Mt Hutt is hopeful for another bumper snow season. Photo / George Heard
Mt Hutt is hopeful for another bumper snow season. Photo / George Heard
Winter is upon us and so, too, is the ski season. Snow-goers can expect significant changes to New Zealand’sskifields this season, including more chair lifts, more terrain, cheaper passes, and a smaller carbon footprint. Katie Oliver reports.
New Zealand’s ski fields have had some tough seasons lately but are optimistic for this winter.
NZ Ski chief executive Paul Anderson who oversees Remarkables, Coronet Peak, and Mt Hutt skifields, is hanging out for some snow.
“You always have to be optimistic in this game … we’re just waiting with bated breath for those few big storms to come through and get us going,” he said.
Opening day on Mt Hutt skifield, Canterbury, on June 10 last year. Photo / Nicole Hawke
The 2024 season is due to start this Saturday and skiers and boarders can anticipate significant updates.
The shadow basin chairlift will be making its debut later in June. The fast, padded, six-seater chair will open up 47ha of lift-accessible terrain and 50 vertical metres for riders to enjoy.
“The work we’ve done in shadow basin has transformed it, there are new trails being created up there … it is going to drag a lot of people who may not have gone to that part of the mountain over there,” Anderson said.
The facility includes 47 brand-new express chairs straight out of the base of the field. Not only increasing terrain but working to disperse crowds, too.
There will be 18 brand-new snow guns firing up this season, along the new and existing trail networks.
Last but certainly not least; the coffee bar will be open daily at 7.45am, for those early morning missions.
Don't miss out on all the fun at Queenstown this winter. Photo / QueenstownNZ
Coronet, Queenstown:
Coronet’s season is scheduled to start next week.
Visitors can expect some major upgrades to the rental fleet. NZ Ski spent $750,000 across Queenstown on its ski and snowboard rentals.
Local favourite Heidi’s Hut bar has also been upgraded for those keen on an apres-ski.
Anderson said they have installed card pick-up kiosks at all three mountains this year, which he says will be a simple way to avoid the queues at ticket windows.
Coronet is also in the process of planning for a gondola which would go from the base of the mountain. People will be able to choose to skip the car queues and ride the gondola straight to the field.
Although this will be a way to attract skiers and boarders, Anderson said it’s primarily aimed at summer adventures.
“It’s got the potential to become one of the best mountain biking hubs in the world,” he said.
Mt Hutt also hopes to open on Saturday and is introducing a priority parking system to shorten shuttle queues from their lower carparks during peak times.
Priority parks belong to full vehicles, encouraging carpooling or shuttle rides. There will be around 15-25 ‘parking priority’ days per season and customers will be advised of them via the Mt Hutt website.
With an emphasis on recusing carbon emissions and vehicle queues, Mt Hutt is also introducing $30 shuttles from Christchurch city centre and Rolleston.
Cardrona, Queenstown/Wānaka:
Cardrona’s planned opening for Friday will have customers seeing newer, shinier rental equipment this year with an upgraded facility and a “state-of-the-art robot that tunes your skis”.
Hedley said riders can enjoy upgraded parking in Valley View. This means those intermediate to advanced skiers and boarders can just jump straight on the lift from there without having to drive to the top.
Preparations for the Soho Basin Express are well underway, with the lift set to open in winter 2025. It will be one of the “biggest projects in New Zealand skiing history”, opening up 150ha of new terrain - making Cardrona Alpine Resort the biggest single ski area in Aotearoa.
Cardona Alpine Resort. Photo / Supplied
Treble Cone, Wānaka:
Treble Cone plans to start its season on June 29.
According to Hedley, customers can book with confidence at Treble Cone this year. They’ve had a heavy focus on snow gun investment for this year.
They’ve also been working closely with the rideshare app to ensure safe carpooling options, in a bid to reduce vehicle emissions. On top of that, both Cardrona and Treble Cone no longer supply landfill bins on the mountain. They do not sell anything in their food that has packaging for landfill. They encourage guests to bring their own lunch, so long as they take any landfill rubbish home.
In 2021, this initiative reduced their waste to landfill by more than 41 per cent at Cardrona and 67 per cent at Treble Cone compared to 2021.
For the first time in more than 20 years, the two Mt Ruapehu skifields will operate as separate businesses. It is a move Whakapapa chief executive Travis Donoghue believes will be “massive”.
“We have formed up and organised to be in a friendly rivalry with Tūroa Ski area, our brothers and sisters around the corner,” Donoghue said.
The shift is proving successful so far. This year’s season pass campaign roped in a revenue increase of nearly 70 per cent.
Donoghue said the change in ownership will allow Whakapapa to individualise systems to suit the needs of the field, prioritising what works well. This includes reintroducing cheaper passes.
“We’ve reintroduced the lower mountain pass, opening up that terrain and also delivering great value by reducing the price, while tripling the terrain available,” Donoghue said.
An adult weekday lower mountain pass will be $59, while a weekend day will be $79.
Donoghue said they aim to increase accessibility - making their field available to those who may not have been able to afford it in the past, or to those just keen to give it a go.
The skifield is currently closing a bidding process for a new owner.
“All going well, that will be in place and operating from 2025 onwards.”
With the ever-changing climate, ski fields across New Zealand are preparing to adapt as seasons have the potential to get shorter and warmer.
Treble Cone and Cardrona are working to direct investment into snow-making, as well as focusing on operational emission reductions.
“We don’t want it to be just about offsetting, we want to make sure we’re looking at our operation as well and that it’s the most efficient it can be,” Hedley said.
“We’ve just purchased a hybrid groomer, so that’s pretty exciting as well.”
Treble Cone and Cardrona have been planting natives, with 6500 planted around the access roads over the last few years.
NZ Ski achieved a 50 per cent reduction in carbon emissions last year.
Anderson said the whole industry is working together, with the National Ski Association sustainability committee.
“It’s the whole of New Zealand we’re doing it with, we do talk as an industry… because you know sustainability practices are not the kind of thing you want to keep to yourself,” Anderson said.
Fields across the country are aiming to reduce reliance on diesel, particularly from groomers, buses, and unnecessarily large car queues.
