Snow Report, Skiing, Snowboarding, Queenstown

KiwiNewZ Southern Lakez Snow Report

Coronet Peak, Queenstown, New Zealand

Thursday July 13, 1998

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================ Ski Reports
Friday 10 July was the first decent snow fall for the season and all of the Southern Lakez fields picked up some snow. As usual there was some scepticism as to the reported snow falls. Where do they measure the snow? How do you get 7cm?
Snow making continues to impress and provide some snow experience. The investment that Coronet Peak and Treble Cone in particular have made in the previous years on those big fans is clearly saving the day.
Weather patterns are still weird with a Northerly aspect to it all. We need to feel the rush of Antarctica up our skirts to get going!
** Coronet Peak
7 - 10 cm on Friday gave the whole mountain a nice coating. Still pretty much restricted to the trails although a few keen souls have ventured off piste, or got lost!
Talking snow making the whisper around is how long can they keep on making it? Isn't the storage lake getting low? Well according to the boss the Peak had 120 million litres of water at the start of the season and they now have 70 million.
For every 10 litres pumped out the snow making machines they can pump 1 litre up the hill so that is going backwards, but then they aren�t always making snow.
And the big question how long will it last? Lets hope we don't have to find out.
** The Remarkables
Limited snow making so it is only the beginners areas open. Worth the trip up the hill for alpine experience and a great spot to take the family and kids for a sunny days snow experience. The Shadow Basin chair is open from 11am - 3pm. Take the 10 minute walk at the top and check out one of the best views in the world, no bull.
Two or three big storms needed to get The Remarkables open properly.
** Treble Cone
TC picked up 20 - 40 cm on the upper mountain and 10 - 20 on the lower area on Friday and Saturday.
The saddle basin T-Bar opened up on Saturday which was a real boost. With a nice bit of altitude the upper mountain offers a bit of off piste. The Express 6 seater continues to blast people up the hill.
Reports from the weekend say the snow was a bit heavy and the main trail at the bottom got pretty icy.
** Cardrona
10 - 15 cm of new snow this week.
McDougalls and Captains main trails are open although Captains is a bit thin at the bottom.
Cardrona continues to be the innovative area with an early opening time of 8.30am to take the pressure off the ticket office during the school holidays. Nice move.
The new half pipe is open, they now have three, and the Magic Carpet has also made an appearance. Brilliant for beginners this is basically a flat elevator that you stand on with your skis still on and go up the mountain, magic! No more drag and platter surface lifts for the young kids.
** Waiorau Snow Farm
Busy working on the base lodge facilities. Get a group together and skinny ski in to one of the three huts for a night and a howl at the moon.
================ You can win two free nights in Queenstown.
When will the snow fall on the trees in our snowcam shot? ; Slide on over to enter.
================ Mountain Profile - Treble Cone
Situated 20km from the lake side town of Wanaka, Treble Cone provides a spectacular view of Lake Wanaka.
Lifts include the impressive Express 6 seater detachable chair, 2 two bars, a double chair and platter lifts. The main trail is 2.2 kilometre long (phew!) and wide and offers good slopes for beginners. The half pipe has been rebuilt this summer and is 130 metres long.
On the upper mountain is Saddle Basin which is huge and offers some brilliant advanced options. The positioning of the double chair has to be one of the more curious decisions, it should be swung around 90 degrees and quadrupled in length. Oh well. The short walk to the summit is well worth it, heck, do it a couple of times!
Treble Cone is renowned for its good snow falls and the relentless, unyielding terrain. It seems to fall out of the sky in to the Lake below. Launch yourself in to Gun Barrel and hang on for the ride of your life. Apparently local ski legend Katie Deans has set the world record for the most consecutive turns on Treble Cone!
Day passes are NZ$55 for an adult, NZ$46 for a student and NZ$27 for a child.
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================ Upcoming Events
Two big regular events start up this week on Coronet Peak. The Winter Classic is a business house race run every Tuesday which attracts an almost manic following. A dual slalom format and 23 teams of 6 makes for some fierce competition. This continues on in Queenstown in the evening.
The Pipeline Boarder Cross offers riders the chance to go hard in this loose format. 6 to 8 competitors are on the course at the same time and slide, jump and jostle their way down a course.
Local businesses are cranking up for the Queenstown Winter Festival starting on 18 July. A fantastic array of on and off snow partying. Check out our full schedule of events.
If you are in Queenstown don't miss the Bird Man competition, AJ Hackett mountain bikes on the snow, Dog derby and dog barking and the outrageous fashion awards.
Coming up in Wanaka we have the Ripcurl World Heli Challenge which is INTERNATIONAL. The Quicksilver Boardriderz competition is on 14 / 15 August.
================ That's all folks
Thanks for joining us see ya next month. Remember we welcome any feedback, suggestions, requests, comments etc. Just email these to mailto:[email protected]. This snow report is assembled from our own observations and reports from others and while every effort is made to get it right we can not attest to the accuracy or otherwise. Happy tripping.
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