Mount Buller Alpine Resort facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mount Buller Ski Area |
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| Location | Mount Buller |
| Nearest city | Benalla, Victoria |
| Coordinates | 37°08′46″S 146°26′59″E / 37.14620°S 146.44982°E |
| Vertical | 400 metres (1,300 ft) |
| Top elevation | 1,780 metres (5,840 ft) |
| Base elevation | 1,375 metres (4,511 ft) |
| Skiable area | 300 hectares (740 acres) |
| Runs | 85 |
| Longest run | 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) |
| Lift system | Detachable Chair x3, Fixed-Grip Chair x10, T-Bar x5, Rope Tow x2, Magic Carpet x2 |
| Lift capacity | 40,000 skiers/hr |
| Terrain parks | 4 |
| Snowfall | Yes |
| Snowmaking | Yes |
| Night skiing | Saturday and Sunday (July and August) |
The Mount Buller Alpine Resort is a popular ski resort found in the Alpine area of Victoria, Australia. It's a great place for skiing and snowboarding, especially during winter.
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Mount Buller Ski Resort: A Winter Wonderland
Mount Buller is a well-known ski area with many lifts. These lifts can carry over 40,000 people every hour, which is the most in Victoria! The highest point you can reach by lift is 1,780 meters at the Grimus Chairlift. The lowest point for skiing is 1,375 meters at the Northside Express chairlift. Buller Ski Lifts P/L, part of the Grollo group, owns and runs all the lifts.
How Did Mount Buller Become a Ski Resort?
The Mount Buller Post Office first opened on February 17, 1958. Before 1985, if you wanted to ski the whole mountain, you had to buy two different lift tickets because two companies ran the lifts. In 1985, these companies joined together. This meant skiers could buy just one ticket to enjoy the entire mountain.
Over the years, Mount Buller has added many new lifts to make skiing even better. For example, the Wombat Lift was built in 1993 to help with more visitors. In 2005, the Emirates quad chairlift was added. A new six-seater chairlift was put in for the 2008 season. This new lift replaced some older ones, like the Abom and Blue Bullet 2. In 2012, the Bonza quad chairlift was built, along with a new magic carpet lift. More recently, in 2018, a new 6-seat chairlift started construction to replace the older Blue Bullet Quad. A new Plata lift was also installed for the 2019 season.
What Can You Do at Mount Buller?
Mount Buller has about 80 kilometers of groomed ski trails. These trails cover more than 300 hectares of land. About 25% of the trails are for beginners, 45% are for intermediate skiers, and 30% are for advanced skiers. There are also 9 kilometers of cross-country trails near the village. These trails even connect Mount Buller to Mount Stirling.
Mount Buller village also offers Australia's first resort-wide wireless internet service. This service is run by Whispar.
Ski Lifts at Mount Buller
Mount Buller has 22 lifts to help you get around the mountain. Some of the main lifts include:
- Blue Bullet Express
- Boggy Creek
- Bonza
- Bourke Street Carpet
- Bull Run
- Canyon Tows
- Cattleman's Carpets
- Federation
- Gliders Carpet
- Grimus
- Happy Feet Carpet
- Mercedes Benz Chair
- Howqua
- Koflers
- Lydia Lassila Chairlift
- Northside Express (formerly Horse Hill)
- Fox-Chairlift
- Skyline
- South Side
- Summit
- Tirol
- Wombat
Events and Activities at Mount Buller
Mount Buller often hosts big events. It used to hold two International Ski Federation Aerial Skiing World Cup events each September. These events feature amazing aerial tricks by skiers. Mount Buller also hosts the Victorian Snowsports Championships every year, which brings together over 3,000 competitors.
The Mount Buller summit and its rocky faces are also popular spots for ice climbing in winter.
Getting Around the Village
Transportation within the Mount Buller village is provided by bus companies. Currently, TravelSafe Bus Hire Pty Ltd and Mansfield Mount Buller Bus Lines Pty Ltd both help people get around the mountain.
How Mount Buller Makes Snow
Mount Buller started making its own snow in the 1970s. The main snowmaking system was set up in 1994 at the Snowflake Factory. This system includes a large water storage, air compressors, and pumps. It also has pipes to send water and air to different ski runs. The system was designed to grow, so more areas can have snowmaking in the future.
Mount Buller uses both fan guns and air/water guns to make snow. Water and compressed air are sent through pipes to hydrants along the ski runs. Snow guns connect to these hydrants with hoses. The system has 223 connections, with 81 snow guns currently in use.
In 2017, a new Techno Alpin SF 220 Snow factory was added. This machine can make 220 cubic meters of snow daily, even when the temperature is 15 degrees Celsius! A smaller, mobile version, the Techo Alpin SF 100, was installed before the 2019 season.
Where Does Mount Buller Make Snow?
Mount Buller makes snow on over 74 hectares of skiable area. This includes many popular runs and areas:
- Access trails
- Baldy
- Bonza Country
- Bourke Street
- Chamois
- D. Campbell Creek Area
- Family Run
- Howqua
- Howqua Extension
- Little Buller Spur
- Koflers
- Magic Forest
- Scott Talbut Downhill
- Shakey Knees
- Skyline
- Snowtubing Park
- Spurs Beginner Area
- Summit
- The Hard Shafts Bowl
- Whiskey Creek Trail
- Wombat
Who Manages Mount Buller?
A special board manages both the Mount Buller and Mount Stirling Alpine Resorts. This board acts like a local council for these areas in Victoria. The Mount Stirling Alpine Resort is next to, but not part of, the Shire of Mansfield. This separate management for alpine resorts has been in place since 1958. Mount Buller's rules for management were first made in 1960. Since 1997, alpine resorts have been separate from the surrounding local government areas.
Meet the Board Members
The Mount Buller and Mount Stirling Alpine Resort Management Board was updated on March 39, 2018. The members of the board are:
- Jaqui Jennings (Chairperson)
- Richard Leder (Deputy Chairperson)
- Michael Monester
- Michelle Croughan
- Susan Lebish
- Helen Moran
- Peter Valerio
