FALLS Creek has announced a major upgrade of its snowmaking will be undertaken over summer, with 12 new automated snow guns to be installed on its Drovers Dream run. Vice president and general manager at Falls Creek, Richard Phillips, said the upgrade was part of Vail Resort's ongoing investment in the guest experience, among a number of significant funding in this area over the last six years. “This upgrade will provide guests with more terrain and lifting access from opening day through to closing from the 2025 snow season,” he said. “Snowsports lessons will receive a boost from this excellent learning terrain and guests will have confidence of early and late season terrain offerings. “Two of Falls Creek’s terrain parks will also benefit, enabling them to open earlier and be maintained longer through the season. “The Drovers Dream snowmaking project will transform the experience for guests in early winter, opening up this amazing beginner and intermediate terrain for guests earlier than we have ever done in the past, and keep it open longer into the season. “It will be a significant improvement for our snowsports school offering, particularly during early and late season conditions, and will also improve snow coverage and possibilities at our terrain parks.” Drovers Dream runs alongside two terrain parks for progression learning and has views of Rocky Valley Lake. Mr Phillips said it will also even out the flow of guests in early and late season by providing beginner and low intermediate terrain options including Drovers Dream, Main Street and Australia’s longest green run - Wombat’s Ramble. Falls Creek’s Snowsports School senior manager Danny Foster was also excited about the upgrades. “This project will provide incredible teaching terrain from very early in the season and our instructors will be over the moon to return to Falls Creek in 2025 with this enhanced terrain offering to deliver amazing lessons to skiers and boarders of all ages and abilities,” he said. “The new, automated and energy efficient modern snowmaking guns will allow the snowmaking team to be able to maximise snow production opportunities as the temperature drops without the lost time associated with older technology and infrastructure. “The project will also include partial realignment and placement of the new snow guns along Drovers Dream to provide improved skiing and boarding terrain in this area.” Falls Creek Chamber of Commerce president Michelle Lovell said snowmaking during the 2024 winter was exceptional at Falls Creek. “It provided great skiing and snowboarding on all key terrain when Mother Nature didn’t deliver,” she said. “The Falls Creek community, our businesses, and our guests are excited to see another round of investment that will create a reliability second to none in Victoria and further lift our skiing and snowboarding experience.” Over the past six years, Vail Resorts has invested heavily into the guest experience at Falls Creek, with a focus on snowmaking systems and grooming fleets, as well as snow fences across the resort. “These are all important functions to ensure we can make snow, move snow and catch snow all season long,” Mr Phillips said. Other recent investment projects at Falls Creek include: - replacing snowmaking compressors with new machines in the central pumphouse located at the base of Towers chairlift; - adding six new automated snowmaking guns across the resort and two modern, energy efficient PistenBully snow grooming cats to the fleet; - replacing all snowmaking on Main Street with a modern automated system to maximise snowmaking opportunities, allowing the run to open earlier and close later each season; - adding additional automated snowmaking on Wombat’s Ramble, improving efficiency and output; and - replacing snowmaking pipes at the base of the Ruined Castle chairlift, allowing for increased water flow and maximised efficiency of snow guns in the area.
