Queenstown winter party minus snow

By SIMON HENDERY and NZPA

The snow stayed away this year, but organisers of Queenstown's Winter Festival say the event achieved its goal of keeping the town on the international travel map.

Skiers and snowboarders who flocked to the annual nine-day mix of hype, hoopla and partying were disappointed to find slushy slopes caused by a snow drought in recent weeks.

Coronet Peak's snow-making machines worked overtime to set the stage for a series of novelty and sporting events aimed at taking sliders' minds off the mediocre conditions further up the mountain.

A festival spokeswoman, Fiona Woodham, said while the lack of snow was disappointing, it had not detracted from the festivities, which ended yesterday.

"It's not a big skiing week as such, it's a big party week. Some people would have perhaps liked to have spent a bit longer up the slopes, but instead they've spent more time downtown."

Destination Queenstown chief executive David Kennedy said the festival achieved its objectives of injecting cash into the local economy and promoting Queenstown as a fun and active winter holiday destination. Attendance figures were not available.

Among the revellers were Winter Olympic hopefuls Naila Hassan and Mescha Soper, who raced a cardboard sled down Coronet Peak as part of a festival-long promotion of their ice sports.

Hassan, of Auckland, is training to be part of New Zealand's first women's bobsleigh team, which will compete in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games.

Soper, of Athol, near Queenstown, is training for the head-first sliding sport of skeleton.

Off the slopes, festival events included a fireworks display, a pizza-gobbling competition, a birdman plunge into icy Lake Wakatipu, mardi gras and float parade.

In the North Island, fresh snow falls have pushed the snowbase over the magic one-metre mark at Turoa.

Vanessa Thomas, marketing manager for the Turoa field near Ohakune, said Mt Ruapehu received 30cm of new snow on the upper slopes at Turoa and 5cm on the lower slopes over a 24-hour period.

Turoa was closed for skiing and snowboarding as snow continued to fall. Further falls were forecast this week.

Whakapapa received similar amounts, though its upper field snowbase was about 75cm.

Marketing manager Mike Smith said poor visibility on Saturday and high winds yesterday kept skiers off the upper slopes.