season to keep them going through the summer. A lot of the food can be quite unhealthy (chips, pizza, nachos etc), however you will probably find you burn it off with all of the skiing or snowboarding.

Most of the resorts have their own supermarkets, so if you are on a budget, it might be cheaper to buy food and make your own sandwiches to take with you, although again, expect food prices to be high and limited.

If you are interested in a higher standard of food, then most of the resorts have some excellent gourmet dining options, although make sure you book well in advance, as most restaurants tend to be very busy during the ski season.

Accommodation in the major ski resorts is plentiful, ranging from backpacker to luxury houses and chalets, although given the length of the ski season (only 4 months), can be quite expensive. For those wanting to ski at Thredbo or Perisher, Jindabyne offers a great range of (generally cheaper) accommodation options, catering for families to couples and large groups.

On snow accommodation (ski in, ski out) is offered in all of the major resorts, however it is generally much more expensive than accommodation off mountain. Thredbo, Mt Hotham, Mt Buller and Falls Creek all have a European alpine village feel, with on snow accommodation surrounding the mail street shops and restaurants. Perisher has less of a village feel to it, and has been trying to obtain rights to redevelop the accommodation and village at the base of the mountain, however this has yet to be approved by the NSW government.

If you are prepared to rough it, then there is a camp ground in Jindabyne with camp sites, powered sites and cabins (Discovery Holiday Park – http://www.discoveryholidayparks.com.au/nsw/snowy_mountains/jindabyne) and one in Saw Pit Creek (Kosciusko Mountain Retreat – http://www.kositreat.com.au/) located just inside the Kosciusko National Park, approximately 15-20 minutes drive from the ski fields.

There are a number of websites (ski.com.au, lastminute.com.au and gostay.com.au etc) and operators that offer online accommodation bookings, however you may find it less expensive and less time consuming to purchase an all inclusive ski resort package (including travel, accommodation, lift passes, ski hire etc) than booking accommodation separately.