Charlotte Pass is a location and ski resort in the Snowy Mountains of New South
Wales, Australia. Charlotte Pass is the place where the Kosciuszko Road crosses
Kangaroo Ridge. The Road now terminates at the pass, as the last nine kilometres
leading to Mount Kosciuszko have been closed for environmental reasons.
The pass and village are named after Charlotte Adams who, in 1881, was the first
European woman to climb Mount Kosciuszko.
Charlotte Pass is Australia's highest ski village and consequently it has the country's
most reliable snow coverage. It's totally snowbound for most of the winter; the only
way to get there is by an oversnow trip from Perisher.
The pretty Charlotte Pass village lies on the eastern side of the pass. It is the oldest
and highest ski resort and village in Australia. The historic Kosciuszko Chalet was
the first building in the village, and was opened on May 10, 1930. The Chalet burnt
down in August 1938, and a new Chalet was built in its place the following summer.
The Chalet is still the largest and most significant building in the village, and
remains the heart of the village in winter. Apart from the Chalet, the village contains
12 commercial and club lodges, and has the capacity to hold 607 guests. In winter,
the village is snow-bound and can only be accessed by snowmobile from the
Perisher Valley SkiTube terminal, which lies 8 kilometres to the east.
The resort contains five ski lifts, including one triple chairlift, one T-bar, two pomas
and a beginner's rope-tow, accessing 60 hectares of skiable terrain. The highest
lifted elevation is 1954m; the base elevation 1755m; giving a downhill skier's vertical
of 199m, however the resort only currently lifts a fraction of its leased area. A list of
every ski tow to ever operate at Charlotte Pass can be found at wikiski. The resort is
also very popular with cross-country skiers, as the village provides immediate
access to Australia's highest peaks. The resort receives, on average, more natural
snow than other Australian resorts due to its elevation.
During the summer, Charlotte Pass is a base for bushwalkers with intent to climb
Mount Kosciuszko and access the Main Range. The mountain is an 18km round trip
via the Summit Walk, or a 23km loop via the Lakes Walk. A shorter and easier walk
to the Kosciuszko summit can be accessed via Thredbo.
Charlotte Pass has the coldest recorded temperature in Australia (excluding
Antarctic territories), of -23.0°C on 29 June 1994.
HOW TO REACH
From Sydney, about 6 hours via Canberra, Cooma and Jindabyne; from Melbourne,
about 7 hours via Albury/Wodonga, Corryong and Thredbo. The only access to
Charlotte Pass Village is by oversnow transport from Perisher Valley.
