Jean-Francois Rupp has been living in the Alpine region of Victoria for only five years but already he has seen the climate and environment change significantly.
Rupp, who grew up in the snowy the French Alps, noticed Australia’s snow seasons becoming shorter each year. As the founder of a tourism company, Alpine Nature Experience, watching the region’s biggest drawcard dwindle was very worrying.
“Already I can see specific types of birds coming back earlier and earlier each season because the snow doesn’t last as long,” Rupp says. “I can already see dramatic changes in that short period of time. It’s pretty scary.”
It’s an issue tourism operators who rely on the snow season alone for an income can no longer afford to ignore. A 2017 report from the CSIRO on climate change impacts on snow in Victoria warned that across four ski resorts (Falls Creek, Mt Hotham, Mt Buller and Mt Buffalo) the average snow season may be up to 80 days shorter under the worst-case scenario.
Rupp established Alpine Nature Experience as a fully sustainable business, which has helped him to adapt to the challenges presented by short snow seasons. He started with environmentally friendly experiences, such as evening snowshoe hikes through Mt Hotham, leading to a hidden eco-village with a heated tipi, hand-built from reclaimed timber. In winter he also offers overnight stays in heated eco-domes and igloos, built on platforms so that vegetation beneath is undisturbed. The experiences were perfect for those keen to see snow but not interested in skiing.
His off-grid eco-village operates on solar power and all equipment is walked in and out so vehicles don’t disturb the environment. Rupp realised, however, that he would need to offer nature experiences year round, given the shortening snow seasons and unreliable snowfalls. He also knew the high country’s mountains, valleys, bush, wildlife and creeks had more to offer than just snow.
The result is a multi-day hike from Falls Creek to Hotham in the warmer months, an approximately 40km trek over two days. The concept is simple: provide travellers with a sustainable, multi-day hiking experience without the logistical stress. Sometimes Rupp will accompany walkers, but the hike can also be self-guided. All that’s required is a small day pack with enough space to carry the essentials, like water, lunch and wet weather gear. Everything else, from accomodation to transport, is arranged.
I opted to do the self-guided option, and after parking my car in Bright I’m met by Rupp the evening before the hike. He drove me and four other hikers through winding mountain roads to the Diana Alpine Lodge at Falls Creek, about an hour away. Here lodge manager and chef Lisa Logan provided a three-course Japanese-inspired dinner to fuel us before the morning’s efforts. Logan also prepares all the food travellers take in their day-packs – freshly made salads, muffins, and frittata – to eat on each day’s walk.
After breakfast I am armed with maps, snacks and an extensive briefing from Rupp, who drops me about 10km away at the Wallace Hut heritage trail car park where the trek begins. Just 500m down the track is the oldest cattlemen’s hut in the region, the heritage-listed Wallace Hut. The hike takes me along the aqueduct trail and past Rover chalet to Cope Hut, a ski refuge built in 1929 and an idyllic picnic spot for my lunch.
The next stretch is an easy walk through grassy alpine meadows on the Australian Alps walking track. That track is one of the country’s best known and for good reason – there are stunning views across seas of wildflowers. Heavy rains overnight made hiking across the high plains’ alpine wetlands an adventure in dodging deep puddles and traversing slippery mud, proving good waterproof hiking boots are a must, no matter the time of year.
Eventually I reach Pole 333, the junction of four walking tracks, and begin the steep descent into the West Kiewa valley towards Weston Hut, which stands amid snow gums and lush green meadows and with Mt Feathertop in view along the way.
The other hikers and I assemble at the hut, where Rupp is waiting with drinks and a campfire over which vegetables and beef are grilling. There is even a shower for those who want it, but for most of the hikers the warmth of the campfire (and the gin and tonics) are enough to shake off any aches. Like Rupp’s igloos, our tents are suspended above the ground to avoid disturbing the earth beneath.
Though the original plan had been to stay at the Blair Hut campsite, we changed course slightly due to the wild weather the night before. Rain made accessing that site, and lugging all the gear in, too risky for Rupp. He is constantly monitoring the weather and any warnings, and speaks regularly to local rangers to make sure the routes are safe so he can update the itinerary if necessary.
After a night sleeping in a tent strung up between trees, I embark on day two of the hike. Barely 1km in I see wild brumbies in the distance. Day two is more challenging, and includes the option to hike along Razorback Ridge, one of the most popular hikes in Victoria, though Rupp recommends against this owing to the weather.
I fill my drink bottle and wash my face in the stream near Dibbins Hut before embarking on a steep climb up Swindlers Spur. The climb and subsequent views of Mt Feathertop, across the Bogong high plains and Basalt Temple is my favourite part of the trek. Heading towards Derrick Hut, a charming weatherboard structure, I’m surrounded by masses of white, tangled snow gums. The beauty of visiting the region off season is that there are few people around, providing plenty of time and space to stop and take in the scenery.
By this point, the finish line at Mt Loch car park is in reach, where Rupp meets me and the other hikers with watermelon and an esky full of drinks. He drives us to our accommodation for the night, The General resort, where we get a pub feed and enjoy a spa before Rupp drives us back to Bright the next morning.
Throughout the experience, Rupp talks about all of the ways the hike is low impact, and the importance of protecting the local environment. Nothing is ever left behind. Even the lunch bags we are given are reusable, and waste is disposed of in compostable bags and processed by the local Mount Hotham composting facilities.
The experience costs $1,490 a person, which covers all meals, gear, and accommodation, and 1% of annual sales is donated to an environmental organisation.
“A big part of what we aim to do is have have people come away from the experience richer than when they arrived,” Rupp says. “Yes, the state of the climate is such a mess and what we are doing won’t make the ski season longer. But … if we can help educate people, the impact of what we are doing extends beyond just our business.
“Sustainability is a mindset.”
The guest travelled courtesy of Tourism Victoria and Alpine Nature Experience.
A version of the Falls to Hotham Alpine crossing can also be undertaken without guided assistance, through Parks Victoria.
