Hotham - change to chains rules

Mt Hotham had a lot of problems last winter with incidents on the Harrietville Road and have revised some safety procedures. One of the outcomes is that they have made a new declaration about chains.

In a  nutshell, everyone travelling from Harrietville to Hotham must carry diamond pattern chains that can be fitted to their vehicle. Ladder chains, spider chains and snow socks are not allowed. Bear this in mind if you are heading to Hotham.

This has caused a lot of angst for people with cars/wheels that can't take diamond chains.

The Falls Creek road is not nearly as hazardous as the Hotham-Harrietville road and a similar ruling may never eventuate. However, you never know. If you are buying a new car, or new rims, it may be wise to consider whether they can accommodate diamond pattern chains.

valley news

Yackandandah Creek bridge reopened
If you travel to Falls Creek via Albury/Wodonga you will be very pleased to hear that the new bridge has been completed and the Kiewa Valley Highway reopened shortly before Christmas. No more long detour north of Kiewa!

The bridge was seriously damaged by flash flooding about 12 months ago and had to be replaced. The highway has been closed since.

Be aware that there are still some speed restrictions in place.

new brewery premises in Mt Beauty
You may have already enjoyed a drop of the local Sweetwater beer at Falls or in Mt Beauty. Previously located at Annapurna winery, Sweetwater has now relocated to new premises on the Kiewa Valley Hwy in Tawonga South, directly opposite the Mt Beauty Holiday Centre (that's the caravan park).

The owner and brewer is a keen skier, you've probably seen him zipping around the resort on his tele skis. He's also a very keen fisherman. At this stage he's open Fri, Sat & Sun evenings for beer & snacks if you are looking for a refreshing ale when you are in the valley.

Important Falls Creek info via SMS

After the extreme weather and road closures in September, FCRM has decided to initiate an SMS broadcast service for Falls Creek residents, businesses and stakeholders. They will use the service to get important information to registered users as quickly as possible. This would have been invaluable when the road closure situation was changing and convoys were being organised. The service is free, and I have been assured that personal contact details will only be used by FCRM to supply resort information.

If you are a regular Falls Creek visitor and would like to receive these messages, please email willflamsteed@fallscreek.com.au and request that he register you for the SMS Broadcast Service. You need to supply the following information:

Name:

Email:

Mobile:

Category = Off-mountain stakeholder

Bogong High Plains Rd to Falls Creek is now open all hours

FCRM advise that Vicroads and Police have okayed the road to be open night and day.

There are still 2 sets of traffic lights where the road is reduced to one way (near Clover Dam and just below Turnback) and you should be cautious throughout the drive.

Falls Creek Rd Daylight Hours Only

* update: closure is now 6pm to 6am (not 7:30am as stated below) *

The Falls Creek road will be closed at 6pm every night until further notice.FCRM have provided the following advice:

The Victorian Police and VicRoads have directed that the Bogong High Plains Road between Falls Creek and Mount Beauty will be closed between 6pm and 7.30am each night for the immediate future.

Many of you have likely witnessed the numerous landslides and fallen trees along the Bogong High Plains Road to Mount Beauty resulting from the recent severe weather.

While there has been a considerable cooperative effort among many agencies to reopen the road, there still remains areas of some risk due to landslides and trees that are in imminent danger of falling.

VicRoads has determined that the risks posed by these areas are manageable during daylight hours. They have determined however, that the risk is unacceptable during the night due to restricted vision.

The road between Falls Creek and Mount Beauty will therefore be closed at 6pm every night. Cars must leave the resort by 545pm to ensure this occurs.  There will be no exceptions to this rule. 

This is a decision made exclusively by Vic Police advised by a qualified VicRoads assessor.

All systems are Go!

The road is open again, although drivers are warned to be be extremely cautious. Ski Patrol reported that the base has frozen and there has been a  nice top up of fresh snow.

Road Closures due to Severe Weather

The extraordinary weather over the last few days has affected access to Falls Creek. In particular, there have been some landslips on the road from Mt Beauty to Falls Creek and the road was closed for much of Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday afternoon there were escorted convoys to allow traffic on and off  the mountain. The road is now closed again and the following advice has been provided by FCRM.

As at 610pm Sunday September 5
Due to severe weather conditions and as a precautionary measure to travellers , the Bogong High Plains Road has been closed to all traffic by Victoria Police.

Escorted vehicles were allowed outbound and inbound access to the resort, but it is expected the road will again be closed to general traffic until re assessment on the morning of Monday September 6.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD ANY UN-ESCORTED TRAVEL OCCUR ON THE BOGONG HIGH PLAINS ROAD UNTIL THE ROAD IS OFFICIALLY OPEN. YOU WILL FACE FINES IF THIS OCCURS.

It is suggested any travellers in transit arrange accommodation in Mt Beauty or stay in Falls Creek overnight. If there is any change to these circumstances, you will be notified as soon as Resort Management is made aware.

There are also road closures on access roads to Mt Beauty. Specific details change as water levels rise and fall in different places. Access to and from Mt Beauty has been possible, given some route planning to avoid the closures. Vic Roads is updating its road closure bulletin several times a day. You can check it at http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/TrafficAndRoadConditions/EmergencyConditions/ExtremeWeatherLatestRoadInformation.htm 

CODE RED for North East on Tuesday 12 Jan

Tuesday 12th Jan has been declared a Code Red (Catastrophic) fire danger rating for the North East Fire District, which includes Falls Creek. The Government's advice on such days is that "If you live in a bushfire prone area the safest option is to leave the night before, or early in the morning".

From Parks Victoria and DSE

Parks Victoria and the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) advise that all national and state parks and forests in the North Country and the North East will be closed tomorrow in the interest of public safety.

“Many of our parks are large, open landscapes surrounding roads and towns, so access cannot be prevented. We can only stress the intense level of fire risk in these bushland areas and close visitor sites wherever possible,” ...

Those who are already in a park or forest area are advised the safest option is to leave tonight or early tomorrow morning. Bushfires which start on a day of CODE RED Fire Danger Rating may be uncontrollable, unpredictable and move quickly.

Parks Victoria and DSE encourage visitors already in these areas to contact the local Visitor Information Centre to find out about alternative tourism opportunities in lower risk areas.