A grim new photo from Mt Buller has captured the brutal reality facing Australia’s snow season, with the popular Victorian resort reduced to a single thin strip of man-made snow as unusually warm weather grips the alpine region.Images taken on Sunday show the mountain almost completely bare, with only one narrow ski run open and surrounded by grass and mud.The bleak scenes have sparked criticism online, with some branding it the “saddest snowfield” they had ever seen, while others questioned why resorts were still charging hundreds of dollars for lift tickets despite the lack of coverage.“Saddest ever,” one commenter wrote beneath the images.Another added: “You still charging full price tickets for this?”Mt Buller is currently the only Victorian alpine resort offering skiing and snowboarding, but conditions remain extremely limited.According to independent snow reporter Mark ‘@he_loves_adventure’, Bourke Street is currently the only skiable area on the mountain, relying entirely on 30-50cm of man-made snow.“While the man made coverage on Bourke Street wasn’t that wide, it was enough & there was hardly anyone around,” he wrote in a condition report posted on Sunday.“If I had a friend I wanted to teach, now isn’t such a bad time.”Despite the grim outlook, Matt urged skiers not to write off the season just yet.“I’m actually feeling really grateful that we even have the opportunity to ski,” he wrote.“I’m definitely picking up on a lot of negativity on social media & I think it’s really important to remember that we are only at the start of June.”Snow forecaster Pete Taylor from Snowatch told ABC News the season had gotten off to an unusually poor start, with warm overnight temperatures crippling snow-making efforts across both Victoria and NSW.“It’s been unseasonably warm over the last month, really,” Mr Taylor said.“Unfortunately, the resorts haven’t been able to make much snow, which is what they rely on in June primarily.“So it’s been a very slow start to the season.”Data from Snowatch shows natural snow depths across almost all Australian ski resorts are currently sitting at zero, with Mt Buller the only resort reporting any measurable cover thanks to artificial snow production.Temperatures across the alpine regions have remained above freezing, with no significant snowfall recorded in recent weeks.The short-term outlook also remains bleak.Forecasts predict less than 6cm of snowfall across all Australian resorts over the next five to 10 days, though Victoria could receive slightly better falls later in the month.“We do have some snow coming probably later on Sunday and early next week, but it’s only light,” Mr Taylor said.“So it’s not really going to get enough lifts running at the moment.”The forecaster warned Australians may need to wait until July before decent skiing conditions arrive.“We’re probably going to have to wait until maybe later in the first week of July until we get something a bit more substantial,” he said.The disappointing start comes despite Aussies already forking out thousands for lift passes and accommodation.At Mt Buller, adult day lift tickets currently range from $121 to $209, while a full season pass costs $1649.Meanwhile, Thredbo adult day passes can cost up to $259, while Perisher’s Epic Australia Pass costs $1435 for unlimited access.The 2026 Australian snow season officially began on June 6.While the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a warmer-than-average winter across much of the country, Mr Taylor said snow lovers shouldn’t give up hope entirely.“We only really need one or two decent systems coming through where we get a nice dump that can really get things going,” he said.“That usually happens from about the second and third week in July and things really pick up in August.”Read related topics:Weather