 It was the construction of the vast Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme from 1949 that really opened up the Snowy Mountains for large scale development of a ski industry and led to the establishment of Thredbo and Perisher as leading Australian resorts.The Construction of Guthega Dam brought skiers to the isolated Guthega district and a rope tow was installed there in 1957.The last establishment of a major skifield in New South Wales came with the development of Mount Blue Cow in the 1980s.