Mount Hotham Alpine Resort

This article is about the alpine resort. For the mountain, see Mount Hotham.

Mount Hotham Alpine Resort is an Australian alpine resort, is located in the Alpine region of Victoria. Set on the slopes of Mount Hotham, the ski resort comprises an alpine village, situated at an altitude of 1,750 metres (5,740 ft) AHD, making it the second highest resort village in Australia after Charlotte Pass village, in New South Wales.

Mount Hotham Alpine Resort
Mary's Slide ski run
Location	Victoria, Australia
Mountain	Mount Higginbotham, Mount Hotham, Mount Loch
Nearest major city	Melbourne
Coordinates	36°59′S 147°8′E
Status	Operating
Owner	Vail Resorts
Vertical	395 metres (1,296 ft)
Top elevation	1,845 metres (6,053 ft) AHD[1]
Base elevation	1,450 metres (4,760 ft) AHD[1]
Skiable area	320 hectares (790 acres)[1]
Trails	72
Longest run	Spargo's, 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi)[1]
Lift system	14 lifts[1]
Lift capacity	24,485 passengers/hr[1]
Terrain parks	4 (snow dependent)[1]
Snowfall	300 centimetres (120 in)[1]
Snowmaking	Yes, 25 hectares (62 acres)[1]
Night skiing	Yes, Wednesday & Saturday[1]
Website	www.mthotham.com.au

The ski fields of Mount Hotham from Mount Higginbotham (left) across to Mount Lcccoch (right) and beyond.

Mount Hotham's Village Chair in the summer.

The alpine resort operations are located within an unincorporated area (statutory authority) of Victoria surrounded by the locality of Hotham Heights in the Alpine Shire. Road access to the resort is via the Great Alpine Road. It is located approximately 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) west of Dinner Plain and 31 kilometres (19 mi) south of Bright.^[2] Hotham Alpine Resort is located approximately 226 kilometres (140 mi) northeast of Melbourne.

Mount Hotham is host to a number of historic sites, namely the Zirky's Mount Hotham Hotel, Snake Gully and Arlberg Chalet.

Ownership and operation

The land of the resort is operated by Alpine Resorts Victoria, the statutory authority, and the skifields and lift infrastructure are operated by Vail Resorts (leaseholder), who purchased the Mount Hotham Skiing Company from Merlin Entertainments.^[3] Vail Resorts' operating company is Mount Hotham Skiing Company (MHSC), that was granted a lease from the Government of Victoria via the Mt Hotham Resort Management Board.^[4] A subsidiary company of MHSC operates the Mount Hotham Airport.

Visiting in Winter

During the declared snow season (usually from the King's Birthday long weekend in June till the first weekend in October), it is a legal requirement to carry diamond pattern wheel chains and fit them if directed. There are penalties for not doing so. The steep and exposed portions of the Great Alpine Road between Harrietville and Hotham Heights means that in some conditions, vehicles (particularly two wheel drive vehicles) are not able to travel safely without these wheel chains.

Visitors also need to purchase a Resort Entry permit to enter the resort during winter. The resort entry fee contributes to essential services for guests around the mountain, including ski patrol, the free village buses, snow clearing of car parks in the village, waste management and environmental initiatives.

Winter sports

Most of the skiing and snowboarding is based on one side of a large valley, and the area connects to the Bogong High Plains. Hotham features 320 hectares (790 acres) of ski area including 35 kilometres (22 mi) of tree-lined cross-country trails and a network of fourteen lifts. The longest run at Hotham is 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi). The resort features an abundance of runs for skiers and boarders of all standards from beginners (20%) to intermediates (40%) and advanced (40%). The resort is home to one of Australia's most difficult runs, the steep Mary's Slide. It is also home to Australia's only biathlon range.

Lifts

As of 2023^[update] winter, the following ski lifts are in operation:

Lift name	Length	Elevation	Skiers (per hour)
Big D Quad Chair	396 m (1,299 ft)	64 m (210 ft)	2,400
Blue Ribbon Triple Chair	710 m (2,330 ft)	271 m (889 ft)	1,600
Drift T-Bar	370 m (1,210 ft)	88 m (289 ft)	1,285
Gotcha Quad Chair	472 m (1,549 ft)	140 m (460 ft)	2,400
Heavenly Valley Quad Chair	845 m (2,772 ft)	314 m (1,030 ft)	2,400
Keogh's Quad Chair	383 m (1,257 ft)	128 m (420 ft)	2,400
Orchard Quad Chair	573 m (1,880 ft)	154 m (505 ft)	2,400
Roadrunner Quad Chair	671 m (2,201 ft)	153 m (502 ft)	2,400
Summit Quad Chair	595 m (1,952 ft)	98 m (322 ft)	2,400
Summit Trainer Poma	132 m (433 ft)	22 m (72 ft)	500
Village Quad Chair	800 m (2,600 ft)	275 m (902 ft)	2,400
Pup's Playground Magic Carpet	17 m (56 ft)
Harry's Hideaway Magic Carpet	50 m (160 ft)
Cobungra Platter (Dinner Plain)

A list of all 30 lifts that have operated at Hotham over the years is at the Australian Ski Lift Directory.

Climate

As with most of the Australian Alps, Mount Hotham's climate is, compared to the bulk of Australia, cold throughout the year; with particularly cold maximum temperatures, and Mount Hotham is one of very few areas in Australia that frequently records maximum temperatures below freezing. Mount Hotham is also one of the only places in Australia to have never recorded a temperature above 30 °C (86 °F); during the early 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave, whilst most of the state sweltered above 45 °C (113 °F), the mountain's peak temperature was a mild 28.1 °C (82.6 °F).^[5]

Snow occurs frequently and heavily, and sub-freezing maximum temperatures can be recorded throughout the year—even in high summer. However, due to frequent winter cloud and the mountain's exposed position, a temperature below −10 °C (14 °F) has only once-occurred since records began in 1990.^[6] Mount Hotham receives an average of 66.1 snowy days annually.^[7] It is the coldest weather station on mainland Australia by maximum temperatures.

Owing to its short, cool summers and long, cold winters, Mount Hotham has a Subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) bordering on Tundra (ET).

Climate data for Mount Hotham (1990–2022); 1,849 m AMSL; 36.98° S, 147.13° E
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	28.2 (82.8)	28.1 (82.6)	24.4 (75.9)	17.3 (63.1)	19.8 (67.6)	11.6 (52.9)	8.7 (47.7)	10.7 (51.3)	13.7 (56.7)	19.0 (66.2)	23.6 (74.5)	26.3 (79.3)	28.2 (82.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	16.6 (61.9)	15.8 (60.4)	13.0 (55.4)	8.5 (47.3)	4.6 (40.3)	1.4 (34.5)	−0.1 (31.8)	0.5 (32.9)	3.6 (38.5)	7.6 (45.7)	11.3 (52.3)	14.0 (57.2)	8.1 (46.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	8.2 (46.8)	7.9 (46.2)	5.8 (42.4)	2.7 (36.9)	−0.1 (31.8)	−2.4 (27.7)	−3.7 (25.3)	−3.5 (25.7)	−1.6 (29.1)	0.8 (33.4)	3.7 (38.7)	5.8 (42.4)	2.0 (35.5)
Record low °C (°F)	−3.7 (25.3)	−3.8 (25.2)	−3.6 (25.5)	−8.2 (17.2)	−7.4 (18.7)	−9.1 (15.6)	−8.8 (16.2)	−10.4 (13.3)	−9.2 (15.4)	−8.4 (16.9)	−7.0 (19.4)	−5.4 (22.3)	−10.4 (13.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	105.7 (4.16)	99.7 (3.93)	117.2 (4.61)	103.4 (4.07)	138.4 (5.45)	124.0 (4.88)	128.7 (5.07)	120.5 (4.74)	129.2 (5.09)	139.7 (5.50)	150.0 (5.91)	123.2 (4.85)	1,489.4 (58.64)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm)	11.0	10.9	12.6	12.9	14.7	14.6	18.6	16.4	15.2	13.5	13.0	11.5	164.9
Average afternoon relative humidity (%)	63	65	67	76	82	89	89	88	84	76	69	64	76
Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Mount Hotham

See also

• Australia portal

• Mt Hotham Visitor Website
• Mount Hotham Airport
• Great Alpine Road
• Skiing in Australia