On Walkabout In: Winter on Mt. Hotham, Victoria

Here are some final scenes from Mt. Hotham as I drive down the mountain and back to Melbourne. The first picture is out towards Mt. Bogong which is the tallest mountain in all of Victoria at 1,986 meters:

Mt. Bogong is pretty much just a big high plateau that is supposed to have some excellent cross country skiing. The top of the mountain had long been used for cattle grazing, but grazing in the high country was banned by the government two years ago due to environmental concerns. At the time it was a big issue in Australia because the ranchers claim high country grazing limits the effects of bushfires while environmentalists say cattle harms the natural environment. I haven’t read enough about this issue to really make an informed opinion, but I do know one thing the bushfires last summer were one for the record books.

The cattlemen huts though are still used on top of the mountain, however not by cattlemen, but by hikers now. I will definitely get around to climbing Mt. Bogong probably some time this summer when the snow pack melts off to check out these huts.  (Note: Since this posting I have climbed Mt. Bogong.)

The most prominent mountain you see as you drive down Mt. Hotham is Mt. Feathertop:

The mountain is only slightly smaller than Mt. Bogong at 1,922 meters and the quite possibly the most beautiful mountain in Victoria. I will definitely get around to climbing this mountain sometime this year as well.

As you can see the snow pack on Hotham is still quite good, but the road was in good shape all the way down the mountain:

Here is a view of some snow gums and a deep canyon as I descend the mountain:

Looking off into the horizon there are more snow capped peaks of the Victorian Alps that are slowly being swallowed up by an incoming snow storm:

The clouds were definitely getting thicker with a few flakes of snow beginning to fall. I picked a good time to get down the mountain, but not before taking one last pick of my Jeep in the snows of the Victorian Alps:

Previous Postings:

Mt. Hotham Ski Resort

The Snowfields of Northern Victoria