Community
23 April, 2026
Record crowd summit peaks
THIS year’s Four Peaks Challenge saw pleasant weather last Sunday, with a strong crowd taking on the challenge of summiting the Corangamite Shire’s four peaks in one day.
While previous years saw between 50-60 people take on the challenge, last Sunday saw 97 people summiting Mount Leura, Mount Sugarloaf, Mount Elephant and Mount Noorat.
Organiser John Fallon said of those 97 people, 85 had come from beyond the shire, including Warrnambool, Ballarat, Geelong and even Melbourne.
“It was likely because of the good weather – the last couple of years we haven’t had good weather, but this year was just perfect,” he said.
“It was very beautiful on top of the mountains.
“Most people weren’t really aware of the volcanic landscape – they had travelled through on the Princes or Hamilton Highways and had never bothered to stop.
“Taking on the Four Peaks Challenge meant they were able to stop and explore the area rather than just drive through.
“It was quite amazing – we were expecting lower numbers this year because of various things happening regarding the price of fuel.
“Many people responded by saying they weren’t going to let that situation control their lives, so they were going to do it.”
Mr Fallon said he was hoping to see the word spread, since there were a number of attendees who were taking on the challenge for the first time.
“Many people said they would spread the word and come back in future years,” he said.
“It was something they hadn’t thought of doing in the past and always had on their bucket list to do, and suddenly they decided to do it this year.”