For the past two years, Wilson & Dorset has partnered with Range Rover for its Alpine Residency at Thredbo, bringing our sheepskin collection to the resort and its winter experiences.
This year, Ben, the Wilson in Wilson & Dorset, joined the Residency to experience it firsthand. From first tracks and mountain-top dinners to a climb up Mt Kosciuszko, he discovered that beneath the polish of an Australian ski experience, the same things we know and love about the mountains remain: wild landscapes, good company and the magic of human connection.
Mornings that mattered as much as the main event
Each morning kicked off with a casual breakfast at The Residency. Some of the best conversations of the trip happened right there over coffee and Nel Robinson's cooking. Between the breakfasts and the aprés sessions, I enjoyed those relaxed, in-between moments as I did from any of the headline events. The polish is obvious with a takeover like this, but it's the small, easy moments that make people stick around and talk.
First Tracks, sunrise at the top of Thredbo
On Friday I joined the First Tracks Club, a private snowcat up to Eagle's Nest to catch the sunrise, breakfast on the mountain, then exclusive access to the Basin while the rest of Thredbo was still waking up. We had the chairlift and the terrain entirely to ourselves which made for fast laps with the Range Rover crew. No wind, a clean sunrise, and that particular quiet you only get before anyone else has skied it.
Supper Club at Kareela Hutte
The following evening, guests boarded a sheepskin-lined snowcat up to Kareela Hutte for a private five-course dinner from Nel Robinson, the room styled by Steve Cordony in deep plum tones, velvet tablecloths and our sheepskin seat covers. I was seated with Steve Cordony himself, Penny, Range Rover's Managing Director, and a lovely couple, David and Fiona, who'd recently moved to Bowral and turned out to already be big fans of Wilson & Dorset.
The menu ran from leek and potato truffle soup through to mains of crab and lamb backstraps, followed by a take on Nel's Brit heritage: crumpets with burnt butter honey, finishing on a chocolate-dipped banana dessert, matched with generous pours of Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart and Dom Pérignon courtesy of Range Rover's partnership with Moët Hennessy. One of the best-hosted evenings I've had at any brand event, not least because Chef Nel is such an extraordinary host.
Standing on the roof of Australia
The real highlight came on my last day. After wrapping up First Tracks with the Range Rover crew, I skinned out and hiked up Mt Kosciuszko, starting with taking in the 6:30am sunrise and first tracks on the mountain, and not getting back into Thredbo Village until 4pm. Worth every moment including earning my turns out in Thredbo backcountry. A blue-bird day, not a breath of wind, standing on the highest point of the Australian continent followed by dropping down an untracked pitch off the southwest ridge. The relatively steep pitch was so good I boot packed straight back up the face for another lap which had both the lungs and the legs burning. Back on top, I had the mountain to myself and took one of those moments to pause, sit back in the snow and take everything in.
The only regret was not having bought a Wilson & Dorset sheepskin to park up on while I enjoyed the sunshine and vista. Australia may not have the Southern Alps, however, it does have some stunning Alpine terrain and scenery.
A touch of home on the mountain
One moment stuck with me: up at The Chalet, seeing the reaction of guests settling back into deck chairs and an Ice Seat draped in our sheepskin, enjoying champagne in the sunshine as the DJ played. Seeing our sheepskin woven into a Range Rover experience at this level, on the mountain, was a genuinely proud moment. I'm a Wānaka boy through and through, alpine landscapes and sheepskin have been part of my life since I could walk, however, seeing the guests enjoy our product and that universal reaction to experiencing the product really sums up why we are in business.
The takeaway
What struck me most was how deliberately Range Rover built in space for real connection, not just the big-ticket moments like First Tracks and Supper Club, but the everyday stuff: breakfast at The Residency, après by the fire, the chairlift up the mountain. Hard balance to get right, and the team pulled it off. A genuinely epic few days, on and off the mountain, enjoyed with some great people.
