Coronet Peak is Ripping during July

Well the school holidays are here and the recession certainly doesn't seem to have affected peoples desire to hit the slopes at Coronet Peak. Monday and Tuesday had about 4000 pax at CP and the mountain handled the numbers very well.

The snow is in great order and holding up very well but your best bet is to get off the main groomed runs and stay on the chalky off piste snow.

The cold temps continue to allow the snow making system to deliver excellent overnight top ups. Isn't it great, fine every day and fresh snow every night!

We haven't had much in the way of real snow for a few weeks now but I am sure that will change again soon as mother nature always finds balance. I am sure there are not to many worried about it right now - the snow base is great and skiing is really good.

Due to the number of people on the hill private ski lessons can be hard to get if you have not pre-booked so make sure you get onto it and make your booking with me before you head on down here to ski.


SKI TIP

Lateral Movement.

At any level as you ski thru the turn your lower body needs to move inside the turn as your upper body balances to the outside allowing much better grip of the ski to the snow as you continue to steer the ski thru the arc of the turn.

Actively feel the inside (uphill) leg working by moving up the hill, engaging the little toe of that foot with the snow as your chest moves slightly side ways over the toe binding of the outside ski. Your body should end up in a slight C shape.

Many people get thru the turn and then relax - do not be one of those people - either keep turning up the hill and continue working the inside ski or go into the next turn!

Queenstown, Coronet Peak and the Remarkables getting ready for Winter Fest

Tomorrow is the official opening of Queenstown's Winter Festival with the opening party and fireworks starting at 1800 - 2100 and in the tough economic times is quite special as it is free. Bonus!

Hordes of people from all over NZ and Aussie and the odd visitor from elsewhere around the globe turn up to party the arse's off at night and ski or snowboard hard during the day at one of the local ski areas. It a big 10 days of crazy fun and a good time to be here.

The snow at the NZSKI ski areas is in great nick and I have heard that Cardrona and the Snow Park are riding well too. If you are staying in queenstown it's pretty hard to beat going to Coronet Peak or the Remarkables as there proximity to Queenstown is amazing, 20 mins to the Peak and 40 mins to the Remarkables. Add to that the new transport system NZSKI are offering it is certainly a cheap option to get to the Coronet Peak and the Remarkables ski areas from QT.

SKI TIP

Well by now if you have had a few turns under your belt you should be starting to feel like you have found the center of your foot and have become more balanced along the length of ski. Now is the time to start exploring the range of movement available while staying in a balanced position along the foot/ski. Try some full range of movement turns this means moving into a tall position to start each turn tall and finish the turn with your mass closer to the skis (a full range of extension and flexion movement - straightening or bending at the ankle knee and hip), explore what happens while remaining well balanced along the center of the foot/ski and try changing the movements around to be flexed to start a turn and extended when you finish a turn just to really mess with your ability to balance and change movement patterns.

Note that this is an exercise only but the concepts apply to regular, good skiing especially in off piste terrain.

Remember to book a private ski lesson with Simon Wilkinson at the Coronet Peak Snowsports school to maximize you skiing enjoyment this season

Coronet Peak and the Remarkables Skiing well in late June

The Remarkables opened last Saturday with all lifts open (first time ever for opening day)and a good base coverage. More snow will be needed but with the base that is already there its looking like an awesome season ahead to ski the Remarks.

The last week has seen quite a bit of flight disruption with the cold temps trapping a fog layer in the Wakatipu basin and quite a few flights have been diverted or cancelled, flying in later in the day seems the best option as the valley fog seems to clear late each day.

While the fog has been in the valley, Coronet Peak has been in the sunshine but as the temps have been cold up there they have been pumping snow out with all guns blazing and continuing to cover the Peak in armarnie snow. The Peak is skiing great and the snow is very grippy and also very squeaky.

Going into winter festival next week with such fantastic snow coverage is going to make a lot of people happy.

I will look forward to seeing you on the slopes and remember to ask for Simon Wilkinson when you book your private ski lesson at Coronet Peak Snow Sports School.

Southerly Storm hits the Southern Lakes and Coronet Peak

Yet again I am amazed at how fast things can change on Coronet Peak. Over the last 4 days or so the Peak has seen some very warm temps and then freezing at night, more like spring conditions really and a very well tuned pair of skis was required. My Salomon Aero GT loved it but as you can imagine they were in great nick and had sharp, clean edges.

I was sitting on the chair yesterday with a local who had thought that the man made snow (temps had dropped enough for snow making to resume) might have blown into the gullies in Exchange but after skiing a short way realized he had made a big mistake as the snow was bomber and hard as a rock, on the chair he was saying that the front would miss us and we wouldn't get anything from it at all and he was off home. I disagreed and said that we might only get a few cm's out of it but it would hit and the Peak would be back to wicked skiing again and in the meantime enjoyed some great om piste runs!

Sure enough this morning I opened the curtain and the ground outside was white. A slow and careful drive (after a hearty breakfast of 4 weetbix and a bloody strong coffee) up to Coronet Peak showed they had recived about the same - approximately 2-3 cms. It continued to snow lightly until about 1000 and then it started to clear up and the sun came out and all of a sudden the Peak is back on and skiing great.

Most other ski areas around the world you need about 2 feet to make you smile - here in NZ 2+ cms will do nicely thanks.

The snow guns wil be all go over the next 72 hours or so as we have clear cold weather so the skiing will continue to be good until the next natural fall.

Now is a good time to be getting some turns in and come and ask at the Coronet Peak Snowsports School for Simon Wilkinson and get yourself a private ski lesson to get you on track and ripping it up!

Another Great Day on Coronet Peak, New Zealand

Well lst night saw some precip come in just on dark for an hour or so and it wasn't quite cold enough to snow so the R word come in to play. It cleared quite quickly and started to set everything up again. This moring the Coronet Peak was pretty hard and fast but the groomers had done a great job and the on piste skiing was actually pretty bloody good. Off piste remained fairly bomb proof and only the foolhard seemed to venture off piste, it was certainly a day to stay on the groomers! As the day wore on the groomed runs softened nicely and skied well.

The rain the went into the snow pack on Coronet Peak hasn't really done any damage, testiment to the amount of snow we have got and also the resilence of the man made snow that was laid on top of the natural snow. As the rain has permeatted thru the pack and the got cold and frozen it wil have bonded everything up quite well and I certainly can't see it going anywhere in a hurry.

It look like we will have some colder snow weather arriving on Sunday so that will put the Peak back in tip top condition if it transpires. Watch out on the roads around the Queenstown area - plenty of little icy spots that wil catch out the motorist driving a bit qucik for the conditions.

All in all the peak is skiing great for early season and there are plenty of happy people around.

Check out my quick vid from today: