Charlotte Pass, New South Wales
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Charlotte Pass is a location (Elev. 1,837m) and ski resort (Elev. 1,760m) 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 10 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.
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. 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.
