As Victoria plunges deeper into the snow season Jane Reddy reactivates her ski legs at Mount Hotham.

His name is Fluffy. Fluffy the snowman. And as the first point of contact at the entrance to the Alpine National Park and Mount Hotham he is a fine poster boy for the area.

"It was magical," he says of the snow-covered mountains and blue skies of the day just gone.

"You couldn't take a bad picture. On second thoughts, a picture wouldn't have done it justice. It's just a feeling that you have on a day like this."

It's a ray of hope after a five-hour car trip from Melbourne with two small children and questions on repeat from our four-year-old boy.

"Are we there yet?" (Sadly, no.)

"I can see snow. Is it Christmas? Do I get presents?" (Jesus, no.)

"Can I go to ski school?" (Yes!)

Skiing there

The priming of our son about Hotham's Big D Kids Snowzone, the place where children go to find their ski legs leaving parents free to rediscover theirs, has paid off.

I might also have promised a ride in a snow groomer if he could stick it out at ski school for a whole day.

The following morning, the boy is fitted and kitted with a snowsuit, boots, gloves, helmet, skis and a splash of determination to the point where he is unrecognisable to his own mother.

As I watch the mini Michelin men lumbering about it's my husband who finally tells me that the child who has just crashed down the slope is ours.

Perhaps it's the lanky dude handing out high-fives at the top of the magic carpet, a slow-moving conveyor belt, or maybe it's the lovely instructor who spurs the child on. He pauses, untwists his skis, stands up and does it again. And again.

Ski school may not be to every child's liking but if it is, take your leave. Be prepared for a phone call on the chairlift. If you hear your mobile ringing, that is. By the time I receive the "it's time" message our son has decided he's OK to get back on his skis and is now well into the afternoon session. The one-year-old, meanwhile, is happily ensconced at the light and friendly child-care centre with million-dollar views.

There is something bracing about ski resorts and it's not just sub-zero temperatures.

The energy of the young and the young-at-heart with a common interest is palpable. And as I head down the beginners' Sun Run the thrill is no different from the first time I was pushed off a slope in Sweden more than 20 years ago. The ski runs here cater to beginners (20 per cent), intermediate (40 per cent) and advanced (40 per cent) in a ski area of 320 hectares. A two-day lift, lesson and hire pass is $362 an adult until the end of the peak season on September 12. From September 13-28, when the season ends, it is $282. People over 65 ski for half price. This includes lessons and equipment hire. People over 70 and children under 5 ski free. For children between 3 and 6 years the MILO Mighty Mites day program runs from 9.30am to 3pm and includes lift use, lesson, lunch and equipment hire and costs $159. A half-day program costs $135. The cost for Kids Klub for children aged between 7 and 14 years is the same. Private lessons can be arranged for skiers and riders of all ages from two years up.

For the cross-country skier Hotham and Dinner Plain have more than 35 kilometres of trails. Some start from Hotham Village, or you can take the free shuttle bus to Wire Plain, the starting point for most trails.

Sunset there

Later that day, making good on the promise of a ride on a snow groomer, we head to the summit in a heated cabin for the sunset tour. The night before, at 1861 metres, Mount Buffalo, Mount Stirling and Mount Feathertop could be seen as part of the magnificent vista. Tonight, small children are kept close as visibility is poor.

No one is quite sure where the sun is setting. But the snow is deep and soft, the company is good and the sparkling wine and beer is nicely chilled, of course. The cost is $35 per adult and $15 for those under 18. The tour takes up to eight people.

Eating there

We have drinks at Swindlers Bar and Bistro (phone 5759 3436) alongside young things enjoying pizza and pasta before heading to Zirky's Restaurant (phone 5759 3518) for Andrew Blake's gremolata-crumbed Tasmanian Pacific oysters with chilli-pickled lettuce and ginger sauce, chermoula rack of lamb with a tomato and goat's cheese tart and a crayfish laksa with teardrop rice noodles happily modified by the kitchen for the vegetarian. Delicious.

For those with time and energy there are more than 20 restaurants, bars and nightclubs to choose from.

Staying there

There are more than 7000 beds in myriad lodges, chalets and apartments at Hotham and Dinner Plain village. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at Schnapps is spacious and modern with a view across Swindler's Valley. Importantly it is close to the action with a short walk to Hotham Central for ski hire and a 10-minute bus trip to the Big D Kids Snowzone. For motel-style accommodation, Zirky's lodge rooms have been recently renovated. The Gravbrot Ski Club in Davenport Village has a chef while luxury chalets at Hotham Heights have up to five bedrooms with room for 12 people.

Relaxing there

At the Onsen Retreat and Spa in Dinner Plain a potion containing seaweed is being painted on my face. The therapist, bless her, speaks of fine lines and dehydrated, dull skin in such a way that I almost believe she's not talking about me.

With eye patches to block the distracting view of twisted gums covered in snow I couldn't care a fig about what is being applied. It feels smooth, smells edible and probably is. I drift off to the sounds of science as she talks of the chemical reactions taking place on my face. I hear "activation", "deactivation" and then nothing... Contact Onsen Retreat and Spa (phone 5150 8880 or see http://www.onsen.com.au) and the White Spa Mountain Retreat in Hotham (phone 5759 4488 or see whitespahotham.com.au). The therapist wakes me in time to catch the next bus to the Big D where, this time, I correctly identify my child coming down the mountain on his maiden chairlift ride. He alights and we take the weary boy, who is only just standing, off his skis. Let's hope this sticks so that one day he will be able to give me a hand with mine.

Child care there

Hotham Day Care Centre (phone 5759 4418 or email daycare@hotham.com.au) is located at the Big D.

The centre is open to children between the ages of 3 months and 5 years. A day session costs $94. A half-day session costs $69.

Alpine Babysitting has daytime and evening in-home care at Hotham and Dinner Plain from newborns to 16 years. See alpinebabysitting.com.au.

Other activities

For the tweens and teens: There is supervised night skiing, movies and games at Kids Snowzone and Hotham Central. The cost is $25 for the night skiing, $10 for the games and movies are free.

Night skiing: For those who have still not had enough by the time the sun sets you can ski around the Big D under lights, on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 6.30pm to 9.30pm. The cost is $7.

Dog-sled tours: Let a team of husky dogs guide you around Dinner Plain. The cost is $95 a person and $65 a child. Phone 0418 230 982.

Snowshoe tours: See the alps and get a workout. There's an introductory 11/2-hour tour or half-day and full-day back-country tours. The cost is from $30.

Getting there

By car: Mount Hotham is 357 kilometres from Melbourne. Take the Hume Highway to Wangaratta then the Great Alpine Road direct to Mount Hotham, or the Snow Road via Milawa and Oxley to Myrtleford and Hotham. Alternatively take the Princes Highway to Bairnsdale, then the Great Alpine Road direct to Mount Hotham. Chains are compulsory.

By bus: Trekset's Snowball Express departs from Southern Cross Station daily. Phone 1300 656 546 or see http://www.snowballexpress.com.au.

By plane: Regional Express flies direct from Melbourne to Albury. See www.rex.com.au.

Hotham Airport is 20 kilometres from Hotham and 10 kilometres from Dinner Plain for chartered planes and private operators.

Entry costs

A resort entry pass is $32 a day per car and $320 a season.

Phone Mount Hotham Skiing Company (5759 4444) or see www.hotham.com.au. For accommodation phone 1800 468 426.

Jane Reddy visited as a guest of the Mount Hotham Skiing Company.

LOCAL'S VIEW

JO HUDSON arrived at Mount Hotham in 2003, intending to stay for just one ski season.

Six years later she is a permanent resident of Dinner Plain and the manager of the busy Hotham Day Care Centre, which is open during winter.

During the summer Hudson and her fiance Paul Englisch manage a lodge in Dinner Plain that caters to the many bushwalkers in the area.

Hudson says she has the best of both worlds.

"I'm quite a social person but I love country life," she says.

"During summer here you get the country feel at Dinner Plain and over the ski season it is just like the city when the area comes to life."

Hudson believes the secret to a happy life on the mountain is to be adaptable - and that extends to her varied places of employment.

When she's not looking after children she might be found waitressing at a cafe, working in reception at a spa or matching carers to clients at her babysitting business.

She says permanent residents on average spend about three to four weeks before having to "go off the hill" for a short change of scenery.

For Hudson it's time with her horses on a property at nearby Cobungra or a bit of shopping in the city.

But she sees herself as a long-term resident in a place that has captured her attention.

"I've travelled through Europe, Canada and Australia and I never feel as comfortable anywhere as I do here."