Mount Baw Baw is a mountain summit on the Baw-Baw Plateau of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

, located in

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 ...

. The name is from the

Woiwurrung language The Woiwurrung, also spelt Woi Wurrung, Woiwurrong, Woiworung, Wuywurung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance. The Woiwurrung people's territory in Central Victoria extended from north of ...

spoken by Eastern

Kulin Kulin may refer to: Places *Kulin, Western Australia, a small town in Australia ** Shire of Kulin, a local government area *Kulin, Iran, a village near Tehran *Kulin, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, a village in south-west Poland *Kulin, Kuyavian-Pome ...

people. It is of uncertain meaning, but possibly signifies, ''echo'', or ''ghost''. The

Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort Mt. Baw Baw Alpine Resort is a small Australian downhill ski resort located approximately east of Melbourne and north of the Latrobe Valley in Victoria. The Alpine Resort is an unincorporated area which is surrounded by the Baw Baw National P ...

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 ...

, that includes the Mt Baw Baw summit, which is under the direct administration of the government of Victoria, and is surrounded by the

Baw Baw National Park The Baw Baw National Park is a national park located on the boundary between the Victorian Alps and Gippsland regions of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately east of Melbourne and north of the Latrobe Valley. The ...

, in the

Shire of Baw Baw The Shire of Baw Baw is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 52,015. It includes the towns of Drouin, Longwarry, Neerim South, Trafalgar, W ...

Location

Mount Baw Baw is about east of Melbourne and north of the

Latrobe Valley The Latrobe Valley is an inland geographical district and urban area of the Gippsland region in the state of Victoria, Australia. The traditional owners are the Brayakaulung of the Gunai nation. The district lies east of Melbourne and nestle ...

. Mount Baw Baw itself is one of a number of peaks on the Baw Baw Plateau, a long plateau tending about 20 km north-east and is about 10 km wide. Other peaks on the plateau include Mount Mueller, Mount Whitelaw, Talbot Peak, Mount St Phillack, Mount Tyers, Mount Kernot and

Mount St Gwinear Mount St Gwinear is a mountain in Victoria, Australia, located at the north-east end of the Baw Baw National Park in the Gippsland high country. It is popular with families looking for a cheap and accessible snow-play/tobogganing destination a ...

. The plateau itself is isolated from most of Victoria's high country by the deep valleys of the

Thomson Thomson may refer to: Names * Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin * Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson Businesses and organizations * SGS-Thomson Mic ...

and Aberfeldy rivers and tributaries of the

La Trobe River The Latrobe River (or sometimes La Trobe or LaTrobe) is a perennial river of the West Gippsland catchment, located in the West Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. The Latrobe River and its associated sub-catchment is an import ...

, including the Tanjil and Tyers rivers to the south.

Geology and biology

The Baw Baw

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

consists of a late

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

granodiorite Granodiorite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar. The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gra ...

pluton In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...

. There is relatively little relief on the plateau itself, the highest point reaching . The lower slopes of the plateau are covered in

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

eucalypt forest and tall forest, and creek valleys have cool temperate rainforest of myrtle beech, ''

Nothofagus cunninghamii ''Nothofagus cunninghamii,'' commonly known as myrtle beech or Tasmanian myrtle, is the dominant species of cool temperate rainforests in Tasmania and Southern Victoria. It has low fire resistance and grows best in partial shade conditions. It ...

''. Above snow gum (''

Eucalyptus pauciflora ''Eucalyptus pauciflora'', commonly known as snow gum, cabbage gum or white sally, is a species of tree or mallee that is native to eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to elliptical leaves, flower buds in clusters of between sev ...

'') woodland occurs. There is no altitudinal treeline limit; subalpine grasslands and shrublands occur in flat valley bottoms on the plateau as a result of cold-air drainage. Much of this

subalpine zone Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

is included in the

. The Baw Baw Village

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 ...

is technically outside the national park. The climate of the plateau itself is subalpine, with an average annual precipitation of . Snow covers the plateau from June to September. It is thought that Baron

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

made the first recorded European ascent of Baw Baw in 1860, naming Christmas Creek on one of his major collecting expeditions. It was on this trip that he collected the Baw Baw Berry, ''

Wittsteinia vacciniacea ''Wittsteinia vacciniacea '', the Baw Baw berry, is a shrub species in the family Alseuosmiaceae. It is endemic to Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British ...

''. There are two routes up the mountain; one via

Noojee Noojee is a town in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, north of Warragul and east of Melbourne, in the Baw Baw local government area. At the 2016 census, Noojee and the surrounding area had a population of 157. The town benefits from ...

and Icy Creek which is very winding, and the unsealed South Face Road via

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. Mount Baw Baw is home to the critically endangered

Baw Baw Frog The Baw Baw frog (''Philoria frosti'') is a critically endangered species of Australian frog as categorised on the IUCN Red List and listed under the ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988)''. It has suffered a decline in population, mostly ...

Climate

Mount Baw Baw has a

subpolar oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(''Cfc''). The mountain summit receives more annual precipitation than most places in mainland Australia, with frequent and heavy snow in winter (as well as a persistent

snowpack Snowpack forms from layers of snow that accumulate in geographic regions and high elevations where the climate includes cold weather for extended periods during the year. Snowpacks are an important water resource that feed streams and rivers as th ...

). Frequent, heavy cloud-cover and turbulent winds mean that minimum temperatures rarely drop below , whereas maximum temperatures are frequently at or below ; the mountain is often shrouded in low cloud or mist in winter, thereby reducing diurnal range. Summers are cool with temperatures rarely rising above ; summers can also be very cold, with a maximum temperature of just recorded on 25 December 2006, and on both 11 Jan 2012 and 16 Feb 1998. During the 2009 Victorian heatwave most of the state saw highs of above , whilst the temperature on Mount Baw Baw's summit reached a comparatively cool maximum of just .

Ski resort

The summit is located within the boundaries of the

, an

of Victoria. There are about of mainly beginner-intermediate

ski runs A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

. Seven lifts service a variety of runs, with the highest going almost to the top of Mount Baw Baw with a rise. The resort village is at the bottom of the lifts, offering ski in-ski out access. In addition to the downhill runs there are a number of cross country trails offering access to other parts of the Baw Baw plateau. Like most lower-lying Australian ski resorts, snow cover varies greatly from year to year, but is regularly available for the local ski season from about July to the end of September. The alpine resort village has modern facilities and caters for both day-trippers and long-term visitors, with accommodation, ski hire, food outlets, medical and information centres all within walking distance of the car parks.

Walking

During the summer months, Mt Baw Baw is popular for hiking and bushwalking given its location in the

. The alpine grasses are blanketed with wildflowers and walks at a higher elevation pass through snow gum forest. Popular walks include the Great Walhalla Alpine Trail, which starts at the gold mining town of Walhalla and finishes at the Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort. The hike is the first of the Australian Alps Walking Track. The Mt Baw Baw Summit Walk arrives at the highest peak of the Baw Baw plateau, elevation 1564m. Situated at the summit is the historic cairn used as a survey reference in 1903.

Cycling

The access road to the resort, the Mount Baw Baw Tourist Road, features one of the toughest climbs accessible by road bicycles in Australia. The final climb of rises at an average grade of 11.5%, maxing out at 20.3%. The climb is not as long as, but considerably steeper than, any of the ''

hors catégorie ''Hors catégorie'' (HC) is a French term used in stage bicycle races to designate a climb that is "beyond categorization". The term was originally used for those mountain roads where cars were not expected to be able to pass. The HC climb is the ...

'' climbs featured in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

. The Mount Baw Baw Classic,Baw Baw Classic
. The Warragul Cycling Club. Retrieved on 15 December 2011. which began in 2001, is an annual cycling race held by the Warragul Cycling Club, and ends at the Mount Baw Baw village.

Downhill mountain biking

There is a purpose-built downhill track located on the south western side of the mountain, facing towards the sea. The course has hosted the Victorian Downhill Championships as well as a number of state rounds. The track is around min in duration, comprising a good mix of cambered dirt, rocks, fire road and technical sections. A shuttle service is provided from the base of the track along the Mount Baw Baw Tourist Road back to the Baw Baw Village, so that the venue is very mountain bike friendly.

References

External links

* Information on all ski lifts to have run at Baw Baw i
Australian Ski Lift Directory

Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort

Gippsland’s official tourism website – Great Walhalla Alpine Trail

Gippsland’s official tourism website – Mt Baw Baw Summit Walk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baw Baw, Mount Ski areas and resorts in Victoria (Australia) Mountains of Victoria (Australia) Victorian Alps Towns in Victoria (Australia) Gippsland Unincorporated areas of Victoria (Australia)