Ben Lomond should be promoted as bush walking destination: bush walkers

Launceston Walking Club and the Launceston Field Naturalists Club regularly trek to Ben Lomond with their members and often spend a night up at the alpine ski lodges taking advantage of the infrastructure up there. Both groups said there were small tweaks that could be done to promote the walks, including better signage, maps and cutting back of overgrowth, that could improve the experience for all walkers.

"[Ben Lomond] is a very under-utilised mountain," Launceston Walking Club president Graeme Pennicott, who also works in the tourism sector, said.

"It should be accessible all year round, but a lot of the tracks have steps in them and a lot of tourists who come here don't know anything about Ben Lomond."

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Ben Lomond tourism operators called for state government intervention and funding to support further infrastructure and improvements on the peak last year, following years of intermittent snow seasons.

A feasibility study into the viability of snow making was announced a fortnight ago by Parks and Wildlife. However, Mr Pennicott and members of the bush walking community said if the government was serious about "establishing Ben Lomond as a year-round destination" more could be done in support of that.

Mr Pennicott said Ben Lomond had a marketing problem and wasn't promoted enough as a destination in its own right. He also said there was a lot of potential to develop the tracks, to improve signage and the road, and develop maps for walkers.

"A lot of people don't go because of the access, the road is not great," he said.

PWS has improved road access in the past, and has installed a shelter at the bottom of Jacob's Ladder for those who use the shuttle bus service operated by Ben Lomond Snow Sports.

Mr Pennicott said improvements to the road would lead to a permanent shuttle bus offering, even in summer.

Brian O'Byrne from the Launceston Field Naturalists Club and the School for Seniors Bush Walking Group said Ben Lomond was "a truly amazing place to walk around" but you needed to be a keen walker.

In a letter to the editor, Mr O'Byrne said the most of the tracks on Ben Lomond were overgrown.

"The overland ski run has reasonable tracks if you follow the falling and rotting market poles, but even here you zig zag your way along, especially if there is water in the tarns," he said.

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"Outside these areas you are fighting through the richea scoparia and other woody shrubs, which make walking difficult.

"On every walk we often stop and look ahead to find the easiest path with larger rocks, especially on the slopes, which is another hazard."

Both walkers said Ben Lomond offered unrivalled views and experiences comparable to many other bush walking areas of Tasmania, but wasn't promoted.

"Ben Lomond has the best view in the state for the scapari," Mr Pennicott said.

"On a clear day you can see through to the East Coast, to the Hazards and even all the way to Mount Wellington on some days."

Mr Pennicott said there was a perception among the community that Ben Lomond "was wilderness" and that it should remain wilderness, but the infrastructure at the ski village already invited activities like walking.

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He said Ben Lomond was the perfect spot to promote combined tracks.

"It's an experience, to ride your mountain bike down Jacob's Ladder," he said.

While the club uses the mountain for walking several times a year, Mr Pennicott said a lot of the newer members had never been there.

"It's all word of mouth, it [Ben Lomond] is not promoted. When we take them up there, they are quite often blown away by just how beautiful it is up there."

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