Mt Hotham is an amazing place, and to celebrate the many facets of our incredible location, we want to take you through a tour of the resort and show you some things you might not have noticed before. So, next time you’re out and about, stop and take a closer look at what’s around you – you might be surprised at what you find.
Snake Gully Hut
Stopping for a bevvie or a bite at Snake Gully Hut, you probably scan the skifields looking for your next line (or the slowpokes behind you). Did you know that virtually under your feet is Swindlers Creek, Hotham’s water supply. Not far away, covered in snow, is a holding dam that sometimes gets platypus, and also the Mountain Galaxias fish. The water used by the resort is treated and safely returned into the catchment.
Top of Spargos / One Tree Hill
This is a popular advanced area, earned by turning right when you get off the Orchard Chair and skating through the gate. It’s understandable that you’re focused on getting to these fantastic runs, but stop to look up and to your right for an awesome view of the Hotham Village, and also the best vantage point to take a cracking shot of the Heavenly Valley lift. Grab a takeaway lunch from the Chill Bar before you head out so you can stay a while to enjoy the view.
The General
The balcony of The General is a great place for a post-ride beer and hot chips, a cracking place to watch the sunset, but on a clear day it also offers an unparalleled view out over the Dargo Valley. Over yonder is the Dargo High Plains Road (closed during winter) and some of the best summer 4WD territory in Victoria.
Mt Higginbotham lookout.
Recently built over an old concrete water tank, the ‘Mt Higgi’ lookout is a tremendous photo point, providing endless views over the Hotham Village and, in the other direction, over the Dargo Valley. It’s a bit of a scramble but plenty of people do it – if you look up in that direction from behind Chalet Hotham, you’ll often see people up there. Descend to Last Run Bar for a reviving coffee or something stronger.
Roadrunner Chair.
As you ride this chairlift over to the Summit and approach the top, look over to your right. The entrance to the Mt Baldy gold mine is covered in snow, but in summer you can see if you walk off the track a little way. One of two gold-bearing quartz reefs discovered on Mount Hotham (then known as Mount Baldy) in March 1890 by a party of Harrietville prospectors, the 2ft 6in wide reef prospected up to one ounce of gold per ton. A shaft was sunk on the reef and several tons carted off the mountain, until the value of gold dropped to a point where all the effort wasn’t worth it. You can read more about it over lunch at The Bird, at the bottom of the Summit Chair.
Christmas Hills.
Another great location for cross country skiing, snowshoeing or fat-tyre snow biking (no walking/boots!) is the Christmas Hills area, across from Wire Plain. It’s worth stopping and looking around – it’s the location of the famous Fairy Tree and if you’re really lucky, you might spot one of our very shy alpine dingoes. You can keep the kids happy by having a slide on the toboggan slope across the road, or if they’re feeling adventurous they can jump on a kids snowmobile – contact SnowStuffPark for more information. If you’d like to get more familiar with that end of the resort, Traverse Hotham can help with cross country and snowshoe tours that will open up a whole new perspective of Mt Hotham and surrounds.
There’s so many ways to enjoy Mt Hotham, so be prepared to think differently and rediscover the many delights of Mt Hotham.