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 Mount Beauty, which is approximately away. The resort lies between an elevation of above sea level, with the highest lifted point at . Skiing is possible on the nearby peak of Mount McKay at , 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 t
Stylewars, The Australian Slopestyle Championships
and Australia's highest sanctioned 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.

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

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. 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 a very cold Oceanic / Subpolar oceanic climate (''Cfb'' / ''Cfc'') under the isotherm, or a Humid continental / Subarctic climate (''Dfb'' / ''Dfc'') under the isotherm, with short, cool summers and cold, very snowy winters.

On 3 February 2023, Falls Creek reached a top of just . Falls Creek registered the lowest temperature recorded in Victoria (along with Omeo in June 1965); a reading of on 3 July 1970.

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:

* Steven Lee, Olympic and World Cup alpine skier. Also a back-country tour guide for Falls Creek
* Malcolm Milne (born 1948), World Cup alpine racer, learned to ski at Falls Creek
* Ross Milne (1944–1964), learned to ski at Falls Creek.
* Britteny Cox (born 1994), Australian Mogul Skier and the youngest athlete to compete at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. 2017 - World Champion, World Cup Moguls Crystal Globe Winner, World Cup Freestyle Overall Crystal Globe Winner

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. He won bronze in Men’s halfpipe at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

See also

* Skiing in Australia
* Mt Hotham
* Perisher

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

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Ski areas and resorts in Victoria (state)
Victorian Alps
Towns in Victoria (state)
Unincorporated areas of Victoria (state)
Merlin Entertainments Group