Coronet Peak gets 45cms of fresh snow

Over the week end Coronet Peak picked up 45cm of fresh snow and is back at it's best!

All the ski areas picked up something out of the storm and August is looking like its going to continue as a snow month, now is a good time to come to Queenstown for your winter blast on the slopes. September should shape up great too.



Skiing or snowboarding in Queenstown, New Zealand is a little different from most snow resorts around the world. The thing that really stands out apart from the spectacular scenery is that the valley floor is not covered in snow during the winter apart from the odd snow fall that blankets the valley. This means that on any given day you can ski or snowboard in the morning and 20 minutes later be teeing off for a round on one of the many fine golf courses in the Wakatipu Basin. If golf is not your thing then Queenstown offers a variety of other off snow activities that may be more associated with the summer season, fishing, parasailing, bungy jumping, parapente, jet boat rides, rafting and many, many more.



The Wakatipu Basin is home to 5 ski areas, Coronet Peak and The Remarkables near Queenstown and Treble Cone and Cardrona which are closer to the town of Wanaka, about 1:15 hrs drive from Queenstown. Just across the valley from Cardrona is the Snow Park which is home to one of the most impressive Park and Pipe facilities in the world. They also cater to cross country skiers. For the wicked work out you can test your self on a biathlon course, ski – shoot – ski.

The NZSKI areas operate a great bus service from Queenstown to Coronet Peak and free shuttles to the Remarkables. If you are in Queenstown you can get away with not hiring a vehicle although it is handy if you want to go explore some of the other options in the area.

All the ski areas or to be politically correct these days, snow sports areas, offer very different experiences. Between them they most certainly look after the wants and desires of almost all the different wishes a snow sports participant could ask for. But if that is not enough the heli skiing in the region is world class, especially if you get on a Clarke glacier day with Southern Lakes Heli Ski – out of this world! About the only thing I can think that is missing is the lack of tree skiing. All the ski areas are above the native tree line, and introduced species are black listed above the snow line.



The accommodation and eating options are next to endless in Queenstown and are pretty good over the hill in Wanaka too. Fine dinners might want to check out The Bunker in Queenstown. Fergberger offers one of the best casual meals going. For a relaxing day check out Dart River Safaris, make sure it’s a fine day and grab a feed in the GY Cafe while you are there.

Wine buffs will love to taste the most southern pinots in the world, grabbing a wine tour or better still a limo to investigate the delights of the Gibbston Valley, especially good after a wee ski at Coronet Peak in the morning and taking full enjoyment an early tracks pass.

A good time to visit is usually around Aug/Sept for the best snow and avoiding the school holidays. This place is just one big playground!

Make sure to book me for your private ski lessons while you are here enjoying the snow in Queenstown

Skiing and Heli Skiing - Coronet Peak and Southern Lakes Heli Ski

The skiing is great at Coronet Peak and The Remarkables with excellent spring conditions at the moment.

The heli skiing is also going off with a mix of winter snow on the shady Aspects and Spring conditions elsewhere.

Now is a great time to be getting some turns in.

New Zealands Southern Lakes Ski Areas get Snow

Since my last blog we have had a series of storm fronts drop snow on Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Cardrona and Treble Cone. All the ski areas further north have also recieved snow.

CP got approximately 20 - 25 cms at the top of the mountain and is skiing and riding very well as it has just topped up the base very nicely.

The heli skiing has also come alive again but due to the very unstable snow pack all the operators are using low angle terrain to negate the avalanche risk.

Unfortunately a heli ski operator near Mt Hutt had a incident yesterday that resulted in the first avalanche fatality in 5 years in NZ. The group had 2 guides with them and were being incredibly careful and still one let rip buring 2 skiers and a partial burial of the 3rd skier. The guides dug out both skiers in 7 minutes but one skier had died most likely from other underlying health issues but this will be clarified over the next few days.

Certainly travel in the back country is not recommended right now as the danger is extreme and avalanches have been running to the ground in places. It would pay to give it a day or two before touring to let things settle and a high degree of caution should be used. It would pay to check with your local ski patrol about conditions and also check out www.avalanche.net.nz for up to date reports.

If you are going into the back country do your homework and take all the safety gear such as transceiver, probe and shovel and know how to use them - your life or your friends life may depend on it!

In the mean time come and have a private ski lesson with me at Coronet Peak and I will give you some useful techniques on how to ski big fat powder so your time in the heli skiing is well used.

The weather looks like we are in for regular snow falls now for the next month so now is certainly the time to get to the snow.