Australia
Falls Creek, a wholly ski-in ski-out, pedestrian-only, family-oriented gem in the Victorian ski fields! With beautiful wide open runs up top and long snaking runs through gum trees down to the village, Falls is one of our local favourites.
Getting to Falls Creek
The Falls Creek Alpine Resort is located in the Victoria Alps in the southern part of the Alpine National Park and is a 350km drive from Melbourne. If you are driving, Mt Beauty is your last chance for fuel and chain hire, so make sure you are sorted before heading up the mountain.
On our first trip Falls Creek with the girls we drove up the day before hitting the slopes so we could get our car parked, accommodation sorted, and have a relaxing afternoon checking out the village and buying some ski passes. The village is car-free during the snow season, with most accommodation an easy walk from the car park. There is a drop-off area so you can unload all your gear before parking the car. If you have a lot of gear with you there is an Accommodation Transfer Service that can take you and your gear in cat-track vehicles right to your front door, for a reasonable price. We used this option, with one of us going with the gear and the other three walking. One of the great things about Falls is that all the accommodation is ski-in and ski-out.
The Mountain
We were lucky enough to score some bluebird days up at Falls for the girls' first time on the mountain. On our first day, after a leisurely breakfast, we headed out for the first lifts up. Our youngest wanted an easy warm-up so we headed straight up the 'Halley's Comet' lift and skied the beginners green run at the top. It is a designated slow zone with a wide, gentle slope accessed via two magic carpets, 'Boardwalk' and 'Mouse Trap', the latter is a covered carpet.
There are some great, winding, green (beginner) runs that take you from the top of the 'Halley's Comet' and 'Eagle Express' chairs to get you back to the base of the mountain, for beginners or the weary. Our eldest daughter loves the 'Last Hoot' to get back to the base, a nice blue run (intermediate) through the gums, starting from the top of the 'Halley's Comet' lift.
If you are after some great intermediate (blue) and advanced (black) runs head over to the 'Summit' chair. There is plenty to keep you entertained either side of the 'Summit' chair, or take the track to 'Wishing Well' to access to some other challenging advanced runs, then use 'The Last Tango' to get back to the 'International' poma and the 'Gully' chair.
We haven't introduced our girls to cross country skiing yet but Falls Creek has extensive network of groomed cross country trails for all abilities, which are currently free to access.
We were lucky enough to be up at Falls for the Thursday night fireworks. Watching fireworks in the snow with the girls has always been a fun outing, as well as wandering the village soaking up the night atmosphere.
Mt Buller, a beautiful little village among the gum trees, some great runs for all abilities, and beautiful views from up top.
Getting to Mt. Buller
Mt. Buller is located in the Victorian Alps, of the Great Dividing Range. The Mt. Buller Alpine Resort is approximately 230km from Melbourne, Victoria, or roughly a 3 hour drive. There is no fuel available up at Mt. Buller so make sure you fill up in Mansfield before heading up. If you are doing a day trip check to see if you need to hire chains, or if you are keeping your vehicle up at Mt. Buller overnight then you are legally required to carry chains.
We generally stay on the mountain when we visit Mt. Buller however, on one of our trips we stayed down in Mansfield, about 50kms away, and caught the bus up to the slopes each day; this worked well but was not as nice as staying on the mountain! We also did a day-trip to Mt. Buller, getting up early in the morning, driving 4 hours there, skiing and then 4 hours back, something we vowed never to repeat!
The Mountain
Mt Buller has a beautiful village nestled in amongst the gums. When we have stayed on the mountain we have chosen places that are a comfortable walk to the slopes and the centre of the village; there are plenty of ski-in ski-out options if that is what you are after. We have stayed in some great places up at Mt. Buller but had one unfortunate experience, having booked accommodation where the heating was turned off during the day and the owners uninterested in rectifying the situation. Since the children do not last all day out in the cold it is always nice to have a spot to warm up during the day! Fortunately, this has been a rare experience on our snow adventures!
Mt. Buller has two, wide beginners slopes; the 'Bourke Street' run off the 'Bourke Street Express' chair, near the village centre, and the 'Burnt Hut Spur' run via the 'Bonza' chair. There is also a magic carpet and a very gentle beginners slope near the village centre, between the base of the 'Bourke St. Express' chair and the 'ABOM Express' chair. Our eldest daughter really enjoyed the long, wide, all green run, from the top of the 'ABOM Express' chair back down to the village.
Mt Buller has a nice short but wide tobogganing area, perfect for first-timers. The tobogganing area has snow-making so they are able to maintain a nice base throughout the season.
