Rating overall
5/10
Summary
Freeride - 73%
Trees and some good steeps
Freestyle - 65%
A park & a half-pipe
Pistes - 64%
Some good trails
Mountain stats
Top lift:1845m
Vertical drop:395m
Bottom lift:1450m
Lift count :
10 x Chairlifts
3 x Drag-lifts
605acres OF PISTES ( PISTES)
Easy
Intermediate
Advanced
Pass (Low/High Season) :
95.00-95.00 Half-day
, 106.00-106.00 Day
, 401.00-509.00 6-day
, 401.00-509.00 6-day linked area
, 1449 Season pass
pow turn at Mt Hotham / (c) Mt Hotham Skiing Company
first tracks at Mt Hotham / (c) Mt Hotham Skiing Company
Mt Hotham Base village / (c) Mt Hotham Skiing Company
Introduction
Mount Hotham is Australia's highest resort and thus is the most snow sure area. The slopes area is a mixture of easy to negotiate beginners runs to tricky fast steeps that often cross between the more gentle slopes, so novice beware, one minute you could be riding down a simple blue and the next minute hurtling down a steep black trail (study your piste map). Generally this is a resort that will suit intermediate freeriders with a number of very good trails that take you off the piste and in and out of open bowls and wide snow fields.
With all that out of the way we can say Mount Hotham is one of our favourite resort in Australia and there are a number of reasons why you should head here!
#1: The resort and its facilities are located at the highest point of the mountain so you ride down to the base of the lifts which can be great for the powder days and avoiding the 1st lift queues.
#2: They open the heavenly valley (4seat) lift an hour early (0730hrs Wed – Sun Peak season) and the summit stays open an extra half hour until 5pm both with no extra cost.
#3: little to no lift queues and when they are it’s never for long
#4: Hotham has 11 lifts with only 2 being T bars servicing the nursery slopes so you are pretty much accessing the mountain pain free.
#5: Night Riding takes place on the Big D on Wednesday & Saturday nights (6:30 – 9:30pm)
Getting to Hotham: The nearest city is Melbourne, which is between 4-5hrs drive, passing through some great little towns for a leg stretch and coffee. The resort was quite during the week but it has the potential to get busier on the weekend when the Melbourne crowds head north.
A must is to stop at Danny’s lookout just before you get to the resort, it’s an awesome view of the region. There is also a bus transfers from the airport.
The resort is also 2 hours from Falls Creek if you fancy making a longer trip down to Victoria. There’s also an option to take a helicopter between the resorts where you can use your lift pass. You’ll get dropped off in the morning and picked up in the afternoon for a bargain price of $170.