Falls Creek, Victoria

Infobox ski area
name=Falls Creek
logo=Falls_Creek_Logo.jpeg
picture=Falls-creek-ruined-castle-and-terrain-park.jpg
caption=The Ruined Castle chairlift and terrain park
location=Mount Beauty
nearest_city=Wodonga
lat_degrees=36
lat_minutes=59
lat_seconds=0
lat_direction=S
long_degrees=147
long_minutes=16
long_seconds=0
long_direction=E
top_elevation=1780m
base_elevation=1400m
skiable_area=450 ha.
number_trails=92
longest_run=3km
liftsystem=14 lifts
snowfall=4m (overall per season)
external_link= [http://www.fallscreek.com.au Falls Creek] |

Falls Creek is a car-free, ski-in, ski-out ski resort in north-eastern Victoria, Australia. It is located about 350 kilometres by road from Melbourne in the Alpine National Park, with the nearest town Mount Beauty, approximately 30 kilometres away. The resort lies between an altitude of 1,210 and 1,830 metres, with the highest lifted point at 1780 metres. The snow there is said to be the best in Australia.Fact|date=August 2008 Skiing is possible on the nearby peak of Mount McKay at 1,842 metres, traveling by snowcat from the resort.

Overview

It is Victoria's largest ski resort by area, being spread over more than 450 hectares, with 100 hectares of snowmaking, with the best cross-country skiing terrain to be found in Australia on the Bogong High Plains. Falls Creek is in an ideal position to receive, make and retain good quality snow. Many of the ski slopes at Falls Creek face south.

Until 2005, when the Government of Victoria did not renew grazing licenses, the high plains in the area were used for cattle grazing in the summer since 1851. Mount Bogong, Victoria's highest mountain, is nearby. Some of the cattlemen's huts still survive and are a tourist attraction in summer. After World War II the Kiewa Hydroelectric 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, with its higher altitude, is regarded as having better runs for proficient skiers than Mount Buffalo or Mount Buller and ranks with Mount Hotham as Victoria's best. It is also especially beginner/intermediate friendly, with almost 80% of the resort dedicated to these types of skiers/snowboarders. It has wide open vistas & rolling hills unique to the High Plains in Victoria, creating uncrowded skiing conditions & very short queues of just 2 or 3 minutes at most, even on very busy weekends (cf. Mt Buller wait times of 20-30 minutes or more during peak times).

However, Australia's notoriously fickle snow conditions ensure that snowmaking using the water from the nearby Rocky Valley Dam 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.

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 massive national park surrounding the resort.

Quick Falls Statistics

Highest Altitude: 1,842 metres
Highest Lifted Altitude: 1,780 metres
Village Altitude: 1,600 metres
Number of Lifts: 14

In Winter

Snowline Altitude: 1,100 metres
Average yearly snowfall: 4 metres
Average days open in winter: 128

Alpine

Number of Runs: 92+
Longest Advanced Run: Wishing Well, 3km
Longest Beginner Run: Wombats Ramble, 2.2km
Terrain mix: Beginner 17%, Intermediate 60% & Advanced 23%

Cross country

Number of trails: 21
Groomed trail network: 65km
Longest trail: Rocky Valley Dam Loop, 21 km
Terrain mix: Beginner 33%, Intermediate 48% & Advanced 19%

External links

* [http://www.fallscreek.com.au Falls Creek homepage]
* [http://ausi-ski-bum.com Ausi Ski Bum]
* [http://www.skireport.com/australia/falls_creek/trailmap/ Falls Creek Trailmap]
* [http://wiki.ski.com.au/wiki/index.php/Falls_Creek ski.com.au wiki]

References