Australian Alps

The Australian Alps are the highest mountain ranges of mainland Australia. They are located in south-eastern Australia and straddle the Australian Capital Territory, south-eastern New South Wales and eastern Victoria. The Alps contain the Australian mainland's only peaks exceeding 2,000 metres (6,500 feet) and the only place in which snow occurs regularly.

The Australian Alps are part of the Great Dividing Range, the series of hills and plateaus which run about 3,000 kilometres from northern Queensland to central Victoria. These highlands divide the rivers and streams which flow eastwards into the Pacific Ocean, from those rivers and streams which flow inland to the Murray River system or internal catchments. The highlands reach their greatest height in the Alps. The Snowy Mountains in New South Wales are part of the Alps.

The southwestern half of the Australian Alps, in Victoria, are also referred to as the Victorian Alps.

Ecology

The Alps are important for conservation, recreation and as a water catchment, with much of the eastern slopes' runoff diverted into the Murray River and its tributary the Murrumbidgee River through the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

They are protected by large National Parks, in particular the Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales and the Alpine National Park in Victoria which are managed cooperatively as Australian Alps National Parks by agencies of the Australian, New South Wales, Victorian and Australian Capital Territory governments.

They also contain mainland Australia's only ski resorts, which along with the Snowy Mountains Scheme town of Cabramurra represent virtually the only permanent settlements in the area. Several medium-sized towns are present in the valleys immediately below including Jindabyne, Corryong and Mount Beauty.

The Australian Alps are mostly considerably less steep in character than the Alps, and most peaks can be reached without specialised mountaineering equipment (though there are some cliffs suitable for abseiling and rock climbing).

Bushfires

The Australian Alps, particularly the Victorian Alps, are periodically subject to major bushfires. The Alps were almost entirely burnt through by bushfires on various occasions, notably; Black Thursday in 1851, Black Friday (1939), and during fires in 2003 and 2006-07.

Alpine huts

Within the Australian Alps there are 120 still active alpine huts that mainly originate from the early cattlemen days, research and surveying. Many have remained in use by fly fishers (seasonal), hikers and skiing groups throughout the year. Most of these huts are maintained by volunteers through the Kosciuszko Huts Association and the local National Parks services.

Some of the more famous huts include Moscow Villa Hut, Valentine Hut, and Mawsons Hut. In recent years many huts have been lost through lack of maintenance and bush fire. An example of that is the Pretty Plain Hut which was lost in the Bushfires of 2003.