The Falls Creek Alpine Resort is an

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

in the Hume region in northeastern

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is located in the

Alpine National Park The Alpine National Park is a national park located in the Central Highlands and Alpine regions of Victoria, Australia. The national park is located northeast of Melbourne. It is the largest National Park in Victoria, and covers much of the hig ...

in the

Victorian Alps 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 other h ...

, approximately by road from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, with the nearest town being

Mount Beauty 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. History The town was ...

, which is approximately away. The resort lies between an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

, with the highest lifted point at . Skiing is possible on the nearby peak of

Mount McKay Mount McKay is a mafic sill located south of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, on the Indian reserve of the Fort William First Nation. It is the highest, most northern and best known of the Nor'Wester Mountains. It formed during a period of magmati ...

at , accessed by

snowcat A snowcat (short for snow and caterpillar) is an enclosed-cab, truck-sized, fully tracked vehicle designed to move on snow. Major manufacturers are Pisten Bully (Germany), Prinoth (Italy) and Tucker (United States). Snow groomers A snow ...

from the resort. The resort is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

, directly administered by the government of Victoria, and surrounded by the

Alpine Shire The Alpine Shire is a local government area in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia, located in the north-east part of the state. It covers an area of and in 2022 had a population of 13,235. It includes the towns of Bright, Dinner Plain, Moun ...

History

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Kiewa electrical scheme was started in the

Kiewa River 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. The Kiewa River is also known by several variations on its name in i ...

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. The first lift, a

rope tow A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...

, was built in 1951 and the first

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

in Australia was constructed there in 1957. Falls Creek Post Office opened on (with

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

and telephone facilities only until 1964). The

high plains High Plains refers to one of two distinct land regions: * High Plains (United States), land region of the western Great Plains *High Plains (Australia) The High Plains of south-eastern Australia are a sub-region, or more strictly a string of adja ...

in the area were used for summer cattle grazing from 1851 until 2005, when the

Government of Victoria The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive ...

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 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 above sea level. The Big River separates the massif of the mountain from ...

, 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.

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 Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...

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 __NOTOC__ The Kangaroo Hoppet is a long distance cross-country skiing race in Australia. It is held in Falls Creek, Victoria. It debuted in 1979, and is part of Worldloppet The Worldloppet Ski Federation is a federation of long distance cross ...

, Australia's

Worldloppet The Worldloppet Ski Federation is a federation of long distance cross-country skiing events whose aim is to promote cross-country skiing through ski races. The federation was founded on 10 June 1978 in Uppsala, Sweden. Locations Only one and t ...

event on the last Saturday of August and international snowboarders t
Stylewars, The Australian Slopestyle Championships
and Australia's highest sanctione
TTR World Tour
event held in the first week of September. The resort features 4,500 accommodation beds, and consequently a large number of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs to amuse the 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 Snow chains, or tire chains, are devices fitted to the tires of vehicles to provide increased traction when driving through snow and ice. Snow chains attach to the drive wheels of a vehicle or special systems deploy chains which swing under ...

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. 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

* Highest elevation: * Highest lifted elevation: * Village elevation: * Number of lifts: 16

In winter

* Snowline elevation: * Average yearly snowfall: * Average days open in winter: 128

Alpine

* Number of Runs: 76+ * Longest advanced run: ''Wishing Well'', * Longest beginner run: ''Wombats Ramble'', * Terrain mix: 17% beginner, 60% intermediate, 23% advanced * Total lift length: 8.1km * Lift capacity: 28,392 Passengers/hour Cross country * Number of trails: 21 * Groomed trail network: * Longest trail: Rocky Valley Dam Loop, * Terrain mix: Beginner 33% , Intermediate 48% , Advanced 19%

Lift Network

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. These snow machines now accompany the older snowmaking technology along Ruined Castle and Main Street.

Climate

Falls Creek has a

Subantarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

(''Dfc'') with cool summers and cold, very snowy winters.

Notable Seasons

2022 saw major snowfalls in June, resulting in an established snowpack before the ski season started. As a result of this, Falls Creek and many other resorts opened to visitors one week early, with a snowpack of over 75cms at start of June.

Notable racers

* Steven Lee, Olympic and World Cup alpine skier. Also a back-country tour guide for Falls Creek *

Malcolm Milne Malcolm Milne (born 9 November 1948) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Australia. Some sources give his birth date as 5 November 1948. Born Beechworth, Victoria, and raised on the family tobacco farm in Myrtleford, Milne competed ...

(born 1948),

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

alpine racer, learned to ski at Falls Creek * Ross Milne (1944–1964), learned to ski at Falls Creek. *

Britteny Cox Britteny Cox (born 29 September 1994) is an Australian mogul skier. Growing up in the Victorian alpine resort of Falls Creek, Cox was born into a mogul skiing environment, with her family passionate mogul skiers. Cox was the youngest athlete ...

(born 1994), Australian Mogul Skier and the youngest athlete to compete at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Notable Snowboarders

* Scott James (born 1994), Australian Snowboarder, Australia's youngest male Olympian in 50 years and the youngest male competitor at the Vancouver Games.

References

External links

*
Falls Creek Ski Lifts Pty Ltd Site

Falls Creek Terrain Park Site

The Age - Falls Creek Corporate Ski Race Site

Falls Creek Official Employment Site

Falls Creek Race Club Official Site

Falls Creek Trailmap

Falls Creek on wikiski.com

Victorian Cross Country Ski Team
* A list of all 40 lifts to operate at Falls Creek at th
Australian ski lift directory
{{authority control Ski areas and resorts in Victoria (Australia) Victorian Alps Towns in Victoria (Australia) Unincorporated areas of Victoria (Australia) Merlin Entertainments Group