I actually think AI outperforms the ensembles at that range. Averaging 50 runs that try to "solve" the atmosphere is a fools errand. I'll take pattern recognition any day.
Answer to my own question:
The Blue Mountains rise to these elevations from the coastal plain in the space of about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi), thus producing one of the steepest general gradients in the world.[1
This is going to really suck.