Falls Creek Alpine Resort Explained

Falls Creek
Pushpin Map:Australia Victoria Alpine Shire
Coordinates:-36.865°N 147.273°W
Lat Degrees:36
Lat Minutes:59
Lat Seconds:0
Lat Direction:S
Long Degrees:147
Long Minutes:16
Long Seconds:0
Long Direction:E-->
Vertical:   280m (920feet)
Top Elevation:1780m (5,840feet)
Base Elevation:1500m (4,900feet)
Skiable Area:450ha
Number Trails:76+
- 17% beginner
- 60% intermediate
- 23% advanced
Longest Run:3km (02miles), Wishing Well
Liftsystem:16 lifts
Terrainparks:4
Snowmaking:~30% of slopes have snowmaking capabilities
Nightskiing:Wed & Sat 6–9 pm
Snowfall:4m (13feet) per year
External Link: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 350km (220miles) by road from Melbourne, with the nearest town being Mount Beauty, which is approximately 30km (20miles) away. The resort lies between an elevation of 1500and above sea level,[1] with the highest lifted point at 1780m (5,840feet). Skiing is possible on the nearby peak of Mount McKay at 1842m (6,043feet), 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.

Alpine resort

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).

Quick Statistics

In winter

Alpine

Cross country

Lift network

!Lift Name[3] [4] !Lift Type!Manufacturer!Moving Capacity / Hour!Year Built!Speed!Ride Time!Lift Length!Elevation Climb
Eagle Express4 person chair, detachableLeitner-Poma2400 people20185.1m/s2:50 mins800m191m
Halley's Comet4 person chair, detachableDoppelmayr2400 people19865.0m/s3:20 mins900m200m
Summit4 person chair, fixedDoppelmayr2400 people19922.0m/s4:40 mins587m187m
International 1 person poma, detachablePoma1000 people19692.0m/s11:00 mins1216m278m
Gully3 person chair, fixedPoma1500 people19822.0m/s6:00 mins475m76m
Drover's Dream4 person chair, fixedLeitner-Poma2400 people20042.2m/s6:00 mins710m104m
Towers4 person chair, fixedGaraventa2400 people19992.0m/s5:50 mins634m136m
BoardwalkConveyor liftSunkid1500 people20040.7m/s2:10 mins81m-
Mouse TrapConveyor lift with enclosureSunkid1500 people20060.7m/s3:30 mins114m-
Monkey Bar1 person platter, fixedDoppelmayr792 people20062.0m/s2:30 mins271m33m
Lakeside1 person poma, detachableGMM1000 people19672.0m/s7:20 mins737m140m
Scotts4 person chair, fixedDoppelmayr2400 people19892.3m/s6:00 mins760m150m
Ruined Castle4 person chair, fixed, with loading conveyorDoppelmayr2600 people19952.0m/s6:00 mins651m150m
The TubeConveyor liftSunkid1500 people20040.7m/s---
Pete's TrainConveyor liftSunkid1500 people20180.7m/s---
Snowsports SchoolConveyor liftSunkid1500 people-0.7m/s---

History

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.

Falls Creek Post Office opened on 9 June 1958 (with telegraph and telephone facilities only until 1964).

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.

Climate

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 .[6] Falls Creek registered the lowest temperature ever recorded in Victoria (along with Omeo in June 1965) at -11.7C on 3 July 1970.[7]

Proposed developments

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.

Snowmaking

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.

Notable seasons

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.

Notable racers

Source:[8]

Notable snowboarders

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Environment - Falls Creek - www.fallscreek.com.au Victoria's largest family summer and winter alpine resort. Falls Creek. en-AU. 2019-04-19.
  2. Web site: 2012-06-27 . TTR World Snowboard Tour: Home . 2023-12-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120627143102/http://ttrworldtour.com/ . 27 June 2012 .
  3. Web site: Australian ski lift directory: details of 500 lifts & ropeways . 2022-08-21 . Australian mountains . en-AU.
  4. Web site: Ski lifts Falls Creek - cable cars Falls Creek - lifts Falls Creek . 2022-08-21 . www.skiresort.info.
  5. Web site: Falls Creek, VIC . 2019-04-19 . Aussie Towns . en-US.
  6. Web site: Falls Creek Daily Summaries . 2023-02-04 . www.weatherzone.com.au . en.
  7. Web site: Rainfall and temperature records. Bureau of Meteorology. 30 September 2022. 1 January 2024.
  8. Web site: History. Falls Creek Race Club. en-AU. 2019-04-19.