They grow em big on Bawbs!
(Or did before wide-scale clear-felling ).
-(
(Or did before wide-scale clear-felling ).
-(Snow Report Mt Baw Baw 2022 - Trip Reports, Pics & Conditions.
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Join the conversation with a better online communityThey grow em big on Bawbs!
(Or did before wide-scale clear-felling ).-(
That was not meat to be a smiley face, thinking of clear-felling. 
The Whitelaw tree isThat was not meat to be a smiley face, thinking of clear-felling.
being subjected to logging within 200 M. of it. It is one
of
the
biggest trees in the state of Vic..
I expect that would be the sixties, I think those ex army trucks had all gone by the 70's. Newer purpose build buses replaced them. I used to sit next to the driver as a kid, just behind the flap (slide reversed) the guy in blue might be buttoning up, there was a small shelf there for the chains.
The location looks like the Mil with the road up on the right.Last edited:
Our logging policy is so screwed. Contractors and Vicforests are screaming about 2030, when they are there predecessors have decades of access to e biggest and most lucrative stands of ash.
Sure fires have made a big (huge) dent in future logging activity. But logging should have been reduced in volume eons ago (they had the maps and the date!) and brought back to a more sustainable, less catastrophic levels ages ago. But corporate and individual greed trumps the environment and our kids future every time. It’s tragic.
There’s no long-term vision for BB. It’s all rehashing (& sometimes refurbishing) the old infrastructure for a few more years.
Bb could further into that mythical chairlift that’s never happened. Possibly bid for a fixed grip quad in reasonable Nic.
Fund it with some if that Regional Development / AKA ‘Sports Rorts’ $s to cover the expense.
& Buy 2 or 3 more slushy machines for guaranteed top to bottom cover, and maybe buy an extra groomer if they’re struggling these days?
And add a decent wind/solar power station - & investigate hydro - it work for Stirling, admittedly at a very small scale.
Sth & West Gippsland (& SE metro) needs BB fully functional- time for the Government to listen.
Does anyone know what the local state MP, BB shire & Latrobe City councils think about the future of BB?
If it was an attraction in the northeast Alps & valleys, CoWang & Wodonga, Indigo & Alpine shires would be banging the gong!
S and W .Gippsland skiers should not allow BB to go the way of Mt. Buffalo( on mothballs/ cactus/ decomissioned/ death by planned neglect ) without a fight.There’s no long-term vision for BB. It’s all rehashing (& sometimes refurbishing) the old infrastructure for a few more years.
Bb could further into that mythical chairlift that’s never happened. Possibly bid for a fixed grip quad in reasonable Nic.
Fund it with some if that Regional Development / AKA ‘Sports Rorts’ $s to cover the expense.
& Buy 2 or 3 more slushy machines for guaranteed top to bottom cover, and maybe buy an extra groomer if they’re struggling these days?
And add a decent wind/solar power station - & investigate hydro - it work for Stirling, admittedly at a very small scale.
Sth & West Gippsland (& SE metro) needs BB fully functional- time for the Government to listen.
Does anyone know what the local state MP, BB shire & Latrobe City councils think about the future of BB?
If it was an attraction in the northeast Alps & valleys, CoWang & Wodonga, Indigo & Alpine shires would be banging the gong!
I think they should get cracking while an election in Vic. is around the corner in November 2022.
.The trouble is the state ALP have only one or two seats outside of the Melb. metro zone so they simply don't care.
Moreover Dictator Dan has probably never skied in his life which is odd because he comes from Wangaratta.He doesn't look like an outdoors fitness and recreation kind of person to me at all.
No, I suspect only a few MPs ski regularly (as Thwaites did) but very few would do the xc / BB type trip. Wrong demographic!
To be fair, if Libs got in I doubt theyd plough money into BB. They'd tender and it would probably go to a Lib mate (all parties do it!)
Bb really needs major Govt funding to make it more commercially viable.
In this post Covid - large deficit - era, I just dont see the Govt / any Govt funding big game changing infrastructure.
Its not AFL or Cricket, Tennis, Golf or Grand Prix (f1) and its too far from Mel to win votes!
Now if Gina R or Twiggy left a bequest??
Some people are beyond redemption After they expire even if they did leave their squillion dollars behind to help the environment/the arts/skiing/human
rights etc..
Someone like Gina Reinhardt leaving
Money behind to help make skiing viable for poor people in Moe and Warragul seems unlikely.
I remember as child riding in the back of those Chevy Blitz. Also when they got stuck in the snow all the dads would get out and push . Still remember the noise they made ..Here’s an old slide a guy I work with dug up,early 70’s he thinks.
What a weapon of a vehicle!
Not to mention the tree in the background….
or when it was really stuck, that was where you got out and walked.
And nobody complained.
Even when skiers in jeans were turning solid waiting for the new chair down.
They got priority loading depending on the volume of their chattering teeth.
Was anyone up there today? Only 2 ‘lifts’! Why no tank hill? Why no big hill carpet? School holidays and only the small magic carpet and half of hut run. Nuts.
The bb web site actually says they have not groomed the cross country ski trails and do not know what state they are in.Some people pay to ski there.
wtaf?!
Apparently heard from one anonymous source this year, “do I look like I want to run a XC ski resort”? (|:-0|
Sorry if I ‘had’ you there T man.
Apologies for ramming home the point here. This retort is becoming more common from leaders around the world - English speaking at least? Usually spoken by someone who like to contract out the service delivery and blame the service provider not themselves, the manager/ minister/ director…
As for BB issues, it’s mot like RM want to tell us why - except staff issues and unseasonable (early winter?) weather. Perhaps they’d receive more sympathy from the public if would address issues, use non grooming of xc trails and non running of lifts with skiable snow in situ.
Yes, absolutely, no question.
Your best bet would be to upload them onto YouTube and post the link here.
If you haven't got them digitised yet, there's a few places that can do it for you and give you the files.
If you need a bit more help, pm me and I can give you my mobile number to talk you through it. Although I don't Check in here too often
Good conditions at bb today. Firm down low but the fresh top up towards the summit had that nice crunchy feel/sound of dry snow. Summit xc trail was great and someone had been up there on very skinny skis. Skill! But the RM only went with Hut poma to tower 2 in the morning. So congestion problems with queues, lesson groups and beginners falling off. Lift ticket sales were suspended at some stage and family groups who had hired skis were very unhappy when they could not get lift passes. Poor communication between Resort Management and ski hire.
To make up some ground, they opened up the top of the Hut run after lunch. This suited me ok after a xc cruise in the morning and a couple of runs down Champagne. Ski patrol were very understanding. But some people went up to the top of Hut run who should not have been there. I rescued one. Summit run was empty with almost total cover, but thin and patchy in places after lunch. Then a freeze. Glad I went up today. Needs more snow. And maybe open Summit to tower 4 or 5 for beginners. Too much pressure on Hut.Last edited:
I don’t understand B not opening up skiable areas when the mtn is full of punters. Surely they could 1-2 more trained staff to operate summit? without the Summit T running, BB feels very small and limited.
Great to hear about the Summit xc trails. Must have had a groom at last? Hazzah! 
No grooming at all on xc trails. But I was able to ski from top of summit to Maltese and across Hut to Summit run with only 3 wash out spots (which could probably have been remedied by minimal grooming). Ski patrol I spoke to (when I was on champagne, trying to reconnect muscle memory with the tele turns I was ok with 3 years ago) suggested that they might run a groomer around summit xc trail but I cannot confirm if this happened. Still, great to get back up there.I don’t understand B not opening up skiable areas when the mtn is full of punters. Surely they could 1-2 more trained staff to operate summit? without the Summit T running, BB feels very small and limited.
Great to hear about the Summit xc trails. Must have had a groom at last? Hazzah!
Cheers CC, good to see you get up there and kick start the season.
One wonders, with so little area to groom, why the resort would ignore spending maybe just an hour grooming the XC trails, say twice a week?
They’d keep quite a few chookies happy(ier), and preserve the cover further snowfalls? Are personnel issues that bad? How does Bb groom the 10-20 hectares they do have open?
Keep it up anyway, I may test the grooming one day? (;-)
My 5th day at BB this season. Just one at LM so far. Will be at FC later in July and FC Hoppet week in August. Hopefully some training at LM before then.
As for bb management, clearly they don't care about xc one bit as xc skiers don't spend money. A shame, because their trails are sometimes better than LM, a little higher. Latrobe trail, for example, I took my daughter up there many years ago. Then they brought in dog sleds. For income, for the resort, supposedly.
Yes I agree it’s sad to see BB go backwards for XC and certain other aspects.
It needs management with both passion and resources. I think they are hamstring by their Govt, budgetary constraints but the lack of groom looks more like a lack of care. I should complain to the CEO, Gen Mgr. Etc…
TBF: XC tends to be overlooked by most stakeholders.
But it’s integral to Falls even if it’s only 10% Bed nights & Sat 5% of total revenue. And XC no’s. Are smaller again at Hotham but considered important by management, thankfully.
We almost need the old STAV to be active again - a block of activism and pressure. Resorts just pick off individual complaints at leisure. As one block, it’s much harder to do so.
Ask the RMB what it costs per hour to groom the trails, then setup a go fund me page each week and collect funds towards getting the grooming done.
Lets see how much interest there is from people really prepared to pay for the service.
I know how you feel about finding the smaller resorts dram. I am somewhat sympathetic to your view. However, you / we all know that without government intervention, BB & LM would go the way of Buffalo, fast. And might still do. And then what will lower-income folks do?
Anyway, paying for trails? I recall they tried that for a few a years, I don’t think the revenue paid for itself. Like all the XC hills?
And to be frank, based on reports from this year and the years just prior to Covid, I’m not confident that say $10 per skier x 50/ 100 per week, would cover their diesel, staff and maintenance costs.
You could flip this argument by: surveying visitors through the winter to get a good estimate of the % using the XC trails. Factor that % on the total tollgate revenue and that’s your approximate budget for grooming (& even patrolling?) XC trails.
Eve if only 1-2 % BB visitors go XC, that’s a sizeable revenue stream. Perhaps apply that % to one-off Govt. Grants too? One idea? Not a unique one I’m sure.
No tank hill platter or big hill carpet? Both of which spreads the beginners around and need minimal snow. Beginner snowboarders trying to get straight on the Hut Platter just creates long waits for all.I don’t understand B not opening up skiable areas when the mtn is full of punters. Surely they could 1-2 more trained staff to operate summit? without the Summit T running, BB feels very small and limited.
Great to hear about the Summit xc trails. Must have had a groom at last? Hazzah!
It’s nuts, but RM can’t hear ‘us’ or have constraints, that they’re not prepared to divulge?
Agreed, the number of people that have difficulty with the Hut lift due to the sharp little rise and levelling out is pretty significant.
BBRM know this - my son had fun with it a few years ago as a beginner 8 year old.
BB could avoid congestion by adding their ice-machine snow to the mid and upper slopes of the summit run and grooming. Yarda…?
A decent long run, spreading crowds to a degree - nothing super steep, a modest pinch up the last 20m.
But that’s not in the game plan - summit T & run seems only to be run after the heaviest dumps of snow.
What a waste! Especially during the school holidays.
They could easily run tank hill if it was groomed , also what i found was interesting if you try and pre purchase a lift day pass it still states full ticket price with only one lift running. Surely not ??
I hate to think how many punters the mountain has lost.
It is just year after year of poor management.
It’s terrible customer service and VFM! We’ll need to dib them into CAV or ACCC at this rate (if I actually go? these reports aren’t exactly encouraging?)
As things stand - it would be a better out outcome if the State Government contracted BSLs to run the mountain / resort and lift infrastructure. Just set the price right first. Costs + x?
Actually them running anything is the joke. But a lift rationalisation, with a Summit Chair, and functioning top to bottom (Summit) snow/ice making isn’t a bad idea?
Get rid of Painted T bars - which never runs - Big Hill Poma (ditto - or has that already happened?), Hut Run T and Summit T, place a good Nic, fixed-grip quad. Keep Maltese it’s a stand alone area.
For more VFM, rip out Tank Hill T and extend the chair up that run - so it makes the chair a 900m, dual-direction lift - a little like Orchard/Keoghs - with ~ half the vertical.
But without a functioning tob-bottom, SM or IM -system, spending money on BB lifts is pointless.
Big Hill poma has been redundant for more than 10 yrs i think , and i agree the painted run tow is not needed . Why they built it no one will ever know , one of the many hundred and thousands they have spent on consultants and planning , to get us nowhere
Do you think the clowns that mismanage both LM and BB actually read our ramblings and criticisms?
Fifty fifty. They do read their own Facebook comments.
If they can give me the experience I recently had on the lifts at Falls Creek or even half of that then I will be a return customer for downhill skiing at Baw Baw. I aim to try it at Baw Baw next month once we get some proper real snow in the second half of July 2022.When the skiing/ snowboarding part was contracted out, it hummed.
Keep all the lifts running when the snow comes from the new weather and give the contractors an extra 10 per cent of the profits from tobogganing for upgrading work.
(No interference from Big Skiing, please, would give it a chance.)
Swapping a Home Trail for a couple of jumps on Tank is crazy.
Should have left the VW beside Hut, and the Tubing/ Big Hill berms left in place would have made more sense ...Last edited:
Here is my exchange today with Baw Baw on FB Messenger....they seriously have no idea. If I am going to make the effort to drive up I want to know what they plan to run on the weekend. Is that too much to ask?
ME: Hi, will the Big Hill Carpet be open this weekend? Thanks.
BB: It depends, we will open as much as we can according to the snow conditions. You can always check our website.
ME: That isn’t helpful. Snow conditions are fine for the Big Hill Carpet to run. But it hasn’t run once this year yet.
BB: You must love that carpet right? I’ll follow it and hope we can run is asap.
ME: Not really. Just no progression for young kids from the small carpet. Hut Platter is too much a step from that small carpet. Especially when summit T Bar isn’t running.
Website saying lift passes sold out for the weekend. I wonder what they can them at? Also where do they do the night skiing?
