A newsletter for the resorts community of Kosciuszko National Park Thredbo Valley Track offi cially Opened The member for Monaro John Barilaro MP offi cially opened three Thredbo Valley ISSUE No 35 Track suspension bridges on Saturday 17 SUMMER November. About 30 people attended the what’sroundedup opening including local resort operators, thredbo valley track open .........P01 the local mountain biking club, the Geehi big plans for Mt biking ............... P02 Bush Walking Club and the general public. green maranatha lodge ............. P03 alpine resorts report 11-12 ....... P04 The completion of the bridges has enabled renewable energy ........................ P04 a further 3km of trail to be used from PRREMS awards ............................. P05 Thredbo Village. In total approximately 4th snowy mts of music ...............P06 opening w/e donations.............. P07 8km of trail is now open to the public. The support acts ................................... P07 suspension bridges are a key component internship - reba mourao........... P08 of the Thredbo Valley Track which when environmental health ................. P09 mt pygmy-possum ....................... P10 completed will provide a unique visitor new for npws ................................. P11 experience for both bush walkers and sawpit tip ......................................... P12 clean up days ................................. P12 mountain bike riders. corroboree frogs ........................... P13 Right: John Barilaro, Member for Monaro and Dave hawkweed hunt ............................ P14 Darlington, NPWS Regional Manager walking across Bridge 1 correction ........................................ P14 of the Thredbo Valley Track. native poa ....................................... P15 kosci tabbies................................... P16 Below: Shared trail from Thredbo Village to Bullocks Flat in riparian projects ............................ P16 Kosciuszko National Park (Photos: Lucy Morrell). predator control programs ....... P17 black perry lookout...................... P17 back to perisher ............................ P18 reynella rides .................................. P19 chloe loves lizards ........................ P19 skis - always changing ................ P20 thredbo news ................................. P21 friday fl at redevelopment .......... P22 selwyn snowmaking savings.... P23 property services .......................... P24 50 wonderful years ...................P26 beachcombers ............................P26 boonoona.....................................P27 dulmison .......................................P28 geebung .......................................P28 hus-ski ...........................................P28 mirrabooka ..................................P29 tambaroora ..................................P29 yaraandoo ....................................... P29 fj ellheim ........................................... P30 ku-ring-gai ...................................... P31 contacts ........................................... P32 ISSN 1837-6886 OEH2012-0970 mt biking Big Plans for Mountain Biking Mountain Biking, Thredbo Village (Photo: Courtesy of Kosciuszko Thredbo Pty Ltd) Article - reprint of Thredbo Media Release - 22 Oct 2012 Mountain Biking in Thredbo is set to reach new heights in 2013 with biking in Thredbo. The Thredbo trail Concept Plan is integral to the more trails, more bikes and plans to create a world class trail network. mountains future prosperity.” said Ms Corben. Renowned trail designers, World Trail, have commenced work on This winter Thredbo launched with the new Thredbo 365 pass, that the new Thredbo mountain bike Concept Plan, that will see Thredbo for the fi rst time incorporates downhill and cross country riding in the become one of the country’s most iconic mountain bike destinations. annual season ski pass. World Trail, are industry leaders in design and construction and are Along with the new Thredbo 365 pass, comes a new price structure for one of the most respected authorities in sustainable trail technology. casual and fi rst time riders. Director and professional trail designer Glen Jacobs and his team are Revamped downhill and x-country trails and an upgraded fl eet of set to create a network of downhill, cross country and skill based trails rental downhill and all mountain bikes, clinics, private tuition and utilising a series of natural and man-made features across the village personal guiding are also now available to help maximise the Thredbo and mountain areas. mountain bike experience. Familiar with Thredbo, Jacobs fi rst rode the famous downhill in 1992, This summer will see an array of trails open up for riders of all levels. In he is looking forward to developing the resort trail network. “Thredbo particular; has a history of biking and the potential is limitless. The terrain is • Stage 1 of the Thredbo Valley Track is now complete with close to exciting with vast open glades, bushland, granite outcrops and eight kilometres of gentle gradient riding on off er. Meandering spectacular natural features, there is easy chairlift access to the top along the Thredbo River the ride takes in impressive bridge plus village facilities and a community to boot, it will be incredible. We crossings and valley views. This Trail will be offi cially opened on will be crafting trails to suit recreational riders with climbs, descents the opening weekend of the mountain biking season (17-18 Nov). and loops that showcase the resort features, an optioned up racing • The new Kosciuszko Flow Track will be the intermediate trail grid with wet weather options and iconic downhill products that alternative to the Thredbo Downhill. This top to bottom gravity will all complement the new Thredbo Valley Track. It is exciting times fl ow trail has all the tricky technical features removed and is ahead for Australian mountain bikers.” said Jacobs. ideal for those who are comfortable on the bike and are keen to The Concept Plan that will be a three stage process will be fi nalised to experience the downhill thrill. Thredbo in February with work to commence soon after. • The famous Thredbo Downhill has also been revamped with the addition of new jumps and features. New for this season is establishment of Thredbo MTB, a new business that will operate biking in Thredbo and shape the Snowy Mountains Thredbo will also host a number of high profi le mountain biking Resort into one of Australia’s key mountain biking destinations. events for the countries leading riders: • Round #5 NSW State Championships 17-18 Nov In an exciting move, the experienced downhill duo of Daniel Taliana • Round #2 National MTB Series Championships 8-10 Feb and Tim Windshuttle, return to run mountain operations after a • Australian MTB Interschool’s 15-17 Mar. second season working and racing at Canada’s MTB mecca - Whistler Mountain. “Mountain Biking is already one of our key summer activities and with the development of new trails and facilities we are really looking to South East Mountain Biking’s Jane Corben will also be on board to ensuring that everyone from experts to fi rst timers can enjoy some assist with the Thredbo MTB launch and special events. “It’s great of the longest and most scenic trails in the country.” said Angus to see the emphasis this summer is on developing the mountain Thomson, Director of Marketing at Thredbo. 02 ResortRoundUP - issue 35 ggreener lodgelodge Maranatha Lodge - Greener, Cleaner and Energy Effi cient by Kevin Masters, Maintenance Offi cer of Maranatha Lodge Maranatha directors carried out an investigation on the savings compared to heating oil. I expect in 2013 we will energy alternatives for water heating in the lodge due to have collected some good data for the Perisher Range the increasing price and short supply of heating oil. The Resorts Envrionmental Management System report and investigation revealed that a noisy oil-fi red boiler could be have a better understanding on the actual energy cost replaced with a LPG gas-fi red Rotex water heating system savings due to this conversion. instead. The new Rotex system was installed in October 2011 and has proved to be very cost eff ective, silent and The Rotex system is also now used by summer guests and emits fewer greenhouse gases than the previous system. the electric hot water system eliminated. The Rotex heating is much faster and by eliminating the hot water service we As part of the initial investigations into energy alternatives we tried to speak to as many people as possible including now have more guest space in our lodge. other lodge managers and plumbing experts. Virginia Elgas is scheduled to connect a reticulated gas system to Logan, NPWS Environmental Management Offi cer, our lodge this summer. We are currently operating from a suggested undertaking an energy audit through the Offi ce bulk supply LPG container. We are looking forward to this of Environment and Heritage “Energy Effi ciency for Small installation which will allow us to eliminate the use of LPG Businesses Program” to identify areas to reduce electricity gas bottles and thus reduce the health and safety issues consumption and to attract a government subsidy to associated with manual handling of small gas bottles. support our project. The audit also identifi ed that guests do not use the boiler for hot water during summer months I would like to thank Virginia Logan and Rob Helsby for their further supporting the installation of a new water heating support for the Rotex project. If any