Mount Stirling

Mount Stirling
The Bluff Spur Hut at Mount Stirling
Highest point
Elevation	1,747 m (5,732 ft) ^[1] AHD
Coordinates	37°07′S 146°31′E / 37.117°S 146.517°E / -37.117; 146.517
Geography
Location	Victoria, Australia
Parent range	Great Dividing Range
Climbing
First ascent	Unknown
Easiest route	Hike/ski/4WD

Mt Stirling Alpine Resort
Telemark skier at Mount Stirling
Location	Mount Stirling
Nearest city	Benalla, Victoria
Coordinates	37°07′S 146°31′E / 37.117°S 146.517°E / -37.117; 146.517
Website	www.mtstirling.com.au

Mount Stirling is a mountain in the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia. The mountain has an elevation of 1,747–1,749 metres (5,732–5,738 ft) above sea level.^[1]^[2]

Mount Stirling is also an abbreviation of the Mount Stirling Alpine Resort, a cross-country and backcountry ski resort located on the slopes of the mountain and situated approximately 230 kilometres (140 mi) from Melbourne. The Mount Stirling ski resort is a popular location for beginner backcountry skiers and snowboarders due to its distance from Melbourne and proximity to the Mount Buller Alpine Resort. The Mount Stirling Alpine Resort is contained within an 2,820-hectare (7,000-acre) Unincorporated area of Victoria; the larger surrounding locality of Mount Buller is part of the Shire of Mansfield. As at the 2011 census, the area had a population of 36.^[3]

Mount Stirling was named in honour of James Stirling, a surveyor and later, the Victorian Government Geologist.^[4]

Location and features

The mountain and ski resort are located at the head of the Delatite River, which flows westwards. It is surrounded by the Stirling Circuit Road, which provides access to mountains further into the Victorian Alps. In winter the road is closed at Telephone Box Junction, from which it is generally possible to ski to reach the summit (depending on conditions it is sometimes necessary to walk the lower section).

The mountain has fantastic views across to nearby Mount Buller as well as the high range that runs from Mount Cobbler through Mount Speculation and the Cross cut Saw and Mount Howitt. From there the range swings westwards, finishing in The Bluff, an impressive tilted plateau that has large clifflines on its northern side.

The lower reaches of the mountain are dominated by Alpine Ash forests, which merge into Snowgum Woodlands above approximately 1,400 metres (4,600 ft). There is a small part of the summit area which sits above treeline.

Huts

There are a number of huts in the area of Mount Stirling providing emergency refuge to visitors:

Bluff Spur Hut is a shelter hut near the summit erected as a memorial to a pair of skiers who died of exposure on the mountain.
Kingsaddle Shelter, an open shelter amidst towering Alpine Ash.
Howqua Gap Hut was moved around Mount Stirling for loggers to shelter in and was left at the bottom of the Howqua Gap trail.
Geelong Grammar School Hut on the other side of the summit from Bluff Spur Hut is owned by Geelong Grammar School and is used during cross country skiing by students from the Timbertop campus.
Craig's Hut in the Clear Hills, built as a set for the film, The Man from Snowy River, was destroyed on 11 December 2006 by the Eastern Victoria Great Divide bushfires;^[5] and has since been rebuilt.^[6]
Mount No 3 Refuge Hut, rebuilt in 2007
Bus Hut on the Mount Number 3 Road

Seasonal activities

In winter the area is a patrolled cross country and back country ski resort. Maps of ski trails are available at the entry gate.

In summer the area is popular with four wheel drivers and bush walkers. The trail from the Circuit Road to the summit takes less than two hours to walk and is popular for day and over night trips. Also, when it is not snowing or in danger of bushfires, the area is used by numerous educational groups.

References

1 2 "Mount Stirling: Historical Information". Vicnames. Government of Victoria. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
↑ "Stirling 2010: Draft Management Strategy" (PDF) (PDF). Mount Buller and Mount Stirling Alpine Resort Management Board. January 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "2011 Community Profiles: Mount Stirling Alpine Resort (Statistical Local Area)". 2011 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
↑ "Mount Stirling Alpine Resort: Information and Resource Kit" (PDF) (PDF). Alpine Resorts Commission. c. 1992. p. 10. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
↑ "Bushfires ravage iconic Craig's Hut". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 December 2006.
↑ "Our latest news for Summer 2007-08". High Country Horses. Merrijig Victoria. Retrieved 27 November 2007.

External links

Media related to Mount Stirling at Wikimedia Commons

Mount Stirling official website

Coordinates: 37°07′S 146°30′E / 37.117°S 146.500°E / -37.117; 146.500

Australian skifields
NSW	Perisher Perisher Valley Blue Cow Guthega Smiggin Holes Charlotte Pass Thredbo Selwyn Snowfields Cabramurra
Victoria	Mount Buller Alpine Resort Mount Baw Baw Falls Creek Hotham Alpine Resort Dinner Plain Lake Mountain (XC) Mount St Gwinear (XC) Mount Stirling (XC)
Tasmania	Ben Lomond Mount Mawson
ACT	Corin Forest
Former skifields	Mount Buffalo Kiandra Mount Franklin Kunama Hut

Mountains in Victoria, Australia

Grampians

William (1,167 m or 3,829 ft)
Difficult
Wilson
Zero

Victorian Alps

Bogong High Plains	Nelse West (1,893 m or 6,211 ft) Nelse North (1,885 m or 6,184 ft) Fainter South (1,883 m or 6,178 ft) Hotham (1,862 m or 6,109 ft) McKay (1,849 m or 6,066 ft) Cope (1,837 m or 6,027 ft) Spion Kopje (1,837 m or 6,027 ft) Jim (1,818 m or 5,965 ft)
Cathedral Range	Lake (1,482 m or 4,862 ft) The Green Hill (1,241 m or 4,072 ft) Sugarloaf (904 m or 2,966 ft) The Cathedral (801 m or 2,628 ft) South Jawbone Peak (761 m or 2,497 ft)
Cobberas Range	Cobberas No. 1 (1,810 m or 5,938 ft) Cobberas No. 2 Moscow Peak Middle Peak Cleft Peak
Cobbler Plateau	Speculation (1,648 m or 5,407 ft) Cobbler (1,628 m or 5,341 ft) Koonika (1,545 m or 5,069 ft) Despair (1,460 m or 4,790 ft)
Other	Bogong (1,986 m or 6,516 ft) Feathertop (1,922 m or 6,306 ft) Loch (1,865 m or 6,119 ft) Buller (1,805 m or 5,922 ft) Wills (1,755 m or 5,758 ft) Gibbo (1,750 m or 5,741 ft) Stirling (1,749 m or 5,738 ft) Howitt (1,742 m or 5,715 ft) The Horn (1,723 m or 5,653 ft) Buffalo (1,723 m or 5,653 ft) Wellington (1,634 m or 5,361 ft) Buggery (Alpine) (1,598 m or 5,243 ft) Baw Baw (1,567 m or 5,141 ft) Torbreck (1,516 m or 4,974 ft) St Gwinear (circa 1,500 m or 4,921 ft) Mueller (1,460 m or 4,790 ft) Selma (1,456 m or 4,777 ft) Useful (1,435 m or 4,708 ft) Tambo (1,430 m or 4,692 ft) Selwyn (1,411 m or 4,629 ft) Terrible (1,325 m or 4,347 ft) Donna Buang (1,250 m or 4,101 ft) Buggery (Wangaratta) (1,153 m or 3,783 ft) Bulla Bulla (906 m or 2,972 ft) Dom Dom (740 m or 2,428 ft) Brumby Point Pine

Other
mountain ranges

Central Highlands	Macedon (1,001 m or 3,284 ft)
Dandenong Ranges	Dandenong (633 m or 2,077 ft)
Pyrenees Ranges	Avoca (747 m or 2,451 ft) Warrenmang (537 m or 1,762 ft)
Strzelecki Ranges	Tassie (740 m or 2,428 ft)
Other	Matlock (1,377 m or 4,518 ft) Ritchie (1,259 m or 4,131 ft) Toorongo (1,247 m or 4,091 ft) Horsfall (1,130 m or 3,707 ft) Kaye (998 m or 3,274 ft) Elizabeth (941 m or 3,087 ft) Ghiran (924 m or 3,031 ft) Disappointment (794 m or 2,605 ft) Riddell (781 m or 2,562 ft) Beenak (745 m or 2,444 ft) Alexander (744 m or 2,441 ft) Buninyong (719 m or 2,359 ft) Hanging Rock / Diogenes (718 m or 2,356 ft) Warrenheip (714 m or 2,343 ft) Franklin (648 m or 2,126 ft) Beckworth (634 m or 2,080 ft) Corhanwarrabul (628 m or 2,060 ft) Tarrengower (556 m or 1,824 ft) Warrenmang (526 m or 1,726 ft) Teneriffe (444 m or 1,457 ft) Napier (440 m or 1,444 ft) Briggs Bluff (420 m or 1,378 ft) Arapiles (369 m or 1,211 ft) You Yangs (352 m or 1,155 ft) Leura (313 m or 1,027 ft) Noorat (310 m or 1,017 ft) Elephant (240 m or 787 ft) Warrnambool (216 m or 709 ft) Budj Bim (Eccles) (178 m or 584 ft) Wycheproof (148 m or 486 ft) Cooper (137 m or 449 ft) Fraser Hopeless Typo

Local government areas of Victoria

Greater Melbourne

Inner Melbourne	Melbourne Port Phillip Stonnington Yarra
Metropolitan	Banyule Bayside Boroondara Darebin Glen Eira Hobsons Bay Kingston Manningham Maribyrnong Maroondah Monash Moonee Valley Moreland Whitehorse
Outer Metropolitan	Brimbank Cardinia Casey Frankston Greater Dandenong Hume Knox Melton Mornington Peninsula Nillumbik Whittlesea Wyndham Yarra Ranges

Barwon South West

Grampians region

Gippsland

Hume region

Loddon Mallee region

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