Skiing in New Zealand

[Angus]

Does anyone have experience skiing on the south island. thanks...

 

[Geoff]

Does anyone have experience skiing on the south island. thanks...

Yeah, I spent 3 weeks there a decade ago.

Queenstown is the only real resort town but the skiing isn't as good. Coronet Peak is as close to deluxe as you 'll find in New Zealand. Their equivalent of a Stratton or Okemo. I only caught one day at The Remarkables and it wasn't.

I thought Treble Cone was by far the best overall terrain. There's a high speed 6-pack running up the front. That's OK but up high to looker's left, "The Saddle" has the good terrain. When I was there, it was a double to a surface lift to a snowcat. I guess it's now been replaced by a real lift so access is easier but the surface probably isn't as good. Wanaka is something of a snooze. There's also Harris Mountain Heli-Skiing in town. Their refueling depot is at the bottom of the Treble Cone road. I did that for a day and had a good time.

Mount Hutt, outside of Methven also has some OK terrain. At the top, there's "The Towers", some little chutes between some pretty big rocks, and the South Face that has some decent turns with some pitch before you have to traverse out. That all leads to Montezuma Ridge that is entertaining. Up the front face is quite intermediate but you can traverse around the far side and get some good turns. If there's enough snow, you can also ski down to the road on some terrain that's pretty challenging. Methven is also a snooze on par with Wanaka.

I also grabbed a day at Ohau in transit from Methven to Queenstown. At the time, it was a diesel-powered T-bar with about 1000 feet of vertical. The hotel at the lake is really nice. There were only a few dozen people there and it felt like it was my own private ski area. I caught it on a powder day and I didn't cross many tracks all day. I guess the T-bar has been replaced by a used chair but it's still probably just as deserted.


New Zealand skiing is different from anywhere else I've been. You stay in the flats and drive or take a bus up a switchback dirt road climbing maybe 2500 vertical feet to the tree line and snow line. You then ski the 1000 to 1500 vertical feet from there. All the skiing is above tree line. The mountains all seem to be laid out with a few turns of steep, a lengthy intermediate pitch, and more steep lower. With good snow, you ski a few turns down the road and they have shuttles that run you back up to the lifts.

I had a Honda CR-V for the 3 weeks I was there. I suppose you can get buy without a car but your quality of life is way better with a little 4wd. If you have a FWD car, you need chains to deal with the switchback dirt roads.

The skiing is way better in South America but the people in New Zealand are way friendlier. It's also nice to be able to sleep at near-sea level and to not feel like you're stranded on the days the mountain is closed either due to wind or due to visiblity. In South America, you're trapped at the resort. In New Zealand, you can go do something else.

 

[morson]

Skiing New Zealand

Skied New Zealand a couple of years ago. I was based in Queenstown and wrote a series of blog posts on my experience. All the ski area were surprisingly small. One theme was that the drives were really 'interesting'. For example, The Remarkables is 'only a few miles' from Queenstown. In reality the entrance to the ski area is only a few miles, but the track up to the ski area about 10 miles, and it is a really scary dirt track.

Make sure you have snow chains, and windscreen insurance!

Treble Cone - fun place, with great parrots (yes, parrots) - http://bit.ly/4BcJGJ

The Remarkables - closest to Queenstown - http://bit.ly/4cy8a1 and http://bit.ly/6r6fD

Cardrona - quite a long drive from Queenstown - http://bit.ly/3f1KsG

Coronet Peak - best road to the ski area - http://bit.ly/PclPP

And don't forget the North Island. Skied Turoa Ski Area – Mount Ruapehu, (http://bit.ly/vqOwe), which is a volcano and was great, and blew up 2 weeks after I skied it.

 

[Geoff]

Treble Cone - fun place, with great parrots (yes, parrots)

Yeah, the Kea's are really cool. I'd never seen alpine parrots. You'd be sitting outside at a picnic table and they'd hop right up and help themselves. The love coffee. I watched one busily work away at a day pack hanging from a ski rack. The little bugger got the pack open, pulled out all the contents, and ate all the food.

I was in Methven and Wanaka for a week each. They're both very small and super-friendly. I was "The Seppo" at the bar. That's their Cockney slang for Americans. As it was explained to me, the derivation is "Stupid Yanks" became "Septic Tanks" was shortened to "Seppos". The Brits who moved there are called "Pomms". The derivation of that seemed to be "Immigrants" became "Pomogranates" was shortened to "Pomms". There are about 100 slang words like that and I had the translations worked out pretty well after 3 weeks. The first few days, I'd have to stop people mid-sentence and ask for a translation.

For a 2 week trip, I'd probably fly into Christchurch, rent a small 4WD, do a few days at Mount Hutt/Methven avoiding the weekend, do a week in Wanaka skiing Treble Cone, do a couple of days in Queenstown sampling Coronet Peak & The Remarkables, and finish up back at Mount Hutt before flying home. The club ski fields are all near Christchurch as well. If you're into AT gear and skins, those are an option.

 

[morson]

Parrots...

I have also heard they will remove the rubber from around your windscreen (windshield) so it falls out as you drive out at the end of the day.... What fun!