Mount Buller is getting new trails | Nearly 10km of fresh singletrack to be constructed across the trail network

Mount Buller is one of Australia’s oldest Alpine mountain bike destinations. Recently, it was announced that the Resort will be developing the existing network with just over $1-million AUD in  grants. This means new gravity trails and additions to the XC network, too! Flow caught up with Dave ‘Danger’ McCoombe, Resort Operations Manager at Mt Buller and Mt Stirling, to get the latest.

In true McCoombe style, when we got a hold of him, he had to turn off the digger and take a break from preparing the trails for the winter season shutdown, so we could chat about the new trails that were just approved.

McCoombe has previously hinted at potential funding to build new trails to complement the existing network, but the chatter about how and when had since gone quiet.

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“Out of nowhere, we got grant funding…Well, it wasn’t out of nowhere, we applied for it, but it took a long time…We sort of thought we had missed the funding,” he tells Flow.

As they say, good things come to those who wait, and the Minister of Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Steve Dimopoulos, recently announced that Mount Buller will get $833,000 AUD from the Regional Tourism Investment Fund 2024, and Alpine Resorts Victoria will kick in $277,000 AUD to fund 9.8km of new trails in and around the Resort.

Don’t be fooled by McCoombe’s casual tone, an extraordinary amount of preparation and planning goes into chasing grants and funding like this.

“The reason we got the grant funding is we did a lot of work to get the planning permits, so they are shovel-ready trails,” he says.

We know all too well that the funding can be allocated, but the approval to build the trails could take years. Fortunately, that’s not the case here.

New gravity trails are incoming for Buller

While Trailscapes and Contour Works have done a heap of work in the park and on the gravity trails to modernise them and keep them running well, this will be the first addition to this part of the network since before the lifts stopped spinning.

“The plan with this was to be out of the ski area. So we’ve got no constraints on construction other than the planning permit, but there’s no worry about the ski area, lift infrastructure and grooming,” McCoombe says.

With the current gravity trails, they have to be cognizant of the lift and snow-making infrastructure, including underground power and high-pressure water and air lines. These constraints pertain to where they can dig, how trails can be benched or what features built. They also need to take into account grooming during the winter. Ski runs will be groomed with as little as 20cm of snow on them, so berms and jumps may need to be knocked down and rebuilt. Working outside of the ski area, that’s no longer something they need to consider.

This also works for the shuttle plan. The current system with Blue Dirt means riders have to do a short climb to the pickup point, which isn’t ideal if you’re on a DH bike.

“(With the new trails) we’re down out of the ski area, where it’s really nice dirt and really good terrain to work with. So we can build some bigger crowd-pleasing trails,” he says.

By ‘crowd pleasing’, he means a draw card trail. Think Air Ya Goin in Blue Derby, Flowtown at Falls Creek or Hero Trail in Mystic Bike Park. The idea is to have a trail that people come far and wide to do multiple laps of and unlock all of the different lines and features.

The new trails in the gravity zone will be just past the bottom of Copperhead, ABOM and International.

“There will be a small section that’s just one trail to traverse around. Then there’ll be two full top-to-bottom trails and then a third advanced link trail between the two,” he explains.

As he speaks, the excitement builds, and we chat more about the specifics of the link section.

“We’ll be able to make it nice, spicy, more advanced line in there, just to give it some extra!” he says.

What does it all mean for Mount Buller?

The increase in trail length will add multiple options and make for roughly 4km of pure descending, and about 545m of vertical drop, ultimately finishing at what’s called the “Plough Shed.”

But that’s not all, McCoombe casually mentioned that there is another trail that will connect to the Delatite River Trail.

“The plan is to upgrade that trail to how Evan (Winton from Contour Works) did the top of the Delatite with all the flowy, jumpy stuff. Then that brings you out, basically, a couple hundred meters before the first river crossing. So we can have a really fun top to bottom on that side over here as well,” McCoombe explains.

This will give riders the opportunity to link up 1,000m of vertical descending on purpose-built trails from Mount Buller to Mirimbah at the bottom of the mountain.

What about the XC network?

Beyond the gravity trails, there are also two new trails planned for the XC network: a Woolybutt extension and a new top section to the Delatite River Trail.

“The reason we went for those trails was partly to complete the bit of the loop and the missing links we had out there — which is that link trail from Howqua Gap back to Buller.”

A few years ago, Contour Works changed Trigger Happy into a descending trail — which is now a ball of fun. This was all part of a grand plan, that now makes sense.

“So you’ll be able to do Trigger Happy, Stonefly and then loop back around all on purpose-built singletrack,” McCoombe continues.

The Woolybutt extension finishes at the top of the Delatite at a place called “The Picnic Table,” eliminating the fireroad liaison that’s currently required.

This is where the other new trail work begins, with a new section at the top of the Delatite River Trail that goes from The Picnic Table down to Mirimbah.

“So it picks up a new spurline that’s really mellow. It’s just gonna be a really nice greenish trail. We don’t wanna make it full noise green, but a greenish flowy trail. It will get riders to the start of the fun jumps section,” he says.

This will avoid the previously quite rowdy 4WD track with sharp hairpins and chunky baby head rocks seemingly always appearing in front of your wheel.

While on paper two trails may not seem like a huge change, but they fill a missing singletrack gap that will make quite a significant difference to the rider experience.

“Now we will have a four-hour (depending on your bike and fitness) start-to-finish loop on Buller with all the good parts of Buller. So you can ride MistyTwist, Clancy’s (Trigger Happy & Stonefly), and you can do all the good descents,” he says.

Essentially, riders will have more options and ways to enjoy the stunning alpine region.

“I reckon it’s going to be sick and I can’t wait to ride it,” McCoombe says.

When can you ride these new trails at Mount Buller?

The big question on everyone’s lips is, when can we ride the new trails?

McCoombe says they’re finalising tender documents as we speak, and it will go live at the start of winter.

“We’ll award a contractor (over winter). Provided we can get a contractor that’s got capacity, we’re hoping to start construction as soon as the snow is gone,” he says.

When asked who McCoombe thinks will be building the trails, he could only say, “The interest from the industry is pretty high.”

What’s Mount Buller been like this summer?

The trails in Mount Buller have been around for yonks, and in recent years, the gravity and backcountry trails have been updated by the likes of Contour Works and Trailscapes. This past summer saw an increase in visitation, thanks in part to Buller hosting the 2025 Australian Mountain Bike National Championships.

McCoombe tells Flow there was a substantial positive impact of having a National Title event at the Resort again.

“They’re coming up to ride International for the race and going, ‘You know what? It’s actually pretty fun up here,’” he says.

“We got Evan (Winton from Contour Works) to go into International and do some pretty cool work (before the 24/25 summer season). So people were sort of riding this evolving track. It was changing every time they came to ride it, because it was new,” he says.

From all reports, the race weekend was wild, with deep dust providing exciting racing across the board.

Outlaw also received some tender love and care, and we scored a sneak peek of the refreshed gravity trail before it opened for summer — it was almost unrecognisable. The janky rim-destroying rocks had been removed, and fun jumps had been added into the mix.

McCoombe says simply, “Outlaw is sick, and the numbers (this summer) were awesome.”

There has also been an increase in DH bikes coming back into the resort

“Downhillers are back. There were just whole shuttle racks of (Santa Cruz) V10’s going up… It was awesome!” he says

Anything else new at Buller?

Beyond the sensational news of new trails coming to Buller, there is a good vibe within the small mountain community.

“Everyone up here is just excited, there’s a whole new wave of people that are really keen for Summer… I’m looking forward to new, bigger and better things to come,” McCoombe explains.

When we asked about what else is going on in Mount Buller, there was an instant response.

“There’s the RockWire now and there’s lots of other things that people can do, not just coming for a ride,” he says.

RockWire is Australia’s first via ferrata. Think high-exposure rock climbing conducted in an approachable way for anyone to try — if they don’t have a fear of heights.

Food and beverage options can sometimes be limited in summer, but there are always a few gems in the Resort, with hopefully more to open up as the new trails launch.

“Arlberg did an awesome job for the summer,” says McCoombe.

We are so excited to see what Mount Buller can do with the new funding to complement the existing network of trails, especially considering how close it is to Melbourne. Look out for updates as these trails seem ‘shovel-ready’, the Resort is keen to fast-track construction.

We can’t wait for the snow to melt so we can get back up in the Alpine and do some epic riding.