Thredbo, New South Wales
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| Thredbo | |
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| Location: | |
| Nearest city: | Canberra |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Top elevation: | 2037m |
| Base elevation: | 1365m |
| Skiable area: | 480 ha. |
| Runs: | >50 |
| Longest run: | 5.9km (Karel's T-bar to Friday Flat) |
| Lift system: | 14 lifts |
| Snowfall: | 2.04m |
| Web site: | Official Site |
Thredbo () is a village and ski resort in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy River Shire. Thredbo is about 500 kilometres south of Sydney. It is accessible by the Alpine Way. It is built in the valley of the Thredbo River, formerly known as the Crackenback River, at the foot of the Ramshead Range.
The town has around 4150 beds but a permanent population of only about 300 people. When the mountain is fully covered by snow, Thredbo has the longest ski runs in Australia, and this attracts around 700,000 winter visitors annually. In summer, Thredbo is a hiking and summer sport destination, and hosts a blues music festival, boasting approximately 300,000 summer visitors. (Figures are as of 2005. [1], [2])
Thredbo was developed by a syndicate of people who were working on the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. In 1957 this syndicate was granted a head-lease over the area that Thredbo now occupies. Development occurred in following years under Lend Lease Corporation. In January 1987, Amalgamated Holdings Limited (AHL) purchased the head lease from Lend Lease. AHL operates the Thredbo village, services, real estate, and lease arrangements as a public company.
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[edit] Ski resort
Thredbo is one of Australia's leading ski resorts. It is modelled on a European skiing town. Unlike Perisher Blue it is an actual town with lodges, shopping and nightlife. Thredbo has 14 lifts (4 hi-speed quads, 5 t-bars, 3 double chairs, 2 snowrunners). It has the steepest overall terrain of any ski resort in Australia and also the highest lifted point (2037m AHD). Thredbo is regarded by some as the best NSW ski resort when fully covered, but because of the low altitude (1365m) of its base, the resort does not always keep snow on the lower half as the temperatures are too high to sustain it there. Because of this Thredbo has invested in the largest snowmaking system in the Southern Hemisphere that runs mainly at night to top up the lower half of the mountain and any other high traffic areas.
Snowmaking at Thredbo now covers 65 hectares of trails for all levels of skiers, using a three stage automated process the cost close to $6 million. The automated areas at include the Supertrail, Friday Flat, High Noon, The Cruiser area's Walkabout and Ballroom, Sundowner, Lovers Leap bypass, World Cup and Lower True Blue. The village has free shuttle buses running to the Valley Terminal, Friday Flat and some of the ski lodges.
Thredbo has over 50 ski runs and employs a standard 3-colour grade system, with green being beginner, blue intermediate and black diamond advanced. The resort has received some criticism for varying the standards of these grades in different areas of the mountain. The longest continual run is from the top of Karel's T-Bar to Friday Flat and is 5.9km long; however, this is composed of several trails. The longest single run is the Crackenback Supertrail, 3.7km long, which is publicised as the longest run in Australia. The hardest run in Thredbo is said to be Funnel Web, notorious for its near-vertical middle section.
[edit] Terrain parks
Thredbo has several terrain parks;
- Wombat World- a terrain park for the littlies, which has a few bumps, funboxes and arches. Located on Friday Flat.
- Easy Rider Park- a terrain park for beginners to intermediates, which contains a few jumps and boxes. Located at the base of the Cruiser chairlift. A t-bar runs from the bottom to the top of this park.
- Intermediate park - This park has a series of rails, boxes, big jumps and a picnic table. It's always changing to challenge the rider. Located on High Noon.
- Advanced Park- a terrain park for experienced freestyle skiers and boarders with large jumps, rails and a wall ride. Located on Anotons.
- Ridercross- Accessible from Sponars T-Bar & Exhibition.
[edit] 1997 Thredbo landslide
Eighteen people died when the Bimbadeen and Carinya Lodges collapsed at Thredbo Alpine Village at 11.30pm on 30 July 1997. John Cameron, a member of Brindabella Ski Club, and 17 residents of Bimbadeen Ski Lodge lost their lives when Carinya (owned by the Brindabella Ski Club) and Bimbadeen Lodges collapsed when the slope above Carinya Lodge slipped downhill, destroying Carinya. Bimbadeen Staff Lodge was then hit, and it too collapsed. Witnesses reported hearing "a whoosh of air, a crack and a sound like a freight train rushing the hill". The sole survivor, Stuart Diver, was pulled from the wreckage after lying trapped for three days. Stuart was confined to a small space between two concrete slabs where his wife, Sally, drowned beside him in a torrent of water which Stuart was able to keep his head above.
Brindabella Ski Club opened its new lodge on 5 June 2004.
[edit] Thredbo Leisure Centre
The Thredbo Leisure Centre, opened in 1996, houses a 50 m and 25 m indoor swimming pool, wading pool with waterslide, the infamous mission inflatable, two full size basketball courts, fully equipped gymnasium, squash courts, physiotherapist and traverse climbing wall. It has been used by the many high profile athletes, including the Australian Institute of Sport for high altitude training in the lead up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
[edit] Mountain biking
Since the early 1990s, Thredbo in summer has been popular for recreational and competitive mountain biking, attracting serious racers from across Australia and overseas. There are kilometres of cross country singletrack and firetrail around Thredbo Village, the Thredbo golf course and other trails connecting Thredbo to its neighbouring villages.
Thredbo is host to the world-renowned downhill track, the Cannonball Run. The Cannonball Run is accessed by taking the Kosciusko Express Quad-Chairlift up to Eagles Nest. From Eagles Nest, the course runs back to the bottom of the chairlift, 600 vertical metres below. With approximately 4.2 kilometres of fast singletrack, rock gardens, a wall-ride, tight switchbacks and multiple drops and jumps, the Cannonball Run is one of Australia's longest downhill courses. The Cannonball Run is host to many races through the summer months, including national rounds, state rounds, the Ironhorse Australian Open, the National Interschools Mountain Biking Competition.
The Thredbo Mountain-cross (MTNX) track, designed by Glen Jacobs, an Australian trail expert, opened in 2005. It is situated on Friday Flat and comprises a start gate, multiple doubles, rollers, berms, moguls, gaps, step-downs and step-ups. The track has hosted numerous races since its opening including national rounds, state rounds and the National Interschools Mountain Biking Competition.
The company Raw NRG (pronounced: raw energy) is in charge of maintaining trails, selling chair-lift tickets and supervising the downhill course. RawNRG is located in Thredbo Village and offers lessons, bicycle and equipment hire and services and repairs.
