International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) 2023 Southern Hemisphere Ski Resort/Conditions/Meetups

[Turoa Kiwi]

We need a couple of good storms!

Now that's the truth
There is the possibility of a bit of snow at the Queenstown fields on Wednesday and Friday but sadly none for Mt Hutt or anywhere in between.

 

[geepers]

The Aussie resorts have lean to ok-ish snow - natural cover seems to be about 0.5m to just over 1m, topped up on the main groomers with snow making. Still be early season conditions with a lotta rocks below the surface.

Would like to apologise to the NZ Queenstown and Wanaka skiers for buying the TC season pass - clearly the KOD for this season.

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

So first day of the season for me at Mt Hutt
They just received 75 cms over the space of two days followed by a couple of hours of rain.
They needed a whole day to get the snow where it was needed give it a quick groom, clear the road and de ice the Nor West 8 seater. This morning was short cruises off of the 8 seater until the Summit 6 chair started around 12.30
Conditions were essentially all variable between reasonable groomers which turned to small “death cookies” and off piste where it was thick dust over smooth ice crust This never released but it was All a bit of fun for the skilled and brave!!
I'm sure that as this was the first groom of a huge snowfall the quality of the grooming will improve over the next couple of days
Whilst it was difficult conditions it was fun all the same. There is a small amount of snow in the forecast.

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

^^^ Well, the small amount of snow turned out to be another 20cms of powder snow on Tuesday night
On Wednesday this provided us with awesome skiing under the towers down to the Towers triple seater. Grooming was getting better as the new base packed down a bit more, so a day was had running over groomers and 20 cms of steep freshies on Mid Towers. I poked my head over to have a look at The South Face but was called back by a ski patroller. It looked like an ice sheet,so not much fun is going to be had there for a while. It doesn't get enough direct sun on it to soften it up, so it may be out of play for some time.
On Thursday , more groomers came into play, and once all the lifts were running the longest queue was 5-6 minutes. A bit of overnight wind had filled in a few areas of Mid Towers so we skied a lot off of the Towers Chair, followed by a lot of runs through freshies off the side of Huriapa
By Friday all the groomers were in in great nick so a lot of time was spent jumping between Fascination, Huriapa, Morning Glory and the Mid Towers and The Ramp.
Saturday the crowds were manic, so we paid for First Tracks and then spent most of the day back on International and Mid Towers
It’s been a great week as Mt Hutt currently has the most snow in the South Island and we had pretty much Bluebird weather the whole time.

We're here for maybe another week before heading south to Queenstown, where all the Resorts need a decent top up

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

^^^^
Here's a trail map

https://www.mthutt.co.nz/media/5380/mh-trail-map-full.jpg

683mts Vertical

 

[geepers]

Had a very pleasant day at Round Hill (near Lake Tekapo) today. A small, picturesque resort. Not all of it open unfortunately. But the snow was grip level hero and there groomers were carving heaven. Grippy snow, blue bird day, no wind - what's not to like 1st day back for the season.

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

Had a very pleasant day at Round Hill (near Lake Tekapo) today. A small, picturesque resort. Not all of it open unfortunately. But the snow was grip level hero and there groomers were carving heaven. Grippy snow, blue bird day, no wind - what's not to like 1st day back for the season.

View attachment 208185

View attachment 208186

View attachment 208187

We're heading that way, aiming for Queenstown eventually , in a couple of days, was The Heritage Tow not running due to lack of snow?
Have you got any photos of the Heritage Tow hill?

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

Here’s the snow weather forecast for NZ just issued Yee Haa bring it on!! https://www.mountainwatch.com/Snow-...hern-lakes-ruapehu-and-10-30cm-on-canterbury/

 

[Decreed_It]

hey @Turoa Kiwi - Ruapehu was suggested to me over on that other site - what say you for a 1st week of October visit? Reckon we'd stay in Okahune.

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

hey @Turoa Kiwi - Ruapehu was suggested to me over on that other site - what say you for a 1st week of October visit? Reckon we'd stay in Okahune.

Ruapehu rocks.It’s my home mountain. One pass two different fields. Whakapapa and Turoa. Awesome terrain at both. 700 mts vertical at Turoa. 620mts ? at Whakapapa . I’d recommend Ohakune as a destination. Plenty of accommodation options. 45 mns to Whakapapa and 20 mns up to Turoa Easy enough sealed access road up to Turoa. Fair to say you’ll need a car to get around. Get a 4 WD If it snows chains may be also needed but they are hireable on the day.
Check when school holidays are and try to avoid them.
Turoa is regularly the last resort open in NZ
Turoa is a volcano so is very exposed to the elements and can be a bit icey. Bring your A game and you’ll love it. Currently I believe they have about 1.8 mt base so we’re hoping for a long season.

 

[geepers]

We're heading that way, aiming for Queenstown eventually , in a couple of days, was The Heritage Tow not running due to lack of snow?
Have you got any photos of the Heritage Tow hill?

Not running, not sure why. Presumably it's still a bit short of snow.

Can just pick out the towline on the back hill left - was clearer in the HEIC format.

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

New Zealand Forecast – Full-On Winter Snowstorm To Dump 25-50cm On The Southern Lakes & Ruapehu, And 10-30cm On Canterbury | Mountainwatch

a full-on winter storm set to bring deep powder and gnarly blizzard conditions

www.mountainwatch.com

 

[geepers]

New Zealand Forecast – Full-On Winter Snowstorm To Dump 25-50cm On The Southern Lakes & Ruapehu, And 10-30cm On Canterbury | Mountainwatch

a full-on winter storm set to bring deep powder and gnarly blizzard conditions

www.mountainwatch.com

Standing by in Wanaka - Cardrona is shut, TC will update in about 5 minutes... not looking too hopeful. Gale force winds and low vis hampering avi mitigation work.

7:15am update: TC hoping to open later - forecast is to ease later today. Next update at 8am.

8am update: Yeah, still on hold.... but the marketing department promises it'll be awesome if they can actually avi mit and the wind drops enough to run the lifts....45cm in last 24 hrs.
Meanwhile sky has cleared in town and the surrounding low mountains are pretty in white.

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

Standing by in Wanaka - Cardrona is shut, TC will update in about 5 minutes... not looking too hopeful. Gale force winds and low vis hampering avi mitigation work.

7:15am update: TC hoping to open later - forecast is to ease later today. Next update at 8am.

8am update: Yeah, still on hold.... but the marketing department promises it'll be awesome if they can actually avi mit and the wind drops enough to run the lifts....45cm in last 24 hrs.
Meanwhile sky has cleared in town and the surrounding low mountains are pretty in white.

And given the steepness of the terrain around TC, along with their serious and very real possible avalanche issues last season , they need to actually see all of the bigger picture first.
Good luck and let us all know about TC conditions when you can
We're aiming for Dobson tomorrow, Ohau on Friday and hit Queenstown Friday night

 

[geepers]

And given the steepness of the terrain around TC, along with their serious and very real possible avalanche issues last season , they need to actually see all of the bigger picture first.
Good luck and let us all know about TC conditions when you can
We're aiming for Dobson tomorrow, Ohau on Friday and hit Queenstown Friday night

So TC opened about 9:30am. Conditions off the narrow groomers were.... well, judge for yourself. There were some pockets and wind blown stashes for the enthusiasts. It's good quality snow - just needs another meter or so...






Learnt one thing today - the on mountain rental skis are terrible!

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

Well.
That is not looking anything like their PR team are telling us.
I struggle with TC ‘s offering these days. Great terrain with beautiful vistas on a bluebird day
The day they took out the t bar they lost a big part of their uphill lift capacity and terrain. Supposedly NZ’s biggest resort and only two lifts. One of which is regularly out of play due to avalanche risks.

 

[geepers]

Well.
That is not looking anything like their PR team are telling us.
I struggle with TC ‘s offering these days. Great terrain with beautiful vistas on a bluebird day
The day they took out the t bar they lost a big part of their uphill lift capacity and terrain. Supposedly NZ’s biggest resort and only two lifts. One of which is regularly out of play due to avalanche risks.

Lot of avi mit explosions today., tailing off in the afternoon. Reckon the Saddle will be open tomorrow.

Not much use for us as we flying back to Sydney tomorrow.

Enjoy your time in Wanaka/Queenstown.

 

[geepers]

Spare a thought for Mt Selwyn which burnt down in the Australian 2019/20 bush fires. Reconstruction didn't quite make it far enough to open for the 2022 season. And now it's peak winter snow time in Oz they have this....

 

[Turoa Kiwi]

Well I've just got back home after 4 weeks skiing in the South Island
I skied on 20 days.

Mt Hutt, Roundhill, Coronet Peak and The Remarkables, overall provided great skiing
A first for me was throwing some skins on my soul 7's and skinning from the base of the The Remarkables up to the top station of the Curvy Basin chair. A 300mt vertical skin up. Puff Puff.....
My son in law has got the bug and he wants him and I to do more of it .......
The Remarkables had a mixed bag of conditions, with days where it was narrow groomer runs only and too many people for them. They badly need another half metre of snow to be able to enjoy the lift accessed terrain
The Alta chutes were narrow but fun for those that wanted to do the 15minute boot pack up to them. Not me this time.
Homewood Run provided great skiing for those that wanted to chance the 1/2 hourly shuttle bus back up the road.
But The Remakables does really needs another top up urgently.

Mount Hutt produced awesome skiing conditions consistently, although there were a few icy patches after a couple of freezing rains on parts of the terrain which kept us on our toes.
Especially good on every visit was off piste, down Mid towers to the triple chair, albeit with a slightly precarious icy access track to start with. See my post on the "funnies thread". Once again Huriapa was the place for high speed groomers with literally no one on it in the afternoons

Coronet Peak was also consistently good with multiple days spent skiing wherever and whenever you wanted, a far cry from it's nickname as "Concrete Peak"

There is a lady at Coronet Peak who has skied 64 days so far, 741,269 vertical metres on 2020 runs so conditions can't be too bad......

Whilst there we also had the joy of watching members of the Austrian men and women's ski teams training . Just Wow!! to watch !! Fast, graceful and in total control

This from the Coronet Peak website; " The Race Arena on skiers left of the T-bar is a world class FIS homologated Slalom hill. Snowmaking helps ensure great coverage and the runs are prepared with water injection. It has two steep pitches and is constantly challenging the best skiers in the world. Out-Wide is our FIS homologated SL and GS race hill."

Once the training is over for the day the course provides a bit of ( scary) fun for the brave with big kahunas!!

Overall the ski season down south is humming along well, with just adequate snow levels at CP and The Remarkables.
Mt Hutt has great coverage everywhere and as long as it stays that way they should be in for a good spring ski session.

I'm now off to Turoa in the North Island for a few days on Tuesday to have a play on the 2.45mt base.
If only the clouds would f..k off.

After Turoa its back to the South Island for a few days at Roundhill , Ohau and Mt Dobson for my daughters birthday, then a visit to a couple of club fields down there.

I saw this in a ski shop in Queenstown;
Cross country skiing is easy..... if you live in a small country

 

[Tricia]

Well I've just got back home after 4 weeks skiing in the South Island
I skied on 20 days.

Mt Hutt, Roundhill, Coronet Peak and The Remarkables, overall provided great skiing
A first for me was throwing some skins on my soul 7's and skinning from the base of the The Remarkables up to the top station of the Curvy Basin chair. A 300mt vertical skin up. Puff Puff.....
My son in law has got the bug and he wants him and I to do more of it .......
The Remarkables had a mixed bag of conditions, with days where it was narrow groomer runs only and too many people for them. They badly need another half metre of snow to be able to enjoy the lift accessed terrain
The Alta chutes were narrow but fun for those that wanted to do the 15minute boot pack up to them. Not me this time.
Homewood Run provided great skiing for those that wanted to chance the 1/2 hourly shuttle bus back up the road.
But The Remakables does really needs another top up urgently.

Mount Hutt produced awesome skiing conditions consistently, although there were a few icy patches after a couple of freezing rains on parts of the terrain which kept us on our toes.
Especially good on every visit was off piste, down Mid towers to the triple chair, albeit with a slightly precarious icy access track to start with. See my post on the "funnies thread". Once again Huriapa was the place for high speed groomers with literally no one on it in the afternoons

Coronet Peak was also consistently good with multiple days spent skiing wherever and whenever you wanted, a far cry from it's nickname as "Concrete Peak"

There is a lady at Coronet Peak who has skied 64 days so far, 741,269 vertical metres on 2020 runs so conditions can't be too bad......

Whilst there we also had the joy of watching members of the Austrian men and women's ski teams training . Just Wow!! to watch !! Fast, graceful and in total control

This from the Coronet Peak website; " The Race Arena on skiers left of the T-bar is a world class FIS homologated Slalom hill. Snowmaking helps ensure great coverage and the runs are prepared with water injection. It has two steep pitches and is constantly challenging the best skiers in the world. Out-Wide is our FIS homologated SL and GS race hill."

Once the training is over for the day the course provides a bit of ( scary) fun for the brave with big kahunas!!

Overall the ski season down south is humming along well, with just adequate snow levels at CP and The Remarkables.
Mt Hutt has great coverage everywhere and as long as it stays that way they should be in for a good spring ski session.

I'm now off to Turoa in the North Island for a few days on Tuesday to have a play on the 2.45mt base.
If only the clouds would f..k off.

After Turoa its back to the South Island for a few days at Roundhill , Ohau and Mt Dobson for my daughters birthday, then a visit to a couple of club fields down there.

I saw this in a ski shop in Queenstown;
Cross country skiing is easy..... if you live in a small country

Nice report.
Like your final line in the post. ...If you live in a small country.