Lake Mountain

Lake Mountain
	A trail on Lake Mountain after a snowfall
height	1480 m
location	Victoria , Australia
Mountains	Great dividing range
Coordinates	37 ° 30 '17 " S , 145 ° 52' 32" O Coordinates: 37 ° 30 '17 " S , 145 ° 52' 32" O
particularities	popular cross-country skiing area

The Lake Mountain is a mountain in the southern Australian state of Victoria . It is part of the Great Dividing Range and is about 90 km northeast of downtown Melbourne at the northern end of the Yarra Ranges National Park .

The most popular ski area in Australia (in terms of visitor numbers) is located on Lake Mountain, which is due to its proximity to the city of Melbourne. However, only cross-country skiing is possible there.

The Lake Mountain Alpine Resort is a unincorporated area surrounded by the Murrindindi Shire Local Government Area .

Origin of name

There is no lake on Lake Mountain, it was named after George Lake , the head of the land survey for the area.

Facilities

The Lake Mountain Alpine Resort between the mountain and Echo Flat . There are a total of 37 km of groomed trails in the surrounding Yarra Ranges National Park. The pure cross-country skiing area is mainly visited by families (80% of the visitors). There are seven toboggan runs, the two most important of which are open to visitors. The first and most popular starts right at the Lake Mountain Alpine Resort Day Visitor Center , while the second branches off from the first on a steeper and longer route. Snowboarding is not permitted.

The visitor center opened on June 12, 2004, a public holiday on Queen Elizabeth's birthday . It cost AU $ 3.7 million including the renovation and conversion of two other buildings, a toilet block with lockers and a ski patrol center with a first aid zone.

There are a number of other facilities such as B. two fully equipped conference centers and a café-bar. The latter remains open all year round and is used by hikers and mountain bikers in summer.

In 2005 the ski patrol center was rebuilt so that outside the winter season (November - May) it could be used as a Snow Gum Lodge - noble private accommodation for wealthy tenants. It was the only place to stay overnight on the mountain, but it was destroyed in the 2009 forest fires.

Forest fires 2009

The February 7, 2009 forest fires caused significant damage to Lake Mountain. A large part of the forest burned down and almost all buildings - with the exception of the visitor center with ski rental and bistro - were destroyed.

With great efforts it was possible to achieve that the area could be used again for the winter season 2009. Temporary buildings were supplied to serve as toilets, accommodation for the ski patrols and a kiosk. Damaged wooden walkways and bridges have been restored.

Temporary buildings that had previously been used on the Formula I circuit in Melbourne were built on Lake Mountain after the February 7, 2009 forest fire.
The visitor center, the only building still preserved after the fire
Burned toboggan run on Lake Mountain
Burned trees somewhere on the ski trail

Road cycling

Lake Mountain is a popular spot for road cyclists because of the steep climbs to the Alpine Resort . Lake Mountain can be reached from two sides: from Warburton via an annoying 40 km long mountain route along the Reefton Gradient and from Marysville via a much more popular climb. The Marysville mountain range is 13 miles long and has a 3-4% gradient. The first 4.3 km of the ascent are the most strenuous with a 8.1% gradient.

Web links

Commons : Lake Mountain - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Lake Mountain . The Climbing Cyclist. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
^ Marysville to Lake Mountain - First 5kms . Strava. Retrieved July 26, 2012.

[1] Lake Mountain . The Climbing Cyclist. Retrieved July 26, 2012.

[2] Marysville to Lake Mountain - First 5kms . Strava. Retrieved July 26, 2012.