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Falls Creek | |
---|---|
Location | Alpine National Park Australian Alps Victoria, Australia |
Nearest major city | Mount Beauty - 30 km (20 mi) Wodonga |
Coordinates | 36°51′54″S147°16′23″E / 36.865°S 147.273°E |
Owner | Alpine Resorts Victoria (ARV) |
Vertical | 280 m (919 ft) |
Top elevation | 1,780 m (5,840 ft) |
Base elevation | 1,500 m (4,921 ft) |
Skiable area | 450 ha (1,110 acres) |
Trails | 76+ - 17% beginner - 60% intermediate - 23% advanced |
Longest run | 3 km (1.9 mi), Wishing Well |
Lift system | 16 lifts |
Terrain parks | 4 |
Snowfall | 4 m (160 in) per year |
Snowmaking | ~30% of slopes have snowmaking capabilities |
Night skiing | Wed & Sat 6–9 pm |
Website | fallscreek.com.au |
The Falls Creek Alpine Resort is an alpine ski resort in the Hume region in northeastern Victoria, Australia. It is located in the Alpine National Park in the Victorian Alps, approximately 350 kilometres (220 miles) by road from Melbourne, with the nearest town being Mount Beauty, which is approximately 30 km (20 mi) away. The resort lies between an elevation of 1,500 and 1,830 m (4,921 and 6,004 ft) above sea level, [1] with the highest lifted point at 1,780 m (5,840 ft). Skiing is possible on the nearby peak of Mount McKay at 1,842 m (6,043 ft), accessed by snowcat from the resort.
The resort is an unincorporated area, directly administered by the government of Victoria, and surrounded by the Alpine Shire.
Falls Creek is beginner/intermediate friendly, with almost 80% of the resort dedicated to these types of skiers/snowboarders. However, Australia's notoriously fickle snow conditions ensure that snowmaking using the water from the nearby Rocky Valley Lake is sometimes, particularly early in the season, the main source of skiable snow. Consequently, like all Australian snowfields, Falls Creek's customer base is almost entirely domestic, however many international cross country skiers travel to Falls Creek for the Kangaroo Hoppet, Australia's Worldloppet event on the last Saturday of August and international snowboarders to Stylewars, The Australian Slopestyle Championships and Australia's highest sanctioned TTR World Tour event held in the first week of September.
The resort features 4500 accommodation beds, and consequently a large number of restaurants, bars and nightclubs to entertain guests at night. Some apartments are privately owned, but the resort's management requires that they must be available for hire when not occupied.
The resort also serves as a summer base to explore the national park surrounding the resort.
Falls Creek is accessible by the Bogong High Plains Road from Mount Beauty all year round, though like all of Australia's snow resorts snow chains must be carried during winter and fitted if directed. The road continues across the High Plains and descends to meet the Omeo Highway north of the hamlet of Anglers Rest, however the route from this side is closed during the snow season. [2]
In summer both routes are popular with cyclists, and various cycling events are held that involve climbing to the resort, including the popular SCODY 3 Peaks Challenge (recently renamed to Falls Creek Peaks Challenge).
Cross country
Lift Name [3] [4] | Lift Type | Manufacturer | Moving Capacity / Hour | Year Built | Speed | Ride Time | Lift Length | Elevation Climb |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eagle Express | 4 person chair, detachable | Leitner-Poma | 2400 people | 2018 | 5.1m/s | 2:50 mins | 800m | 191m |
Halley's Comet | 4 person chair, detachable | Doppelmayr | 2400 people | 1986 | 5.0m/s | 3:20 mins | 900m | 200m |
Summit | 4 person chair, fixed | Doppelmayr | 2400 people | 1992 | 2.0m/s | 4:40 mins | 587m | 187m |
International | 1 person poma, detachable | Poma | 1000 people | 1969 | 2.0m/s | 11:00 mins | 1216m | 278m |
Gully | 3 person chair, fixed | Poma | 1500 people | 1982 | 2.0m/s | 6:00 mins | 475m | 76m |
Drover's Dream | 4 person chair, fixed | Leitner-Poma | 2400 people | 2004 | 2.2m/s | 6:00 mins | 710m | 104m |
Towers | 4 person chair, fixed | Garaventa | 2400 people | 1999 | 2.0m/s | 5:50 mins | 634m | 136m |
Boardwalk | Conveyor lift | Sunkid | 1500 people | 2004 | 0.7m/s | 2:10 mins | 81m | - |
Mouse Trap | Conveyor lift with enclosure | Sunkid | 1500 people | 2006 | 0.7m/s | 3:30 mins | 114m | - |
Monkey Bar | 1 person platter, fixed | Doppelmayr | 792 people | 2006 | 2.0m/s | 2:30 mins | 271m | 33m |
Lakeside | 1 person poma, detachable | GMM | 1000 people | 1967 | 2.0m/s | 7:20 mins | 737m | 140m |
Scotts | 4 person chair, fixed | Doppelmayr | 2400 people | 1989 | 2.3m/s | 6:00 mins | 760m | 150m |
Ruined Castle | 4 person chair, fixed, with loading conveyor | Doppelmayr | 2600 people | 1995 | 2.0m/s | 6:00 mins | 651m | 150m |
The Tube | Conveyor lift | Sunkid | 1500 people | 2004 | 0.7m/s | - | - | - |
Pete's Train | Conveyor lift | Sunkid | 1500 people | 2018 | 0.7m/s | - | - | - |
Snowsports School | Conveyor lift | Sunkid | 1500 people | - | 0.7m/s | - | - | - |
After World War II, the Kiewa electrical scheme was started in the Kiewa River valley by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria. On land previously used only for summer cattle grazing in the natural alpine grasslands, the first ski lodge was built in 1948 by workers from the scheme. [5] The first lift, a rope tow, was built in 1951 and the first chairlift in Australia was constructed there in 1957. [5]
Falls Creek Post Office opened on 9 June 1958 (with telegraph and telephone facilities only until 1964). [6]
The high plains in the area were used for summer cattle grazing from 1851 until 2005, when the Government of Victoria did not renew grazing licences due to concerns about the cattle's impact on the fragile alpine environment. Some of the cattlemen's huts still survive and are a tourist attraction in summer. Mount Bogong, Victoria's highest mountain, is nearby. The nearest town to Falls Creek is Mount Beauty.
In 2019, Vail Resorts announced the acquisition of Falls Creek and Hotham for AU$174 million, and today they operate three of the largest ski resorts in Australia, including Perisher Ski Resort in New South Wales.
Falls Creek has an alpine warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) with short, cool summers and cold, very snowy winters.
On February 3 2023, Falls Creek reached a top of just 0.5 °C (32.9 °F). [7] Falls Creek registered the lowest temperature ever recorded in Victoria (along with Omeo in June 1965) at −11.7 °C (10.9 °F) on 3 July 1970. [8]
Climate data for Falls Creek (1990–2023); 1,765 m AMSL; 36.87° S, 147.28° E | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 29.7 (85.5) | 28.6 (83.5) | 25.3 (77.5) | 19.1 (66.4) | 16.1 (61.0) | 13.2 (55.8) | 9.8 (49.6) | 11.9 (53.4) | 16.2 (61.2) | 21.7 (71.1) | 25.3 (77.5) | 26.6 (79.9) | 29.7 (85.5) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 17.8 (64.0) | 17.1 (62.8) | 14.2 (57.6) | 9.8 (49.6) | 5.9 (42.6) | 2.8 (37.0) | 1.2 (34.2) | 1.9 (35.4) | 5.0 (41.0) | 9.1 (48.4) | 12.6 (54.7) | 15.1 (59.2) | 9.4 (48.9) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.4 (56.1) | 12.8 (55.0) | 10.2 (50.4) | 6.5 (43.7) | 3.2 (37.8) | 0.6 (33.1) | −0.9 (30.4) | −0.4 (31.3) | 2.1 (35.8) | 5.4 (41.7) | 8.5 (47.3) | 10.7 (51.3) | 6.0 (42.8) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 8.9 (48.0) | 8.5 (47.3) | 6.2 (43.2) | 3.2 (37.8) | 0.5 (32.9) | −1.6 (29.1) | −2.9 (26.8) | −2.7 (27.1) | −0.8 (30.6) | 1.6 (34.9) | 4.4 (39.9) | 6.3 (43.3) | 2.6 (36.7) |
Record low °C (°F) | −3.9 (25.0) | −3.9 (25.0) | −3.6 (25.5) | −6.9 (19.6) | −7.7 (18.1) | −8.6 (16.5) | −8.5 (16.7) | −9.6 (14.7) | −8.6 (16.5) | −7.0 (19.4) | −6.3 (20.7) | −4.8 (23.4) | −9.6 (14.7) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 114.5 (4.51) | 91.5 (3.60) | 107.1 (4.22) | 101.1 (3.98) | 103.8 (4.09) | 143.9 (5.67) | 96.2 (3.79) | 106.2 (4.18) | 119.9 (4.72) | 142.3 (5.60) | 134.3 (5.29) | 104.9 (4.13) | 1,366.6 (53.80) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 10.6 | 10.4 | 11.0 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 15.2 | 14.4 | 13.2 | 12.7 | 10.4 | 150.4 |
Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 66 | 68 | 71 | 78 | 85 | 91 | 92 | 90 | 87 | 74 | 69 | 66 | 78 |
Source: Bureau of Meteorology [9] |
In 2009, the Falls Creek resort plan proposed replacing the Gully triple chair with a gondola, having a capacity of 1800 passengers per hour and a speed of up to 6 metres per second. This proposal also made its appearance in the 2016 masterplan, but nothing has resulted as of yet. It is worth noting that a gondola this short would be considerably expensive, where it would be much more cost effective to replace a much longer lift.
In 2021, Falls Creek invested AU$1.88 million into snowmaking machines. These new TechnoAlpin guns were placed along Wombats Ramble, Main Street and at the base of Drovers Dream. These snow machines now accompany the older snowmaking technology along Ruined Castle and Main Street.
2022 saw unusually large snowfalls in June, resulting in an established snowpack before the start of the ski season. As a result of this, Falls Creek and many other resorts opened to visitors one week early, with a snow depth of over 75cm at beginning of June.
Source: [10]
The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera system. It makes up the northeastern half of the Australian Alps and contains Australia's five tallest peaks, all of which are above 2,100 m (6,890 ft), including the tallest Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches to a height of 2,228 m (7,310 ft) above sea level. The offshore Tasmanian highlands makes up the only other major alpine region present in the whole of Australia.
Skiing in Victoria, Australia takes place in the Australian Alps located in the State of Victoria during the southern hemisphere winter. Victoria is the State with the greatest number of ski resorts in Australia. The highest peak in Victoria is Mount Bogong at 1986m. The first ski tow was constructed near Mount Buffalo in 1938. Victoria has a number of well developed ski resorts including Mount Hotham, Falls Creek and Mount Buller. Cross country skiing is popular in such national parks as Mount Buffalo National Park and Alpine National Park.
Charlotte Pass is a snow resort and village in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The pass is in the Kosciuszko National Park where the Kosciuszko Road crosses Kangaroo Ridge. Charlotte Pass is the closest village to Mount Kosciuszko, the tallest mountain in Australia.
Mount Baw Baw is a mountain summit on the Baw-Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range, located in Victoria, Australia. The name is from the Woiwurrung language spoken by Eastern Kulin people. It is of uncertain meaning, but possibly signifies, echo, or ghost.
Kiewa River, a perennial river that is part of the Murray catchment within the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the Alpine bioregion, in the Australian state of Victoria.
Mount Bogong,, located in the Alpine National Park and part of the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, is the highest mountain in Victoria, Australia, at 1,986 metres (6,516 ft) above sea level.
The Victorian Alps, also known locally as the High Country, is a large mountain system in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria. Occupying the majority of eastern Victoria, it is the southwestern half of the Australian Alps, the tallest portion of the Great Dividing Range. The Yarra and Dandenong Ranges, both sources of rivers and drinking waters for Melbourne, are branches of the Victorian Alps.
Mount Beauty is a small town in north-eastern Victoria, Australia. The town lies alongside the Kiewa River, at the junction of the Kiewa Valley Highway and Bogong High Plains Road in the Alpine Shire local government area.
Perisher Valley, commonly called Perisher, is a valley formed below Mount Perisher, a mountain that is located in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia.
The Bogong High Plains, part of the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, are a section of plains located in the Alpine National Park in the Australian state of Victoria and are situated south of Mount Bogong.
The Rocky Valley Dam is located on the Bogong High Plains, near Falls Creek, Victoria, Australia, a winter ski resort. The dam is man-made and has a capacity of 28,000 megalitres and is situated at 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) above sea level. The Dam wall is traversable during both Winter months and Summer months.
Skiing in Australia takes place in the Australian Alps in the states of New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory as well as in the mountains of the island state Tasmania, during the Southern Hemisphere winter.
Perisher Ski Resort is the largest ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere. Located in the Australian Snowy Mountains, the resort is an amalgamation of four villages and their associated ski fields, covering approximately 12 square kilometres (5 sq mi), with the base elevation at 1,720 metres (5,640 ft) AHD, and the summit elevation of 2,054 metres (6,739 ft) at the top of Mount Perisher. 4.4 square kilometres (1.7 sq mi) of this area is covered by 240 snow guns, which are used to artificially supplement the natural snowfall. Perisher was acquired by Vail Resorts, United States on 30 March 2015 for a sum of approximately AU$177 million.
The Mount Buller Alpine Resort is a ski resort located on Mount Buller in Victoria, Australia.
The Big River, a perennial river of the North-East Murray catchment of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the East Gippsland and Alpine regions of Victoria, Australia. It flows from the northern slopes of Falls Creek in the Australian Alps, joining with the Cobungra River near Anglers Rest to form the Mitta Mitta River.
Skiing in New South Wales takes place in the high country of the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales during the Southern Hemisphere winter.
Skiing in Tasmania takes place in the high country of the state of Tasmania, Australia, during the Southern Hemisphere winter. Cross country skiing is possible within the Tasmanian Wilderness and two small downhill ski-fields have been developed at Ben Lomond and Mount Mawson.
Skiing in the Australian Capital Territory refers to snow skiing in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The highest mountain in the ACT is Bimberi Peak. Recreational skiing commenced with the formation of the Canberra Alpine Club in 1934. Since the 1930s, the ACT has had intermittent and limited alpine skiing facilities. Downhill ski facilities returned to the ACT at Corin Forest in 2016, after a two decade hiatus.
Mount Hotham Alpine Resort is an Australian alpine resort, is located in the Alpine region of Victoria. Set on the slopes of Mount Hotham, the ski resort comprises an alpine village, situated at an altitude of 1,750 metres (5,740 ft) AHD, making it the second highest resort village in Australia after Charlotte Pass village, in New South Wales.