Queenstown, New Zealand – With a whole lot of new winter snow and more on the way, spring skiing in New Zealand is morphing into a phenomenon Queenstown locals have dubbed “sprinter”.
Queenstown’s Coronet Peak and The Remarkables received 15 cm (six inches) of fresh, dry winter snow on Wednesday, conditions that skiers and boarders were reveling in today. At The Remarkables, guests were lapping up the packed powder on piste and off, with many taking a hike to access chutes from the top of Shadow Basin down to Lake Alta. Across the Wakatipu Basin at Coronet Peak, the southerly delivered 15 cm of natural snow across the entire mountain, topped by the ski area’s extensive snowmaking system which has turned another 14 million liters of water into the white stuff.
“Nothing beats being up the ski area to see snow falling and snow guns blazing,” said an ecstatic Coronet Peak ski area manager Ross Copland.
More snow is predicted for Queenstown over the coming week, including this weekend.
At Methven’s Mt. Hutt a minimum of 45 cm (18 in.) of snow has covered the Canterbury field. It is closed today after an eventful day which saw more than 300 staff and guests “overnighting” in the base building. They were able to leave the mountain in the early hours of this morning after conditions cleared and the access road opened.
Mt. Hutt ski area manager James McKenzie said many staff were resting today and avalanche control work is being carried out before re-opening. He said the late snowfall had only added to the deepest snow base currently in Australasia, well over three meters on the upper levels of the ski area. Mt Hutt has already announced it is extending its closing date to October 13 for an extra week of skiing and riding over the New Zealand school holidays.
The storm didn’t spare New Zealand’s North Island, either, with Turoa ski area on Mt. Ruapehu reporting 25 cm (10 in.) of new snow in the past 24 hours. A strong southeasterly gale was buffeting the mountain Thursday night, ensuring that the new snow will stay cold and dry for weekenders unable to hit the slopes until Saturday.