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 to 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. The Falls to Hotham alpine crossing is a 37km three day hike that starts at Falls Creek and finishes at Mount Hotham. A planned expansion of the walk to make it 52km over 4 days with new huts being built has raised community concerns.
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 +Lift NameLift TypeManufacturerMoving Capacity / HourYear builtSpeedRide TimeLift LengthElevation ClimbEagle Express4 person chair, detachableLeitner-Poma2400 people20185.1m/s2:50 mins800m191mHalley's Comet4 person chair, detachableDoppelmayr2400 people19865.0m/s3:20 mins900m200mSummit4 person chair, fixedDoppelmayr2400 people19922.0m/s4:40 mins587m187mInternational 1 person poma, detachablePoma1000 people19692.0m/s11:00 mins1216m278mGully3 person chair, fixedPoma1500 people19822.0m/s6:00 mins475m76mDrover's Dream4 person chair, fixedLeitner-Poma2400 people20042.2m/s6:00 mins710m104mTowers4 person chair, fixedGaraventa2400 people19992.0m/s5:50 mins634m136mBoardwalkConveyor liftSunkid1500 people20040.7m/s2:10 mins81m -Mouse TrapConveyor lift with enclosureSunkid1500 people20060.7m/s3:30 mins114m -Monkey Bar1 person platter, fixedDoppelmayr792 people20062.0m/s2:30 mins271m33mLakeside1 person poma, detachableGMM1000 people19672.0m/s7:20 mins737m140mScotts4 person chair, fixedDoppelmayr2400 people19892.3m/s6:00 mins760m150mRuined Castle4 person chair, fixed, with loading conveyorDoppelmayr2600 people19952.0m/s6:00 mins651m150mThe TubeConveyor liftSunkid1500 people20040.7m/s - - -Pete's TrainConveyor liftSunkid1500 people20180.7m/s - - -Snowsports SchoolConveyor liftSunkid1500 people -0.7m/s - - -
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 snow report on ski.com.au 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 the Australian ski lift directory.