Charlotte Pass, New South Wales

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Charlotte Pass is a location (elev. 1,837m) in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia where the Kosciuszko Road crosses Kangaroo Ridge. The location is also often referred to as Charlotte's Pass, both colloquially and in official documents[1].

Charlotte Pass Village (elev. 1,760m) is located at the base of Kangaroo Ridge to the south east of the pass, and is the highest permanent settlement in Australia.

The area is part of Kosciuszko National Park.

The pass and village are named after Charlotte Adams who, in 1881, was the first European woman to climb Mount Kosciuszko[2].

The Kosciuszko Road now terminates at Charlotte Pass. The last 9 kilometres leading to Mount Kosciuszko have been closed for environmental reasons, since 1982[3].

[edit] History

The historic Kosciuszko Chalet was the first building in the village, and was opened on May 10, 1930. The Chalet at Charlotte Pass was one of several alpine area accommodation facilities built by government in Australia, and offered an opulent life style at the time[4].

The Chalet burnt down in August 1938, and a new Chalet was built in its place the following summer. The Chalet is still the largest and most significant building in the village, and remains the heart of the village in winter.

Apart from the Chalet, the village contains 12 commercial and club lodges[5], and has the capacity to hold 607 guests[6][7].

The village and resort precinct are part of the Kosciuszko National Park, and the village is leased to and operated by Charlotte Pass Village Pty Ltd (CPV); all leases are due to expire by June 2015[5].

The area was one of the end points for the longest ski lift in the world, constructed from the Thredbo Valley in 1964. Due to high winds and technical difficulties it was closed after one season[3].

[edit] Recreation

[edit] Skiing

An area between Kangaroo Ridge, Mount Stillwell ridge, and Guthries Ridge is formally designated as the Charlotte Pass Alpine Resort[8][9].

It is the oldest and highest ski resort in Australia[6].

The resort contains five ski lifts, one triple chairlift, one T-bar, two J-bars and a beginner's rope-tow, accessing 50 hectares of skiable terrain[6]. The highest lifted elevation is 1964m; the base elevation 1755m; giving a downhill skier's vertical of 210m[6]. The resort currently only lifts to part of its leased area. A list of every ski tow to ever operate at Charlotte Pass can be found at wikiski

The resort is also very popular with cross-country skiers, as the village provides immediate access to Australia's highest peaks[10].

The resort receives, on average, more natural snow than other Australian resorts due to its elevation.

The Charlotte Pass ski area might be the only area in Australia with viable natural snow in several years time due the impact of global warming[11].

[edit] Cycling

[edit] Bushwalking

During the summer, Charlotte Pass is a base for bushwalkers with intent to walk to the top of Mount Kosciuszko and access the Main Range. The mountain is an 18km round trip via the Summit Walk, or a 22km loop via the post glacial Lakes Walk[2].

A shorter and easier walk to the Kosciuszko summit can also be accessed via Thredbo.

[edit] Accessability

In summer, access is by Kosciuszko Road from Jindabyne[2].

In winter, the area is snow-bound and can only be accessed by snowmobile from the Perisher Valley SkiTube terminal, which lies 8 kilometres to the north east, also via Jindabyne.

The area has not always been regarded as being easily accessible to all people. In the mid 20th century, the Chalet at Charlotte Pass was referred to as a breeding ground for snobocracy by local politician John Wesley Seiffert who by public criticism obtained a reduced bus fare to the area, thus opening the snowfields to a wider range of people[12].

[edit] Environment

Being an alpine area the area is subject to extremes in temperature, and is a recognised environmentally sensitive zone[1].

The area has been long been used as a base for environmental research, for example for plankton studies in the nearby post glacial lake Blue Lake (New South Wales) in 1937 using a flat bottomed boat[13], and more recently, for example in 1997 as a heliport for studies of the mountain pygmy possum[14].

[edit] Climate

Charlotte Pass has the coldest recorded temperature in Australia (excluding Antarctic territories), of -23.0°C on 28 June 1994[15].

The area's highest recorded temperature is 33.5°C[16].

Averages temperatures range in summer from about 4°C to 17°C and in winter from about -2°C to 2°C[16].

Annual rain fall averages 2329.6mm[16], with about half falling as snow between late May to late September, although conditions result in snow depth typically never exceeding 2.5m to 3m. Official snow depths are not recorded for Charlotte Pass, but are recorded by the Snowy Hydro Limited at nearby Spencer's Creek (elev. 1830m). A typical snow depth at its peak is about 1.5m to 2m[17][18][19].

Snow falls have been recorded at all times of the year, some persisting on the ground for days even in the middle of summer.

[edit] Ecology

Of major faunal significance is the mountain pygmy possum (Burramys parvus)[20], which from 1894[21] until 1966 was only known from the fossil record[3].

[edit] Management and services

The area is subject to a wide range of government legislation and environmental plans[7], and due to the environmental sensistivity of the area is one of the most heavily regulated areas in Australia.

Services such as garbage collection and sewage processing are the responsibility of the area's lessee.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b National recovery plan for the Threatened Alpine Flora. Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (2007-09-03). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  2. ^ a b c Charlotte Pass. Snowy Mountains regional tourism organisation (2006). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  3. ^ a b c NSW Wilderness Red Index - Jagungal. Colong Foundation for Wilderness Ltd. (1999-09). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  4. ^ Recreation in the Australian Alps. New South Wales Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Alps national parks Co-operative Management Program (2005-01-24). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  5. ^ a b Register of leases, easements and rights of way. New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change (2008-02-14). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  6. ^ a b c d Charlotte Pass Ski Resort - About. Charlotte Pass Village. Pty Ltd.. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  7. ^ a b Kosciuszko National Park: Contemporary Management. New South Wales Department of Education and Training, Riverina Environmental Education Centre. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  8. ^ Charlotte Pass Alpine Resort - Precint Map. New South Wales Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (2004). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  9. ^ Charlotte Pass Alpine Resort Precincts. New South Wales Department of Planning (2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  10. ^ 11 Years of the CCCSC Kosciuszko Tour - 1993 to 2003. Canberra Cross-Country Ski Club (2004-08-20). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  11. ^ Australian ski resorts must diversify or perish: ANU study. Australian National University (1997-06-10). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  12. ^ 'Seiffert, John Wesley (1905 - 1965)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition. Australian National University (2006). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  13. ^ WISENET Journal, Number 44, July 1997, Dr Isobel Bennett, AO - An oral history interview by Diana Wyndham. Women in Science Enquiry Network Inc. (1997-01). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  14. ^ Re-assessment of burramys parvus population size and distribution of habitat in Kosciuszko National Park: 1997 Progress Report.. Australian Institute of Alpine Studies (1998-05-02). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  15. ^ 1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2008. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008-02-07). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  16. ^ a b c Kosciuszko National Park - Climate. New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change (2008-04-22). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  17. ^ Australian Snow Statistics. Michael Paine - Sydney Australia (2005-06-02). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  18. ^ Snow Depth Chart - 1968 to 2007. South East Printing, Cooma (2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  19. ^ Chart of Snow Depths. Canberra Cross-Country Ski Club (1999). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  20. ^ Mountain Pygmy-possum - Priority actions. New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change (2005-09-01). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
  21. ^ Southern Exposure - Mountain Pygmy Possum. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (2000). Retrieved on 2008-04-30.

[edit] External Links