Hotham: Eagle Ridge Area
The Eagle Ridge is an area adjacent to the Mount Hotham, below and east of the Mount Loch Carpark and encompasses the area immediately west of the ski area between Heavenly Valley and Keoghs ski lifts. A popular spot for all levels of backcountry participants due to the proximity to the ski resort and the road. The topography makes it a snowy place where the aspect and the tree cover help it hold snow for the longer portion of the season. Make sure you don’t stray west into the steeper avalanche terrain or anywhere along the north bank of the creek downstream from the bottom of Pee Gully as this is all potentially avalanche slide path terrain.
As with the the Christmas Hills tour this tour is an enjoyable experience for everyone who is new to either backcountry skiing or Mount Hotham resort or both. This tour description is a little more interpretive as there are three or four descents worth savouring and how you string them together is entirely up to your party.
Palpable excitement and intensity looking back at Eagle Ridge from across the valley. Important: notice the cornice collapse and subsequent Natural Size 2 avalanche on the south face. The ski track on the right is the eastern margin of the avalanche terrain. Eagle Ridge is an introductory area that borders immediately with advanced terrain. The figure on top is standing on the summit of the ridge. The slope immediately behind ‘Freeheel Jimbo’ is referred to below as Pee Gully. One of two access options.
Follow all signs to Mt Hotham out of Harrietville and drive up the mountain. No mean feat in fresh snow conditions. At the first sign of ski resort infrastructure, the Mount Loch Car Park appears on the left of the road as you head down hill from ‘The Cross’, park here. You will need to pay resort entry of either $65 same day or pre purchased at $55. Literally pays to plan ahead…
This tour is entirely within the confines of the resort management area, as such your safety is the responsibility of the Hotham Ski Patrol. It is always worthwhile leaving an intentions form with them at the desk in the Ski Patrol Hut building just next to the Heavenly Valley Ski Lift unload area. Ski patrol will be available on (03) 5759 4038 , also check the daily conditions report issued by ski patrol here. Mobile reception is strong all the way from start to end. In an emergency call 000, but its likely Hotham Ski Patrol will be the first responders regardless, so it makes sense to call the number above as a follow up. Mobile reception is strong everywhere on this tour.
This tour is best suited to Alpine Touring, heavy Telemark and Split Boarding. There are some tight tree sections and your party will benefit from the added control of the heavier touring gear. Also there are some steep traverses and windward icy aspects to be crossed making ski/split crampons advisable. Skins essential, no place for pattern base skis.
Thankfully given the close proximity of the resort you can’t go too far wrong here. The high point of the ridge which we will refer to as the Ridge Summit is centre reference point. Anywhere below and west of the summit is steep ground and care must be taken as falls in icy conditions will be hard to arrest and potentially very hazardous, likewise, as previously shown, west of the summit avalanches occur, naturally… Stay well clear until you have those hazards dialled in. Judicious use of google maps will come in handy locating some initially obscured tree chutes / glades.
Famously, Drew Jolowicz again, at work this time in mid lockdown 2020 in a ‘low snow’ season sliding into the ‘no-go’ zone for this tour. The right hand glade is the intro route. Image: Chris Hocking
Tour Notes
Loch Car Park to Pee Gully
Skins on or just walk to the Heavenly ski lift visible beyond the dam. From here, sign in with the Ski Patrol team, make use of the public ammenities and then, head North West to the cat track (Mount Loch Road) that skirts behind the buildings and off you go. Down the road until you come to a conspicuous utility building on the right. There are two options here. This marks where Pee Gully drops down to below the ‘Eagle’. Or alternatively you can transition and head up to the intersection of the Eagle Ridge and the Mount Loch road at Eagle Top. If it’s fresh or spring corn, the trees are fun, if not the ridge might be a better call.
Pee Gully Proper. Obscured from above, the treed glade descends to the creek and avoids navigating through the tight tree growth. Worth investing the time to find.
Navigating the trees on Pee Gully is ‘enhanced’ with google maps as the obvious stripe of grass in the gully proper is obvious, or plug this coordinate in to a GPS: 36°58'13.6"S 147°08'28.3"E to get to the top of the obvious open glade.
If you skinned up to the ridge top then you transition and descend on a long leftward arcing downhill traverse, usually just below and left of the drifted ridge (give any obvious deep windloading a wide berth just to be safe) to meet the spaced snowgum grove that fills the gully. Pick the widest line and enjoy a roller coaster to the small flat area before the gully constricts and steepens at elevation 1680m.
Sucker Tracks: There will be likely trails coming up the gully. These may be coming around from the base of the Hotham North Spur. A long advanced tour through steep technical terrain, or possibly from shorter ‘laps’ on the steep aspects of The Eagles South Face. Stay safe and stay away from the steep ground.
Bottom of The Eagle
One of my favourite places to hang out and lap some of the glades in Pee Gully or on the Eagle Ridge. All worthwhile areas to enjoy. Yo-Yoing or lapping is the art of leaving your bag at a base and just skiing everything that looks good in sight. That’s what touring parties here generally do.
Important: avoid travelling through or stopping in the true water course of the gully as it has happened that people have fallen through to the creek and disappeared from sight completely. These ‘creek wells’ are formed when swirling winds drift snow from all directions, narrowing the opening to eventually close over the top of the ‘well’, making them impossible to see. Probe with a pole if you suspect shallow ground, the sound of the running water is a clear indicator to keep moving.
Eagle Ridge Summit and the ‘Eagle Ridge Extended’
If you and the party are out for more adventure than lapping the gully, skin up to the summit of the Eagle Ridge. Skin up through the gum groves and then out onto the open gully that leads up to the broad ridge / summit. From the North end of the flat summit, transition to downhill mode, and then head off North West then North over a distance of 500m with a descent of 130m vert. This takes you to a point on the true ridge top where the trees constrict travel. A fun long scenic journey to a remote promontory with Feathertop and the Razorback surrounding you. The burnt hillside East of the spur is tempting, with deep snow it can be fun, yet there’s lots of hidden rocks and logs when the snow is shallow. Now skin all the way back out again. It’s a long way back to the Loch Car Park so make sure everyone has plenty in reserve before contemplating the skiing the spur.