Skiing in the Australian Capital Territory refers to

snow skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

(ACT). The highest mountain in the ACT is

Bimberi Peak Bimberi Peak or Mount Bimberi with an elevation of located within the Brindabella Ranges is the highest mountain in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It is located on the border between New South Wales (NSW) and the ACT, the NSW portion in ...

(elevation 1912m). 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 Corin Forest Mountain Resort (elevation 1200m) is a commercial ski field and tourist destination located in the Tidbinbilla Range, south-west of Canberra. Situated in a mountain ash forest near the Namadgi National Park. In winter, it offers A ...

in 2016, after a two decade hiatus. The only commercial ski field in the ACT is located at Corin Forest; however,

cross country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

takes place in areas such as the

Namadgi National Park Namadgi National Park is a protected area in the south-west of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), bordering Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales. It lies approximately southwest of Canberra, and occupies approximately 46 percent of ...

Bimberi Nature Reserve The Bimberi Nature Reserve is a state park, protected nature reserve located in the Brindabella Ranges, Brindabella Range of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The reserve is situated approximately south west of Canberra, which is in the Au ...

, Mount Franklin,

Mount Ginini Mount Ginini is a mountain with an elevation of in the Brindabella Ranges that is located on the border between the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales in Australia. Geography The summit of the mountain is located within the ACT ...

and

Mount Gingera Mount Gingera is a mountain with an elevation of located within the Brindabella Range on the border between the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales in Australia. The summit of the mountain is located within the ACT, and is the se ...

when conditions allow. The more extensive and developed New South Wales skifields are located south-west of the Territory.

History and major locations

The most northerly ski fields in Australia are located in the

– in the ranges west of Australia's capital city,

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. During the Southern Hemisphere winter,

skiing in Australia Skiing in Australia takes place in the Australian Alps in the States and territories of Australia, states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory as well as in the mountains of the island state ...

takes place in the ACT and in three States:

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

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 ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. Skiable terrain stretches through large areas of territory from June to October and a number of well serviced resorts have been developed in the States.

in the ACT and

and

Brindabella National Park Brindabella National Park is an national park in New South Wales, Australia, that is located approximately southwest of Sydney central business district in the Brindabella Range. Much of the eastern boundary of the national park forms part of t ...

are located in the

Brindabella Ranges The Brindabella Range, commonly called The Brindabellas or The Brindies, is a mountain range located in Australia, on a state and territory border of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The range rises to the west of C ...

. The highest mountain in the ACT is

, which lies above the treeline at 1912 metres, at the northern edge of the

Snowy Mountains 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 ...

. The alpine regions are subject to environmental protection, which has limited the scope of commercial development of skiiable terrain, Organised downhill skiing in the ACT was started by the Canberra Alpine Club in 1934, and was for decades centred around Mt Franklin. Since the 1980s, some downhill facilities have existed intermittently at

Downhill skiing

The

Draft Management Plan (September 2005) downplayed the future development of skiing as a sport in the Park, noting that no facilities existed for alpine or downhill skiing within Namadgi, despite a history of downhill skiing associated with the Canberra Alpine Ski Club and the Mt Franklin Chalet (destroyed in the 2003 bushfires). The report predicted that it would be "unlikely that Namadgi will be suitable for this activity in the future as climate change is causing conditions to become less favourable."
/ref> However, since the report was written, limited downhill ski facilities have returned at

. ; Mt Franklin In the 1930s, with construction of the new capital city of Canberra underway, Canberrans explored the possibilities for developing skiing and snow sports in the Brindabellas. On 30 June 1936, the ''

Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' newspaper reported: The Mount Franklin chalet was constructed at Mount Franklin in 1938 to service the Canberra Alpine Club. Ski runs were cleared and ski tows were improvised. The Club also cleared runs elsewhere, completing a new ski run and jump on nearby

in 1951 - then judged to be the superior slope. Built on leased land, the Mount Franklin Chalet reverted to the Government when

was created in 1984 and later operated as a museum before being destroyed in the 2003 bushfires. A new shelter designed and built by University of Adelaide students opened in 2008. Today, cross country skiing is possible in the area, when conditions allow. ; Corin Forest In the 1980s and 1990s, limited downhill skiing took place at Corin Forest near Canberra (elevation 1200m). The

Draft Management Plan (September 2005) for the

downplayed the future development of skiing as a sport in the Park: However, in the 2010s, a ski lift was installed at

offering a beginners' ski run and snow play area. A development plan for Corin had been drafted following the 2003 Canberra bushfires which would see three 600m chairlifts installed together with

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 ...

facilities and accommodation at this site. New owners took over in 2013 and installed a beginners' magic carpet ski lift for the 2016 season, expanded snow making facilities, and invested in ski hire equipment, a ski school and ski first aid to service an 80-metre-long and 60-metre-wide slope, with capacity for a maximum of 150 people.

Cross country skiing

Snow falls widely over the high country of the

, being most common on the Bimberi and Brindabella Ranges. Brindabella Road, Mt Franklin Road and Boboyan Road access this snow country and can be hazardous in winter. According to the

Draft Management Plan of September 2005, ski touring is a minor activity in Namadgi "as snowfall is only adequate for skiing for short periods in winter and spring. In most years, snow play can occur over several weeks, even if snow is present in small patches on the higher peaks..." Today, cross country skiing is possible in the Mt Franklin area, when conditions allow. Cross Country skiing is also practised at

, which rises above the city of Canberra to an elevation of 1855m, and is the most prominent snow-covered peak above the city.INSTRUMENT NO. 111 OF 1999 ACT Legislation The Australian High Country is populated by unique flora and fauna including

wombats Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are adap ...

wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

echidnas Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

, and the

Snow Gum ''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 ...

List of downhill ski areas

; Current locations: * Corin Forest Mountain Resort ; Former locations: * Mount Franklin

List of cross country ski locations

*Australian Capital Territory **

***

*** Mount Franklin ***

Gallery

References

External links

Canberra Alpine ClubCorin Forest Mountain Retreat on visitcanberra.com.auSnowy Hydro Snow Depth ChartsCross Country Skiing Australia
*Information on all ski lifts to have operated in the ACT in th
Australian Ski Lift Directory
{{Australia topics *

Capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

Skiiing Brindabella Ranges