THINK you know all there is to know about Mt Hotham?
Test your knowledge with this short but incredibly interesting historical quiz.
Answers and explanations are on page 19 (no cheating!).
The explanations are far more interesting than the questions.
1. For several years before the Blue Ribbon chair was installed, the area was served by what sort of lift?
a. No lift
b. Nutcracker rope tow
c. Platter
d. Poma
e. T–bar
f. High–speed, hooded, detachable 8–seater chairlift with heated seats designed by Porsche
ANSWER
a. AND b. Started out with a Nutcracker Rope Tow in 1952 and was Hotham's original ski lift. The nutcracker ceased operations in the early 1970s, leaving no lift in the Blue Ribbon area until the current triple chair was installed in 1981.
Of interest, there are a few chairlifts like 'f' (high–speed, hooded, detachable 8–seater chairlift with heated seats designed by Porsche) getting around these days. The first I came across was in Laax Switzerland in 2018.
2. Of the following surface ski lifts at Mt Hotham, which was the first to be installed?
a. Summit T–bar
b. Basin Platter
c. Brockhoff Poma
d. Sun Run T–bar
ANSWER
c. Brockhoff Poma was first installed in 1973 and ran until 1986, when it was replaced by the Heavenly valley chair the following season.
Of the remainder, Basin was installed in 1974, Sun Run in 1977 and Summit in 1979.
3. The lower part of Blue Ribbon was formally known as the ....?
a. Plains of Hell
b. Plains of Paris
c. Plains of Crystal
d. Plains of Heaven
ANSWER
b. AND d. Known variously by both Plains of Paris (in the early 1930s) and the Plains of Heaven (when the first lift was put in 1952). There was even a Ski School platter lift down there for a few years in the early 80s. Heaven knows how the novices got down there to use it – a true test of 'french fries' & 'pizza' skills!
4. In recent times, a snow cat was used to lift skiers from the Spargos Access trail up a rise to access the Golden point off–piste 'Kat–skiing'(sic) zone. How much vertical (in metres) did the snowcat ascend between the pick–up point and the drop off point?
a. 20m
b. 50m
c. 75m
d. 100m
ANSWER
a. Yep. Only 20 metres vertical (give or take!). That's why most people just walked it! Worth it though, some of Hotham's best powder day skiing is over that side.
5. Which of the following has NEVER been a ski run name on an 'official' Hotham trail map?
a. A2
b. Rubbish Bin Slope
c. Herbert's Hubris
d. Witching Waves
e. All of the above
ANSWER
c. Herbert's Hubris is a made–up name, but there are loads of similar names still current, or were used in recent history that are real i.e. Harris' Horror, Hackers Horror, Marilyn's, Dickson's Drop, Keoghs Bash etc..
Of the others, A2 is the original name of Imagine before it got 're–shaped' with the introduction of the Heavenly Chair. FYI, A1 was the original name for Twilight. The delightfully named Rubbish Bin Slope was listed on several early trail maps to skier's left of the Women's Downhill off–piste slope behind Mt Higginbotham. Witching Waves was in the vicinity of the Lower Hoggs Back or Lower Blue Ribbon/Varsity Drag (depending on which map one looks at!).
6. Of the following chairlifts at Mt Hotham, which was the last to go in?
a. Roadrunner chairlift
b. Summit chairlift
c. Blue Ribbon chairlift
d. Heavenly Valley chairlift
e. Village chairlift
f. Big D chairlift
ANSWER
a. Roadrunner. The 80s and early 90s were great for Australian skiing. So many new lifts were put in, essentially setting up the resorts as we know them today. Of the chairs in the question, Roadrunner was the last installed in 1995. In order, the others were: 1981 (Blue Ribbon), 1984 (Big D), 1987 (Heavenly Valley), 1988 (Summit) and 1993 (Village).
7. The Playground chair, Hotham's first chairlift, was allegedly almost originally installed in what area of Mt Hotham?
a. Marys Slide
b. Blue Ribbon
c. Avalanche Gully
d. Australia Drift
e. Dargo Bowl
f. Slalom Gully
ANSWER
d. Australia Drift. Can you imagine what the resort would look like today if the original placement of the Playground chair had been on Australia Drift and extending down to near the bottom of Avalanche Gully. Oh the possibilities! Common sense must have prevailed, and the chair was instead placed near its current alignment in 1969 but extended all the way into the Swindler's Creek valley near the Village chair base.
8. Where was the Koala Park area located?
a. Middle of Big D
b. Near White Crystal
c. On the Summit
d. Phillip Island
ANSWER
b. Koala Park was (is?) located behind the current White Crystal building, between it and Zirkys, but to be fair, there is also one on Phillip Island, so 'd' is also correct! The area was served by the Koala Park platter lift in the mid–90s which was later moved to the summit area to become the Summit Trainer. There is speculation that the Koala Park platter was the original Basin platter, which ran along the Basin run before the Village was installed.
9. Before the Roadrunner chair and ski bridge were installed in 1995, how did skiers & snowboarders get across the Alpine Road to the lower slopes?
a. Jumped over it from the high snowbank opposite Wendix
b. Skied across it when snow covered.
c. Skied across it when not snow–covered.
d. Walked across it.
e. All of the above.
ANSWER
You guessed it, 'e', all of the above. There are some classic photos of road jumps from as early as the 60s. And let's face it, lots of people STILL ski across the road when there is no snow on it, much to the chagrin of the staff at Hoys & Snow monkey....!
10. The most recent major lifts installed at Mt Hotham were Gotcha, Keoghs & Orchard. In what year did they first operate?
a. 1996
b. 1997
c. 1999
d. 2001
e. 2003
ANSWER
b. 1997. Hard to believe that Gotcha, Keoghs & Orchard have been spinning for 25 seasons this year. How time flies.....
11. The best ski lift at Mt Hotham is ....?
a. Heavenly Valley
b. Blue Ribbon
c. Gotcha
d. Village
e. Orchard/Keoghs
f. Summit
g. Big D
h. Roadrunner
i. All of the above
ANSWER
Whilst you are free to choose your favourite, the best answer could be 'i', all of the above. We are so lucky to be skiing in Australia. Any lift spinning and taking people up the hill for a joyous slide on snow is the best in our book!
EDITOR'S NOTE: The most definitive information about ski lift history in Australia is written by Hotham and Falls Creek skier, and expert on the topic, Dave Sisson. See the results of his extraordinary research at www.australianmountains.com
