When people think of skiing in Australia, they typically think of just the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales and the Victorian Alps. but nearly 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) farther south, Tasmania offers an incredible winter experience as well. At Ben Lomond Alpine Resort, skiers and snowboarders don’t just share the mountain with fellow snow enthusiasts — they regularly encounter native wildlife wandering through the snow. Ben Lomond is the essence of the adventurous Tasmanian spirit and it is not rare that you will see Bennett’s wallabies and wombats after fresh snowfall.
Following recent snowfall on July 3, the resort shared a series of striking images with SnowBrains, showing Tasmania’s unique alpine environment blanketed in white, with native animals moving across the snow beneath the towering dolerite cliffs of Ben Lomond National Park.
Unlike Australia’s larger mainland resorts, Ben Lomond has developed a reputation for its quiet, remote atmosphere. Accessed via the famous Jacobs Ladder road — a spectacular series of tight switchbacks climbing onto Tasmania’s largest alpine plateau — the resort delivers an experience that feels distinctly Tasmanian.
The mountain has also been steadily evolving under the new owners. In July 2021, Stewart Hosken and Ben Mock took over the ski field from the Williams family, who had run Ben Lomond for nearly 50 years. Hosken and Mock have invested heavily in modernizing infrastructure while preserving Ben Lomond’s rugged character. During the most recent off-season, the resort expanded its snowmaking system with the addition of a TechnoAlpin TR9 snow gun fan gun, an HKD lance snow gun, upgraded pumping infrastructure, and four existing TechnoAlpin TR10 snow guns.
function sbSubscribe() {
var email = document.getElementById(‘sb-email’).value;
if (!email || !email.includes(‘@’)) {
document.getElementById(‘sb-email’).style.borderColor = ‘#D7424E’;
return;
}
var url = ‘https://snowbrains.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=1f247afab0a546e393c022f9a&id=bcbf6caf6b&f_id=003bf2e0f0’;
var data = new FormData();
data.append(‘EMAIL’, email);
data.append(‘tags’, ‘2188762’);
data.append(‘b_1f247afab0a546e393c022f9a_bcbf6caf6b’, ”);
fetch(url, { method: ‘POST’, body: data, mode: ‘no-cors’ });
document.getElementById(‘sb-form-wrap’).style.display = ‘none’;
document.getElementById(‘sb-success’).style.display = ‘block’;
}
For many Australian skiers, Ben Lomond remains one of the country’s hidden gems. Located around 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Launceston, it is Tasmania’s only commercial ski resort, while Mount Mawson is a club field. The ski area sits between approximately 1,470 and 1,570 metres (4,823–5,151 feet) above sea level and offers around 30 hectares (74 acres) of skiable terrain served by six surface lifts catering to beginner, intermediate, and advanced skiers. While considerably smaller than resorts such as Perisher or Falls Creek, Ben Lomond offers something increasingly rare: uncrowded slopes, spectacular alpine scenery, and a genuine sense of wilderness just 30 minutes from Tasmania’s second-largest city.
This winter, Ben Lomond is preparing for one of its most popular annual events. On Saturday, July 11, Ben Lomond will host its third annual Christmas in July Extravaganza, transforming Ben Lomond Base into a winter festival celebrating Tasmanian food, drink, music, and local artisans. The event has sold out in each of the past two years.
Festivities begin at 3:00 p.m. and include live music throughout the afternoon and evening, children’s entertainment, festive wreath-making workshops, whisky tasting, Christmas carols, fire performances, and food from a range of local Tasmanian vendors. Guests can also spend the morning enjoying snow play on the mountain before returning to the base area to warm up around outdoor fire pits with hot chocolate, mulled wine, spiced cider, and s’mores. Supported by Events Tasmania, the celebration has become one of Tasmania’s signature winter festivals, highlighting local producers against the dramatic backdrop of Ben Lomond National Park.
For a resort that many mainland Australians have never visited, Ben Lomond continues to carve out a unique identity. Between the native wildlife, distinctive alpine landscape, growing snowmaking system, and community-focused winter events, Ben Lomond offers an experience unlike anywhere else in Australian skiing.
PHOTOS
