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72K views 380 replies 28 participants last post by  WhistlerBound 
#1 · (Edited)
NZ Report


"All major earthworks are now completed on The Stash at The Remarkables, and work has begun on creating the features, including this trapezoid feature (pictured), unique to the kilometre long run.

A Jake Burton signature run, The Stash at The Remarkables is designed to provide riders with a big mountain terrain park that follows the natural lines of the mountain. Features include rock-wall rides, log jibs, cliff drops, a stone hut and other obstacles hidden away.

The Remarkables Manager Ross Lawrence said it was a time consuming process creating the features, particularly the wooden features that needed to be carefully crafted, and finally sanded and coated with polyurethane to enhance slickness and enjoyment for all freestyle riders and skiers.

Scheduled to open for the 2008 winter season, The Stash at The Remarkables is only the third run of its kind worldwide and the first in the Southern Hemisphere." - Snow.co.nz



"An all-natural environment, The Stash uses no metal or plastics to create obstacles, only stone, wood, dirt and rocks. Even the signs that direct riders to The Stash are hand carved out of stone and wood and are designed to be jibbed.
“No two runs on The Stash are the same, every time you drop in you get a completely new riding experience,” says Jeff Boliba, Global Resort Director at Burton. “Jake and our team developed The Stash with The Remarkables because we have always shared the common goal of taking snowboarding to the next level”.

“What we have created with The Stash is a totally different experience that has all of the makings for an awesome ride with plenty of opportunity for getting creative with each run,” said Ross Lawrence, Manager for The Remarkables. “Our well developed park system has already made The Remarkables a firm favorite with snowboarders, and the addition of The Stash will only make us more of a destination for snowboarders worldwide.”

Located in the bowls of Serpentine and the Galleries trails, The Stash is aimed at intermediate and advanced riders. The Stash can also be found in Avoriaz, France and Northstar-at-Tahoe, USA.
The Stash at The Remarkables is scheduled to open in July, 2008." - NZSki.com

The original Stash run at Northstar

YouTube - The Stash

"Snow falls overnight and off and on today has blanketed the Southern Alps leaving skiers, snowboarders and mountain crews buzzing with anticipation for the season ahead.

The Remarkables Ski Manager Ross Lawrence said the mid-winter conditions had changed the landscape from green to white.

“We’ve received 20cm of snow and experienced some good snow falls. It’s starting to ease a bit now but temperatures are still very cold at around minus two degrees,” he said.

Across the valley at Coronet Peak, 10cm of snow has fallen and continues to fall on the road below the development of the new base building.

Further north, Mt Hutt has received 10cm of snow." - Snow.co.nz

The Remarkables on May 2nd



Pictures of Turoa(Mt Ruapehu) on the 20th of April after a cold southerly blast, it is forcast to snow lightly all of monday.



- Snow.co.nz

"A Queenstown based heli-ski operator has been granted the first ever concession from the Department of Conservation to operate in public conservation land in Southland.

Alpine Heli Ski Ltd can now access terrain in the Livingston Mountains, Mt Mavora and Tooth Peak areas, located between Lake Te Anau and Lake Wakatipu, from the start of the heli-ski season in July.

The area boasts peaks as high as 2,100m due its close proximity to Fiordland and the Tasman Sea, with the Livingston Mountains receiving heavy snowfalls during the winter.

Alpine Heli Ski Ltd co-owner Tim O’Leary said the company had been working closely with DOC for a number of years to ensure its operations would have minimal impact on the environment as well as making it a feasible heli-ski option for the company.

“We’re delighted to be the first operator to offer heliskiing in these beautiful backcountry areas of Southland,” he said. “We’re hopeful that our close relationship with DOC will see more exciting heli-ski terrain become accessible in the future.”

Mr O’Leary said Alpine Heli Ski Ltd’s reputation as a professional, responsible, and environmentally aware operation were all factors that contributed to being granted the concession.

Alpine Heli Ski already offers the largest area of heli-ski terrain in New Zealand surrounding Queenstown, Wanaka and Mt Cook, and has also secured permission to operate at Branches Station near Queenstown this season.

The Station is one of the largest high country stations in the South Island with peaks rising to over 2,000m.

“Branches Station is an iconic New Zealand high country station and offers some of the best heliskiing in the Southern Lakes region,” said Mr O’Leary.

Mr O’Leary said access to a vast range of terrain significantly increased the company’s chances of finding perfect snow on any given day.

“When I go skiing I want the best possible conditions I can find, and this is what we’re constantly aiming to achieve for our clients.”" -Snow.co.nz



"As the white stuff falls this winter, Coronet Peak is going green.

The skifield hopes to reduce carbon emissions by implementing a vehicle reduction plan – involving hitchhiking and car-pooling for people going up the mountain. The plan is also designed to help reduce demand for carparking.


In a bid to encourage car-pooling, parking facilities will be stationed at the base of Coronet Peak Road and at Arthurs Point. Hitching posts will be set up on the outskirts of Queenstown and at the base of the access road. People driving alone arriving after 8.30am will be required to park in a lower carpark and use a shuttle bus to get to the base building.

Ski area manager Hamish McCrostie believes the strategy will manage available resources in the most environmentally-friendly way. “Thousands of people each winter day leave Queenstown for Coronet Peak. We need to take pressure off our carparks and we need to encourage our visitors to use energy efficiently.”

There were times last year when Coronet Peak staff had to display “full” signs at ski area carparks – which was “frustrating” and a “waste of energy on many levels”, McCrostie says. “First step for us is to work with available resources to make them as efficient as possible. “We have to start changing our behaviour to make the best use of our resources. We’re asking people to work towards car-pooling and reducing vehicle use when they come skiing or riding.”" - The Mountain Scene, May 1, 2008, Celia Williams - NZSki.com



Opening Dates:

Mt Ruapehu:
Whakapapa OPENING ON Sat, 14 June 2008
Turoa OPENING ON Sat, 14 June 2008

Canterbury:
Mt Hutt OPENING ON Sat, 14 June 2008

Wanaka:
Treble Cone OPENING ON Mon, 30 June 2008
Cardrona OPENING ON Sat, 28 June 2008
Snowfarm OPENING ON Sat, 21 June 2008
Snow Park OPENING ON Fri, 20 June 2008

Queenstown:
The Remarkables OPENING ON Sat, 21 June 2008
Coronet Peak OPENING ON Sat, 7 June 2008


Hope this helps anyone planning trips/fellow nzers.

Ask any questions here.

I will keep an updated report about the snowfall here before the season starts.
 
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7
#199 ·
Snow Blankets Southern Ski Areas and More to Come

Skiers and snowboarders are rubbing their hands together with glee with news of more snow blanketing New Zealand’s premier ski areas.

Snowfall late last week and this week has delivered more snow to Mt Hutt in Canterbury and Coronet Peak and The Remarkables in Queenstown.

The crew at Mt Hutt has been unable to get up the mountain after snow fell to 800m on Tuesday night, burying the top half of the access road.


Mt Hutt blanketed in snow.

The high country ski resort received around 45cm of snow late last week and another 40cm this week with more in the forecast.

James McKenzie, Assistant Ski Area Manager for Mt Hutt, said staff were working to clear the access road before the next set of snow storms arrived later today (Thurs May 7).

“The latest forecast from the Metservice suggests there's a good chance we'll be looking at a base of well over 1m by the end of the weekend,” he said.

Further south in Queenstown, The Remarkables received 15cm of snow earlier this week to deliver good snow cover across the entire ski area and down to the 11km mark on the access road.

Snowfall at Coronet Peak has resulted in 10cm of snow at the top of the mountain and 5cm at the ski area base.


Snow covers the base building at Coronet Peak

Snow is forecast for Queenstown tonight, lowering to 800m, with yet more of the white stuff forecast through to Monday (May 11).

Coronet Peak and The Remarkables are scheduled to open on Saturday 6 June and Saturday 20 June respectively. Mt Hutt is scheduled to open on Saturday 13 June.


- Snow.co.nz New Zealand's leading skiing and snowboarding online resource
 
G
#205 ·
Mountain crew at Mt Hutt in Canterbury and Coronet Peak and The Remarkables in Queenstown are celebrating the arrival of even more white stuff over the weekend.

Mt Hutt now has a base of 110cm after receiving 50cm of snow at the weekend. The high country ski resort has enjoyed more than 170cm of snowfall over the last 10 days.

Dave Wilson, Ski Area Manager for Mt Hutt, said it was the best early snow the ski area had had in decades.

“I’ve been working at Mt Hutt for eight years and I’ve never witnessed falls like this so early in the season,” he said.
Mt hutt facebook just said that its likely that they'll open early
 
G
#206 ·
Looks like I've chosen a good year for my first year, with a good cover of snow already. Excellentttt.

What's the go with Mt Ruapehu claiming to have the longest vertical descent in Australasia? 25 minutes??? Where abouts is that? Turoa? I MUST SEE THIS.
 
G
#208 ·
Cardrona is seeing a great deal of snow for May - apparently the most they've seen in over a decade.

SNOW

Snowbase (upper): 120 cm - Snowbase (lower): 80 cm - New Snow: 0 cm




Booking my flights and trip to Cardrona/ Remarkables this pay day... I don't think there will ever be a happier time for me to see an empty savings account! I'll be living from pay week to pay week for a while.

Gorgeous photo taken from the base area in mid-May:

 
G
#210 ·
Do explain the grabaseat deal! Is this flights? I managed to find return flights to Christchurch from Brisbane for $380 Aussie dollars.. about $430NZD. Not bloody bad, a bit of a special going on at the moment I think!
 
#212 ·
So what's the latest on conditions down there? Come on people, I have to live vicariously through you kiwis. :D Maybe you guys are too busy shredding to take pics. :(
 
#221 ·
Well.. got my first taste of snowboarding last night, at [lolz] SnowPlanet [/lolz].

But hey, I know that place is no substitute for a mountain, but for someone who hasn't been on the slopes since they were five (and that was on skis, and my one memory from the trip is rolling off down the hill during a lesson and crashing into an old lady), it was a really good place to start out, try and get some basic skills down and get a feel for the board, etc., before heading to Mt. Ruapehu later this month. Don't wanna spend my whole first trip in Happy Valley.
 
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