Australian videographer, Jarryd Sinclair, had settled in for the 2020 winter at Falls Creek in Victoria when Covid numbers forced the state into a brutal lockdown and led to Vail Resorts shutting down both Falls Creek and Hotham in July.
The hope of reopen-ing by August never eventuated as the lockdown continued and Vail announced they would not be able to reopen that season. It was devastating news for the ski resort, local tourism operators and accommodation providers.
Then due to strict government restrictions to suppress the virus, Jarryd ended up “stuck” in the mountain village for the entire lockdown. So he did what he does best, he filmed, launching an emotive cinematic edit of his experience on YouTube this week (scroll down to watch).
“Within hours of the resort shutting down, there were car loads of people leaving the resort to get back home to their families,” says Jarryd of last winter.
“As Mount Beauty locals were restricted from coming up, I’d say there were only around 50 people in the village in total. At times, you could walk through the whole village and not see a single person.
“I think the best thing about being locked down at Falls Creek was that it made me realise just how special the place is. The three day period where we got 50+ cm’s of fresh snow was some of the best turns I have had in Australia.
“Although we had to hike, by the time we got back to the top of the summit, all your tracks had been filled in. Having unlimited fresh tracks all day was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Jarryd, who spent the season shooting marketing collateral for future resort use during his reduced hours and shooting for personal use in the others, ended up with a ton of unique footage he wanted to utilise.
“Being such a chaotic and unknown year, I think it’s nice to have a piece that I can reflect on in 20 years time and remember exactly how that felt,” says Jarryd.
You can check out Jarryd’s work via his website and Instagram.
