By ALYSON LAMB
Falls Creek and Mt Hotham enter the 2026 winter season with major summer works completed across both mountains, strengthening lift and snowmaking operations for the months ahead.
The off-season projects include a haul rope replacement on Falls Creek’s Halley’s Comet chairlift, snowmaking pipe upgrades on Hotham’s Sun Run, electrical drive and control system upgrades on Hotham’s Village Chair, and upgraded ticket scanning infrastructure across Hotham resort.
Together, the works form part of the behind-the-scenes preparation that takes place long before winter begins, helping keep resort infrastructure safe, reliable and ready for the demands of the season.
At Falls Creek, the replacement of the haul rope on Halley’s Comet was one of the resort’s largest off-season projects.
The high-speed quad chairlift is one of Falls Creek’s busiest lifts, providing access to Snowsports School, Cloud 9 and some of the resort’s most popular beginner and intermediate terrain.
“The haul rope replacement is a significant engineering feat, marking one of the largest pieces of off-season work undertaken at the resort this year,” said John Palmer, Falls Creek’s senior operations manager.
“Halley’s Comet is a key gateway for guests accessing our Snowsports School, Cloud 9 and some of our most popular beginner and intermediate terrain, making its reliable operation essential. It’s one of our busiest lifts in the season.”
The haul rope is the cable that moves around the lift line, carrying chairs between the bottom and top stations.
For Halley’s Comet, the new rope arrived as a single 1850-metre length, weighing about 7350 kilograms.
Falls Creek worked closely with Doppelmayr, a global ropeway manufacturer, to deliver the project.
At Hotham, summer works focused on snowmaking reliability, lift performance and smoother lift access.
Hotham’s senior mountain operations manager, Dan Gough, said the resort had completed the second phase of its snowmaking infrastructure upgrade, replacing steel pipeline from Hull Bridge down to the base of Sun Run.
“As part of the project, we’ve also installed several new TechnoAlpin lance guns on Sun Run as a trial, and we’re excited to see them in operation this winter,” Mr Gough said.
The Village Chair also received a significant behind-the-scenes upgrade over summer, with its drive system changed from DC to AC technology.
While the guest experience remains familiar, the upgrade introduces modern drive technology, additional operational functionality for staff, enhanced safety features and improved long-term supportability of key components.
Hotham also upgraded ticket scanning infrastructure across the resort, installing new RFID Axess Smart Gate systems designed to deliver faster scanning performance, a lower-profile design and a more modern look across lift access areas.
The projects highlight the significant work completed across both resorts during the warmer months, helping Falls Creek and Hotham support their lift, snowmaking and access networks throughout the 2026 winter season.