Ben Lomond in north-west Tasmania may be one of the smallest ski fields in Australia, but it has the potential to be one of the best, with some planning.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Curator of the National Alpine Museum of Australia Michelle Stevenson visited Ben Lomond for the first time in 2019.
She said she was struck immediately by its beauty, but also by the generational history of the area.
Ms Stevenson, from Victoria, visited Tasmania's second-highest mountain and only ski field resort as a delegate for the Australian Alpine Sports History Association's conference.
The conference is held at a different ski resort each year, and it was the second time held in Tasmania.
An avid skier, Ms Stevenson said Ben Lomond was one of the smallest ski fields in Australia, but it had potential to mix it with the best smaller resorts, such as Mount Baw Baw in Victoria and Charlotte's Pass in New South Wales.
"It [Ben Lomond] is a small resort, but it does compare with some of the smaller ski fields, with a bit of investment it could truly compete with ski fields of a similar size," she said.
Tourism operators on Ben Lomond have called on the Tasmanian Government to invest in the mountain to encourage investors to take on a commercial lease.
Ms Stevenson said as a historian, the generational history of the tourism operators and their families struck her. She said development had flourished on Ben Lomond due to the passion of these families.
"That sense of community and passion was incredible; Ben Lomond has always been a place where development has been driven by the community, sometimes in the face of opposition from the government and Parks [and Wildlife]," she said.
Both businesses at the top of the mountain are for sale and are keen to see some investment from a government level.
While Parks and Wildlife have committed to building a new public shelter on the peak, stakeholders have slammed a hands-off approach of the department to activities such as snow-making and grooming of the slopes.
Ms Stevenson said snow-making was a crucial element to future-proof any ski slope, and Ben Lomond was no different.
"The biggest challenge is to create a reliable carpet of snow, so snow-making helps in years like this one, to mitigate low natural snow fall," Ms Stevenson said.
She said when she visited in 2019, she noticed Ben Lomond was quite a rocky alpine environment, so it could benefit from a summer grooming schedule.
There is small snow-making capacity on Ben Lomond, with snow cannons owned by Ben Lomond Snow Sports, but owners have said red tape prevents them from regular use.
The responsibility for grooming has fallen to volunteers of Ben Lomond Committee but isn't on a schedule.
Ben Lomond had made such an impression on Ms Stevenson she had planned to visit the peak this winter, before the pandemic and before Victorian's second wave forced lockdown.
"For someone who regularly has to travel six plus hours to the ski fields she prefers, having Ben Lomond so close to most Tasmanians is a unique advantage," she said.
Ms Stevenson said she would be visiting Ben Lomond at the next opportunity when COVID-19 restrictions ease.