Queenstown Snow Skiing goes off

Queenstown snow skiing season continues to goes off with another big fall to lake level in the district. In fact the whole of New Zealand appears to have been buried in drifts of snow like scenes straight out of the Northern hemisphere.......very unusual to see anything like this here!




Snow in the valley forced many schools to be shut and roads all around NZ were either closed or required chains and all the while the snow has continued to fall and is likely to for the rest of the day and tonight.

Skiing Coronet Peak was great today even in the very poor visibility. This was due to the absolutely great snow, 30cms of squeaky white stuff. A bit wind effected in places and some runs you really wanted to keep your wits about you as big drifts would be well camouflaged and could easily sneak up on you while you weren't looking.

Ski Tip: In these sorts of conditions you really want to keep your skis turning, if you don't you get caught hanging out the washing bewteen turns and end up with the sheet in your face because you don't know what is up nor down. Keeping a continuous steering effort going means that your mass is automatically pulled to the outside of each turn and you have a stronger sense of balance over your skis, then it's just a small matter of keeping your feet under you as the snow gets deeper or shallower.

It's still snowing here hard out and hasn't stopped......it's likely we could wake up tomorrow with another 20 - 40cms of snow. More shoveling to keep the porch free and most importantly some great turns to be had as conditions look set to clear up around early afternoon tomorrow are on the books for me.

Now is a great time to book some private ski lessons to maximize the conditions, learn to ski the powder snow better and jump the lift lines to your hearts content .

Oh and for the racer in you and here's some footage of the US ski team training at Coronet Peak last week

Snow for Queenstown coming

Snow for Queenstown is coming later today with falls expected to 300m. We have had several snow storms drop snow to low levels in Queenstown over the last few weeks and the skiing at Coronet Peak has been really good. With more snow on the way it will be a nice and timely top up for us again. August is often a good month for snow and there are signs that this might be the case again this year.


I have finally got over skiing around looking like a cannon ball in a cheap helmet and have got a Salomon Patrol Custom Air which is by far and away the most comfortable lid I have ever worn. It has a peak to reduce sun and help stop any precip gathering on the top of the goggles but by far and away the best thing is that after you put it on there is a small air pump you push a few times to customize the fit to your noggin and it's bloody brilliant. I will actually wear my helmet on a regular basis and not just for when I an teaching kids. If you are in the market for a new lid these Salomon helmets are well worth checking out.

Helmets can be funny things, often people when they first start wearing one feel quite invincible and ski or ride a bit harder than normal, remember the helmet is only wrapped around your skull it's not like you have a sumo suit on! I seen the benefit of helmets in reducing the noise effect other skiers or riders create skidding around making what once was a very tentative person scared about being taken out become more relaxed on the slope and making better turns just through being less worried. Dampening sound may be a good thing for some people but I am not a keen fan of drowning the sounds out by listening to music as you ski/ride, all for it as you ride the lift but while riding you are missing out on some really good sensory feedback. I really like to hear what is happening around me and also like to hear clearly the sound the snow is making under my skis which helps me make important decisions about how to best ski the terrain and the snow conditions as it changes over the course of each run.

Ski Tip: If the snow is hard get your feet hip width apart this will give you good stability. If the snow is deep and soft get your feet closer together so they are acting as one unit and will not drift apart making it easier to guide them thru the deep stuff.

Oh and read the snow responsibility code and then adhere to it......I see far to many close calls and accidents created by muppets failing do simple things like stopping in a place you can be seen on the edge of a run or even the most basic of things looking before you ski off to check the traffic.....you would do that in your car so why not do it when you ski or ride!

Lets hope that the snow gods deliver and the skiing at Coronet Peak Queenstown is awesome over the next month.


Remember to book in with me for your private skiing lessons when you come to Queenstown