Skiing in Victoria, Australia takes place in the

Australian Alps The Australian Alps is a mountain range in southeast Australia. It comprises an interim Australian bioregion,0042-5184 However, the moth has also been a biovector of arsenic, transporting it from lowland feeding sites over long distances int ...

located in the

State of Victoria Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state i ...

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 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 ...

at 1986m. The first ski tow was constructed near

Mount Buffalo Mount Buffalo is a mountain plateau of the Australian Alps and is within the Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria, Australia. It is located approximately northeast of Melbourne. It is noted for its dramatic scenery. The summit of the highes ...

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 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 ...

Overview

A hospice was built at Mount Saint Bernard (Elevation 1540) around 1863 along a track developed to link the Victorian gold fields. Snowshoes were developed locally to assist winter travellers and a larger hospice built around 1884. Recreational and practical skiing was being practised in the area by the 1880s and 90s with skis made from local timbers, and making use of single steering poles. The first winter traverse of the Victorian Alps was made in 1900, via the Hospice and Mount Hotham. The Hospice operated as a recreational ski location into the 1930s, but was destroyed by bushfire in 1939. Skiing began at Mount Buffalo in the 1890s and the Mount Buffalo Chalet in Victoria was constructed in 1910. Australia's first ski tow was constructed near Mount Buffalo in 1938. Buffalo's first ski lodge was built at Dingo Dell in 1954. A bushfire in 2006 forced the temporary closure of the resort and negotiations are continuing over a new lease on the property. A stone cottage was built at

Mount Hotham Mount Hotham is a mountain located in the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, in the Australian state of Victoria. The mountain is located approximately north east of Melbourne, from Sydney, and from Adelaide by road. The nearest ...

in 1925 to cater for a growing interest in sport of skiing and a Club was built in 1944 with the first ski tow installed in 1951. A ski hut was erected at

Mount Baw Baw 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 signifie ...

, just 120 km East of Melbourne, in 1945 and a ski rope tow added in 1955. The first ski lift went into service at Mount Buller in 1949, and in the same year rope tow was installed at Falls Creek. In 1957, Australia's first chairlift was installed at Falls Creek, and the area is today the largest ski resort in Victoria. The Mount Buller Interschools Event claims to be the largest interdisciplinary snow-sports event on earth. In 2008 it attracted 3500 participants. Snow play is also available at

Mount Donna Buang Mount Donna Buang is a mountain in the southern reaches of the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Australian state of Victoria. Approximately from Melbourne with an elevation of , Mount Donna Buang is the closest snowf ...

Cross Country & Back Country Skiing

Dedicated Cross Country ski resorts are located at Lake Mountain,

Mount Stirling Mount Stirling is a mountain in the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia. The mountain has an elevation of above sea level. Mount Stirling is also an abbreviation of the Mount Stirling ...

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 ...

in Victoria and popular areas for back country skiing and ski touring in the

Yarra Ranges National Park Yarra Ranges National Park is located in the Central Highlands of Australia's southeastern state Victoria, 107 km northeast of Melbourne. Established in 1995 and managed by the statutory authority Parks Victoria, the park features a carbon-ri ...

and 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. ...

include:

, Mount Feathertop,

Bogong High Plains 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. In winter this area is ...

Mount Howitt Mount Howitt, also known as ''Toot-buck-nulluck'' in the Gunai language, is a mountain in Victoria, Australia, named for Alfred William Howitt. Located in the Wonangatta Moroka Unit of the Alpine National Park approximately 170 km north-e ...

, Mount Reynard and Snowy Plains. The Kangaroo Hoppet is a leg of the Worldloppet cross-country race series which is conducted on the last Saturday of August each year, hosted by Falls Creek in Victoria. The showpiece 42-kilometre race attracts thousands of spectators and competitors. 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 ...

. The Alpine regions are subject to environmental protection, which has limited the scope of commercial development of skiable terrain, however Australia has extensive

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 recreatio ...

terrain.

Ski areas

Downhill ski resorts

Dinner Plain Dinner Plain is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Great Alpine Road, 13 kilometres from Mount Hotham Alpine Resort, and 375 kilometres from Melbourne. At the , Dinner Plain had a population of 230, yet has over 200 lodges and chalets ...

* Falls Creek *

Mount Buller Mount Buller is primarily a resort town on the slopes of Mount Buller in the Shire of Mansfield of the Australian state of Victoria. It is located approximately northeast of Melbourne. It is popular with snowsports enthusiasts in winter due t ...

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 ...

Cross country resorts

* Lake Mountain *

(mostly tourist snow)

Resorts proposed for development that never occurred

* Mount Torbreck

Back country ski areas

Popular areas for back country skiing and

ski touring Ski touring is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas. Touring is typically done off-piste and outside of ski resorts, and may extend over a period of more than one day. It is similar to backcountry skiing but excludes the ...

in the

Mount Buffalo National Park The Mount Buffalo National Park is a national park in the alpine region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is located approximately northeast of Melbourne in the Australian Alps. Within the national park is Mount Buffalo, a moderate ...

and the

include: *

* Mount Feathertop *

* Mount Reynard * Snowy Plains

Gallery

File:Mt-Hotham-Village-2008.jpg,

Village File:Falls-creek-ruined-castle-and-terrain-park.jpg, The Ruined Castle chairlift and terrain park,

Falls Creek, Victoria 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 by road from Melbourne, with the nearest town being M ...

File:Baw-baw-view-gippsland.jpg, The view across Gippsland from

, Victoria File:Mt Buller village Stevage.jpg,

village, Victoria. File:Mt Buller Bourke St Stevage-2008-28-11.jpg, Bourke Street, Mount Buller File:Mount-feathertop-from-summit-track.jpg, Mount Feathertop File:Mt bogong 01.JPG,

File:MountBogong.JPG, Mount Bogong File:Mount Buffalo Chalet.jpg,

Chalet File:Mt Buffalo, Victoria, Australia.jpg, Mount Buffalo

External links

* Information on all ski lifts to have operated in Victoria in th
Australian Ski Lift DirectoryThe Australian Alpine Club

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skiing In Victoria *

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 ...

Sport in Victoria (state) by sport