Teenager's cool ski win

By COLIN MOORE

"That's so cool," said an excited Amy McIntosh, and for once that teenage mark of approval made some sense.

The 17-year-old seventh-form student at Auckland's Baradene College had just been told she had won Travel's competition to the snowy slopes of Queenstown.

Amy, of Remuera, who wants to be an engineer, had her winning entry drawn from those of the several thousand readers who entered the competition, by the New Zealand Herald's Head of Features, Ewan McDonald.

Her prize is a weekend escape for two to Queenstown with Ski Express, staying at the St Moritz Novotel Suites and with unlimited skiing or snowboarding at the Coronet Peak or Remarkables resorts.

Amy has skied at Whakapapa on Mt Ruapehu a couple of times but has never been to the South Island.

She plans to take her 19-year-old sister with her on her weekend to the Queen of the South.

Coronet Peak is already up and running, with 50cm of snow and cool temperatures helping snowmaking Machines to run day and night. All the chairlifts are operating. Live pictures of conditions and snowcam pictures of the Remarkables can be viewed on the website NZ Ski

Snowmaking is also going day and night at the Remarkables to ensure the field is ready to open for the season on June 23.

Next month is party month in Queenstown, with the town's 27th winter festival held from July 14 to 22.

The festival programme includes ice hockey, art and music workshops, top rock and jazz bands, a float parade, fireworks, festival ball and a celebrity ski race.

Festival regulars such as the bird-man launch into the freezing waters of Lake Wakatipu, snow sculpting at Coronet Peak and waiters' race are also on the programme. Full winter festival programme details can be seen on Winter Festival

* Keep in touch with what is happening at the country's winter resorts with Colin Moore's Snowlines column in Travel every fortnight, beginning next week.