Lake Mountain
Encyclopedia
Lake Mountain is a cross-country
ski resort
in Victoria
90 km from Melbourne
. It is the most popular ski resort in Australia in visitor numbers due to its proximity to the populous city of Melbourne, mainly from casual visitors.
Lake Mountain Alpine Resort is an Unincorporated area
of Victoria surrounded by the Shire of Murrindindi.
There is no lake at Lake Mountain, the area was named after George Lake, who was the Surveyor-General of the area including the mountain. The Lake Mountain Alpine Resort is situated in a saddle between Lake Mountain and Echo Flat and provides access to a 37 km cumulative trail network through the surrounding Yarra Ranges National Park
. It is an exclusively cross-country skiing resort, but the majority (80%) of the visitors to the resort throughout the year are a family demographic, with family groups being the main constituents. There are up to seven toboggan runs, though two main runs, which are open to the public. The first and most popular is directly adjacent to the Lake Mountain Alpine Resort Day Visitor Centre, while the second brachiates off of the first for a longer and somewhat steeper slope. Snowboarding is not permitted.
The centre was opened on the 12th of June, 2004, a public holiday celebrating the Queen's Birthday. It cost $3.7 million along with the refurbishment and restructuring of two other buildings, a toilet block & visitor's locker room area, and the Ski Patroller's Centre, the main area for the coordination and first aid treatments employed by the Ski Patrollers.
It has several other facilities, such as two fully equipped conference centres and a licenced cafe' bar. The Heights Bar and Cafe' remains open all year round, to accommodate bushwalkers and bike riders.
In 2005, the Ski Patroller's Centre was equipped to operate as "Snow Gum Lodge" during the off-season, generally available between November and May, for secluded and private overnight stays. It was the only accommodation on-mountain but was destroyed in the 2009 bushfires.
Extensive work was undertaken to enable the resort to open for 2009 winter season. Temporary buildings were delivered to serve as toilets, Ski Patrol and kiosk. Damaged wooden trail features and bridges were rebuilt.
File:Temp Buildings 1.jpg|Portable buildings (previously used at Melbourne's Formula 1 Grand Prix) being set up at Lake Mountain after the bushfires of Saturday 7th February 2009
File:Bistro plus burnt trees.jpg|Main visitor centre - the only remaining building after the fires
File:2009 Lake Mountain after bushfire DSC 0335.JPG|Lake Mountain toboggan run burnt
File:Lake mountain starklandscape.jpg|The burnt trees, somewhere up on the Cross-Country trail.
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Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
ski resort
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
90 km from Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. It is the most popular ski resort in Australia in visitor numbers due to its proximity to the populous city of Melbourne, mainly from casual visitors.
Lake Mountain Alpine Resort is an Unincorporated area
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
of Victoria surrounded by the Shire of Murrindindi.
There is no lake at Lake Mountain, the area was named after George Lake, who was the Surveyor-General of the area including the mountain. The Lake Mountain Alpine Resort is situated in a saddle between Lake Mountain and Echo Flat and provides access to a 37 km cumulative trail network through the surrounding Yarra Ranges National Park
Yarra Ranges National Park
Yarra Ranges is a national park in Victoria, Australia, 92 km east of Melbourne. It covers the headwaters of the Yarra River in the ranges themselves and several water catchments for Melbourne's domestic water supply....
. It is an exclusively cross-country skiing resort, but the majority (80%) of the visitors to the resort throughout the year are a family demographic, with family groups being the main constituents. There are up to seven toboggan runs, though two main runs, which are open to the public. The first and most popular is directly adjacent to the Lake Mountain Alpine Resort Day Visitor Centre, while the second brachiates off of the first for a longer and somewhat steeper slope. Snowboarding is not permitted.
The centre was opened on the 12th of June, 2004, a public holiday celebrating the Queen's Birthday. It cost $3.7 million along with the refurbishment and restructuring of two other buildings, a toilet block & visitor's locker room area, and the Ski Patroller's Centre, the main area for the coordination and first aid treatments employed by the Ski Patrollers.
It has several other facilities, such as two fully equipped conference centres and a licenced cafe' bar. The Heights Bar and Cafe' remains open all year round, to accommodate bushwalkers and bike riders.
In 2005, the Ski Patroller's Centre was equipped to operate as "Snow Gum Lodge" during the off-season, generally available between November and May, for secluded and private overnight stays. It was the only accommodation on-mountain but was destroyed in the 2009 bushfires.
Impact of 2009 Bushfires
The bushfires on 7 February 2009 caused considerable damage at Lake Mountain. Much of the forested area was burnt, and almost all buildings except the main Day Visitor Centre/Ski Hire/Bistro were destroyed.Extensive work was undertaken to enable the resort to open for 2009 winter season. Temporary buildings were delivered to serve as toilets, Ski Patrol and kiosk. Damaged wooden trail features and bridges were rebuilt.
File:Temp Buildings 1.jpg|Portable buildings (previously used at Melbourne's Formula 1 Grand Prix) being set up at Lake Mountain after the bushfires of Saturday 7th February 2009
File:Bistro plus burnt trees.jpg|Main visitor centre - the only remaining building after the fires
File:2009 Lake Mountain after bushfire DSC 0335.JPG|Lake Mountain toboggan run burnt
File:Lake mountain starklandscape.jpg|The burnt trees, somewhere up on the Cross-Country trail.
External links
Links- Lake Mountain Alpine Resort
- ski.com.au article and independent snow report
- Article on the bushfire impact in The Age newspaper
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