Victorian alpine tourism operators are increasingly looking for new ways to capitalise on the months beyond snow season as climate change continues to threaten snowfall.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which released a major report this week, continues to highlight the dramatic impact climate change is expected to have on Victorian snow seasons, including reduced maximum snow depths and shorter seasons.
Jean-Francois Rupp operates the year-round alpine activities company Alpine Nature Experience at Mount Hotham, where the IPCC had projected maximum snow depth may decline 45–90 per cent by 2050, relative to 1990.
He is worried that while some operators are looking beyond snow opportunities, climate change could even impact the sector in warmer months.
"It's not only the lack of snow," Mr Rupp said.
"If we have got less snow, it probably means we are going to have more moisture all at once; so more frequent landslides, drier summers ... higher risk of bushfire.
"Realistically, there's a very good chance we will lose a lot of vegetation, even if it's not due to bushfire.
"The snow gums are being attacked by longhorn beetles, so we are certainly losing them at a greater rate of what they can regenerate."
He is now looking towards long-term resilience strategies that need a collaborative approach.
It means not just leaning into green seasons but offering activities that aren't completely dependent on weather or snow.
"Snow is just one tiny bit of a much bigger puzzle," he said.
"It would be very, very foolish to think climate change issues are only for a couple months of the year.
"So it certainly will impact the general tourism up there, especially anything that is nature-based, which is probably 99 per cent of tourism up at Hotham and alpine resorts."
Into the green
Alpine tourism operators that utilise the neighbouring Mount Buffalo know the importance of diversifying.
The IPCC had projected maximum snow depth Mount Buffalo may decline 50–100 per cent by 2050, relative to 1990.
Bright Adventure Company owner Rowan Blakers hoped he would be shielded from a projected dip in local snow.
"Most of our offerings are green season essentially, with a bit of a step into shoeing on (Mount) Bogong and bigger mountains," he said.
"So for us, we weather that OK."
Adventure Guides Australia operator David Chitty says his business also offers activities that don't require snow, but is aware that climate change could also impact green season activities.
He has lost 30 days of activity operation during both summer and winter over the past 25 years due to adverse conditions, such as storms, flooding and a shortage of water.
He expects that could increase with climate change.
"We certainly, both for green and white seasons, will have a much-reduced ability to operate," Mr Chitty said.
Seeking grander ideas
The impacts of year-round climate change on the region's tourism have some business operators thinking big.
Mount Beauty and District Chamber of Commerce president Glenyse Peacock operates Rocky Valley Ski and Bike Hire, and during her 13 years of business has seen the highs and lows of unpredictable weather.
She is eager to see the tourism sector become bolder in the face of climate change, and supports a push for a gondola connecting Mount Beauty to Falls Creek.
She admits it is an idea that is often scoffed at but thinks it would be a worthy investment.
"That would be something that could be used all year round," she said.
"It is going to cost a lot of money ... [but] it is something that could be investigated," she said.
"It would help in the off season, the green season, and the white season, and it would be a unique opportunity to create something that's not anywhere else in Australia."
