Adrenaline fiends rejoice – the Australian and New Zealand ski fields are open for business.
If you’re wondering whether to book a ski trip in the antipodes this season, look to the skies. Long-range forecasters have predicted a cold winter in the mountains on the back of one of the biggest snowfalls to hit many Northern Hemisphere ski fields in a while. Last season, Wyoming’s Jackson Hole surpassed 15m of snow for the first time in 42 years while Steamboat in Colorado clocked its record dump by closing day.
Resort operators in Australia and New Zealand hope for the same, not least so they can recoup some of the tens of millions of dollars invested in their ski fields last summer.
One of the most serious injections of cash has been the $30 million poured into New Zealand’s trio of Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Mount Hutt. In Australia, the biggest efforts have been in ensuring slopes are well covered by installing more snow guns. Some Australian resorts have improved facilities to raise the level of luxury in what are increasingly year-round destinations.
For those looking to take their first snow holiday, it is important to know there is a big difference between skiing in Australia and New Zealand. The former serves up mostly cosy village-type experiences and skiing around white-fringed gum trees, while New Zealand is home to high-alpine, big-mountain skiing – with dramatic views to match.
New Zealand has a big variety of ski fields. There are two major commercial resorts on the North Island, Whakapapa and Turoa, both easily accessible from Auckland. The South Island’s main ski slopes are Mount Hutt near Christchurch, Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Cardrona and Treble Cone. There is also a smattering of club fields – very simple operations offering limited skiing, basic facilities and no crowds. The major difference between New Zealand and many other ski fields around the world is the lack of snow accommodation: here tourists either hire cars or rely on efficient coach transfers from feeder towns to lifts.
Ski New Zealand
Coronet Peak & The Remarkables
These are the two most accessible resorts from Queenstown – the centre of the country’s ski industry. Driving to Coronet Peak takes at most 30 minutes and The Remarkables, on the other side of the valley, is just a 40-minute drive from town. Popular Coronet is an intermediate’s paradise with rolling slopes and wide runs. The high-alpine Remarkables field has a combination of gentle beginner runs and intermediate slopes, some you-fall-you-die extremes, as well as the famous, long off-piste run, Homeward Bound, and three excellent terrain parks.
Both resorts also have considerable news: firstly, the tired old base facility at Coronet has finally been replaced by a brand-new building. If you’ve skied here for years, as have many Australians, it is easy to appreciate why this is one of the biggest, most long-awaited developments in the New Zealand ski industry. The new building, double the size of the previous one, with an outdoor deck and more restaurants, finally does justice to its location – allowing plenty of room to enjoy the expansive views.
On the ski field, there are now another 148 snow guns aimed at the main runs, taking the total to 203. Over at The Remarkables, a new kilometre-long freestyle terrain park called The Stash has been created by experts at Burton Snowboards. Only the third of its type in the world, it offers the ultimate in natural-terrain parks – cliff drops, a stone hut to ride up and over, rock-wall rides and other one-of-a-kind features. New developments also include two magic carpet lifts and more 4WD coaches for transfers between Queenstown and the mountain.
Mount Hutt
Towering above the Canterbury Plains, Mount Hutt provides runs for all abilities in a high-alpine mountain bowl. The popular slope is a 90-minute drive from Christchurch and 30 minutes from Methven.
All runs are easily accessible thanks to a relatively new six-seater chairlift. A mini terraced terrain park aimed at encouraging beginners and novices to bust some moves is also new this year. Twenty-three new snow guns have been installed and the modern base lodge has undergone a revamp. Affordable heli-skiing is still being offered out of the car park.
Cardrona
Like the other ski resort in the region, Treble Cone, Cardrona is close to Wanaka although it can still be an easy daytrip destination if you’re staying in Queenstown. Cardrona is largely an intermediate resort, enormously popular with families thanks to a children’s ski school and child-minding services.
Families also love the variety of eateries and the many benign runs. With food for finicky kids being such an important drawcard, Cardrona has doubled the size of its popular on-mountain pizza parlour for this season. In the terrain park, there are three new “true table” jumps of varying sizes, which mean safer take-offs and landings.
Treble Cone
Renowned as a “skier’s mountain”, Treble Cone stands out. It has the South Island’s largest skiable terrain, the longest groomed trails and plenty of natural half pipes. It has incredible views of Lake Wanaka and the Southern Alps beyond. The ski field has a big-mountain, serious-skiers-only reputation, scaring off many beginners and intermediates, which is unfair. To remedy this, millions have been poured into trail-widening, resulting in truly spectacular intermediate runs. If you want to start snowboarding, try the Burton Learn To Ride program with small group sizes and special starters’ tips. It’s worth tackling the winding mountain road to the lift base simply to enjoy the views across Lake Wanaka from the funky cafeteria in the base lodge. Next year, a gondola will run from the valley floor to the car park and there will be no need to drive the steep-sided gravel road.
Whakapapa & Turoa
While not as heavily marketed as the South Island resorts, these two large ski areas have special merits. They are easy to reach (about a four-hour drive from Auckland) and there is also the novelty factor of skiing on the side of a live volcano (Mount Ruapehu). Whakapapa is New Zealand’s largest ski area, boasting wide-open sweeping slopes and a dedicated beginners’ area. From the ski runs there are expansive views that, on clear days, extend to the coast. About an hour’s drive away, around the other side of Mount Ruapehu, is Turoa, which offers the longest vertical drop in the country and a truly enormous area dominated by natural half pipes, wide cruisers and plenty of out-of-bounds slopes in which to play. Most skiers stay either near the base of Whakapapa in basic lodges or hotels, or in Bayview Chateau Tongariro, a grand, castle-like building on the way up to the ski field. Turoa’s feeder town Ohakune is hip and funky with cafes, bars, good live music and some excellent hotels.
Ski Australia
New South Wales has four major resorts: Thredbo, famous for long runs; Perisher Blue, renowned for its large ski area; the alpine village of Charlotte Pass; and the beginner field of Mount Selwyn. All are about a six-hour drive from Sydney.
Thredbo
Prior to the late 1950s, the only visitors to the area were explorers, ministers, graziers and local Aborigines. The opening of a road soon paved the way for Thredbo to be the swankiest alpine destination in the state. Wooden club chalets are slowly giving way to upscale apartments and there is sophisticated dining and shopping alongside the standard bars and cafes. One of the legendary on-mountain restaurants is Kareela Hutte. On weekends during high season, this cosy eatery is the place for spotting celebrities. A number of chalets still charge skiers moderate prices for accommodation and packages. The main new development this season is additional snow-making on the advanced trails lower down the mountain, adding to the coverage already given to the intermediate areas. The village sits opposite the ski field.
Perisher Blue
This resort already has good snowfalls, but it’s not taking any chances. Since last year, close to $10 million has been spent on 34 new snow guns for high-traffic areas, adding to the 154 already in place. Another $10,000 has been spent building new terrain park features, and $140,000 on runs.
Like Treble Cone in New Zealand, Perisher Blue has the Burton Learn To Ride program. If you want to learn to snowboard, the instructors ensure you hire the right equipment and learn the correct techniques. Saving a lot of time for visitors, the resort has installed a new ticket office at Bullocks Flat, where the Skitube starts its journey to the ski field.
Selwyn Snowfields
A ski field aimed at beginners, families and anyone who wants to give snow play a go without spending a fortune. Selwyn boasts its costs are more than 25 per cent below every other ski field in the country and more than 80 per cent of its 45ha of terrain is aimed at beginner or intermediate skiers. There are two snow-tubing areas, tobogganing, snow-biking (little bikes with little skis – terrific fun), snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
Charlotte Pass
This tiny village is completely snowbound in winter, accessible only by snowcat from Perisher Blue. It arguably receives the most snow of any resort, due to its location close to Mount Kosciuszko, and has a gentle field visible from most lodges – terrific for parents keeping an eye on young skiers. The most famous place to stay is the historic Kosciuszko Chalet.
In Victoria, the main choices are Mount Buller, Mount Hotham and Falls Creek.
Mount Buller
A two-hour drive from Melbourne, this large mountain village has sophisticated lodging. Stay at the Mount Buller Chalet or any of the old-style club lodges or upscale B&Bs. It also boasts Australia’s highest luxury spa, This year, Mount Buller unveils Australia’s first six-seater chairlift. The $6 million lift will travel 1.1km in 3.7 minutes and move 3200 skiers an hour.
Falls Creek
Falls Creek is snowbound in winter – visitors park at a lower altitude and take Oversnow Transport to lodges. The advantage is that the entire village is ski-in, ski-out. The resort is spending $50 million on a new gateway facility, the first stages of which will be finished this year, including new shops, supermarkets, restaurants and 38 apartments. By 2010, this development will feature a spa, Turkish baths, a gym and a creche. Falls Creek itself is made up of a mix of high-end apartments and 1970s-style lodges.
Mount Hotham
This mountaintop village is unique in that lodges are based at the top of the ski field, with everyone descending to the lift base each morning. No laborious trudging up hills. In addition to the ongoing village upgrades, Mount Hotham this year offers Kat Skiing – accessing wide-open slopes via snowcat – free to all lift pass holders. The resort is also introducing a new high-season concept, the Après Festival, this season. From August 9 to 15, the village will host music acts, wine tastings and a fashion parade. If you don’t ski, Mount Hotham is a good place to try the new offering of snowshoeing, available with a picnic lunch. Another clever move is the introduction of online rentals: simply pre-book your gear and ensure it’s ready for you on arrival.
Source: Qantas The Australian Way July 2008