Just got back from a nice morning drive up to Mount Hotham. I enjoy an early morning jaunt up a windy, mountain road. With blue skies, sunshine and little or no traffic, it is the perfect start to the day.
Mount Hotham is a skiing resort situated in the Victorian High Country. At an elevation of 1850 metres, it is the fourth highest ski resort in Australia, with Thredbo in NSW the highest, at just over 2000 metres. Compare this height to other locations globally and it about half the height of many of the famous skiing locations. Aspen in Colorado at 3,500 metres and Zermatt in Switzerland at nearly 4000 metres have a much higher elevation than the Australian resorts. At this time of year, there is no snow, and thus, no skiing. Without the elevation, skiing only happens from June to September each year.
Australian ski seasons have always been hugely variable from year to year, but the long-term trend for natural snowfall is towards declining natural snowfall levels. Climate change is set to have a major impact on Australia's ski resorts' sustainability, with suggestions that the snow season could shrink by 80 days a year by 2050. As the natural snowfalls decline, resorts will become more reliant on human-made snow.
This trend is only likely to accelerate, so we can expect there to be no skiing in the Victorian High Country in future years, impacting these skiing communities and the plant and animals that rely so much on the annual snowfalls.
At least the windy mountains roads will remain.
Mount Hotham is a skiing resort situated in the Victorian High Country. At an elevation of 1850 metres, it is the fourth highest ski resort in Australia, with Thredbo in NSW the highest, at just over 2000 metres. Compare this height to other locations globally and it about half the height of many of the famous skiing locations. Aspen in Colorado at 3,500 metres and Zermatt in Switzerland at nearly 4000 metres have a much higher elevation than the Australian resorts. At this time of year, there is no snow, and thus, no skiing. Without the elevation, skiing only happens from June to September each year.
Australian ski seasons have always been hugely variable from year to year, but the long-term trend for natural snowfall is towards declining natural snowfall levels. Climate change is set to have a major impact on Australia's ski resorts' sustainability, with suggestions that the snow season could shrink by 80 days a year by 2050. As the natural snowfalls decline, resorts will become more reliant on human-made snow.
This trend is only likely to accelerate, so we can expect there to be no skiing in the Victorian High Country in future years, impacting these skiing communities and the plant and animals that rely so much on the annual snowfalls.
At least the windy mountains roads will remain.
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