New Zealand 2025

[AJM]

First up I'm sorry for the radio silence for the last few months, life got in the way of life and my dedication to this page and all you lovely gals sort of slipped off the back
Anyways the NZ season has kicked off ... sort of, after a super promising start here in Canterbury back in early May and a couple of top ups not long after the dreaded rain turned up and wreaked havoc on the snowpack so we're back to business as usual for early season ie the clubbies havent been able to open and Porters only just managed to get the top lifts spinning after a lot of digging to get the lift lines operational but hey its better than the previous 2 seasons so yay for that.
Mt Hutt as per usual scored it (DH has had a few days there already) and from what I can tell Mt Dobson, Roundhill etc down in the Mackenzie district are also doing well.
Im not sure how well the Southern Lakes ski areas are faring so hopefully someone else can chime in and fill in the gaps
I managed to get an awesome day snowshoeing back in early May up the Mt Cheeseman access road with a group of ski tourers incl DH in what was arguably the lightest, dryest snow I've ever encountered here in NZ ... the snowshoes were fun until they weren't so they came off and I continued in just my boots.
Day 1 at Porters was a disaster as I've developed a cataract in my left eye and as it was a super flat light day it made it super challenging so I'm defintely going to be picking my battles this season until I can get it fixed.
Day 2 was this last Monday and as we could get up to the top out of the shade things went a lot better, not great but better so I'm hoping its onwards and upwards from here



Snowshoeing back in ealy May



The old school snow shoes that were fun until theyy weren't


Day 2 and all lifts were spinning so with a few jedi moves on T2 we made it to the top !



Looking back up at Crystal Valley from the Lodge, it looks good from afar but far from good as DH likes to say. Still super early season though so not panicking yet.

 

[Jilly]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Its been +30C here the last couple of days. I needed to see SNOW!

I know a CSIA L4 that is down for the winter season. I can't remember which field he's at. But he is posting from Queensland on FB.

 

[AJM]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Its been +30C here the last couple of days. I needed to see SNOW!

I know a CSIA L4 that is down for the winter season. I can't remember which field he's at. But he is posting from Queensland on FB.

You're welcome @Jilly
I'm guessing you meant to write Queenstown rather than Queensland ?
Hopefully we can get a few more storms landing in the next couple of weeks to really set things up ... fingers crossed and I hope your friend has a great time over here xx

 

[Jilly]

You're welcome @Jilly
I'm guessing you meant to write Queenstown rather than Queensland ?
Hopefully we can get a few more storms landing in the next couple of weeks to really set things up ... fingers crossed and I hope your friend has a great time over here xx

And maybe Spenser doesn't know where he is. I'll check his FB again. I do want to see where he's teaching.

 

[Jilly]

Yup, my mistake. Queenstown. I do see reference to an IKON resort. Which one would that be?

 

[Eera]

I'm guessing you meant to write Queenstown rather than Queensland ?

To be fair we did get a fairly severe frost last week. We're still talking about it.

 

[AJM]

Yup, my mistake. Queenstown. I do see reference to an IKON resort. Which one would that be?

Im picking he'll be at either Coronet Peak or The Remarkables, they're both owned by NZSki and I think they're IKON.

 

[AJM]

Day 3 didnt go as planned, the snowpack was bullet proof so it was a few laps of the carpark catching up with folk before we finally decided to pull the pin and headed down to look for fossils off the access road !!
I did catch up with a friend who's just got back from Wanaka and he said the snow is soooo much better down there, more like true winter snow than the damp unpredictable snow like substance we've got, so if anyones thinking of heading that way its sounds like its a good option.

 

[Magnatude]

I still haven't made it down to Queenstown this season -- though may well go early next week, once the school holiday crowds have disappeared. The last 2 Saturdays we skied at Mt Hutt, which have both been good. It has excellent coverage. Will probably go again tomorrow. Also a Saturday and Sunday at Porters before the school holidays, which was fun, but it was before the T-bars opened (just the chairlift and learners lifts operating) so skiing the same run got pretty old by lunchtime. Weirdly the snow quality on piste was really good, and the whole mountain looked very white, but apparently it was superficial and the groomers were sinking into rocks higher up. We haven't been up since the upper mountain lifts opened.
Although it's hard to believe, with the gloomiest day imaginable in Christchurch today, it's apparently warm up at Porters, with rain in the forecast. :(

 

[Magnatude]

Day 3 didnt go as planned, the snowpack was bullet proof so it was a few laps of the carpark catching up with folk before we finally decided to pull the pin and headed down to look for fossils off the access road !!
I did catch up with a friend who's just got back from Wanaka and he said the snow is soooo much better down there, more like true winter snow than the damp unpredictable snow like substance we've got, so if anyones thinking of heading that way its sounds like its a good option.

Fossils? What kind, and where?

 

[AJM]

I still haven't made it down to Queenstown this season -- though may well go early next week, once the school holiday crowds have disappeared. The last 2 Saturdays we skied at Mt Hutt, which have both been good. It has excellent coverage. Will probably go again tomorrow. Also a Saturday and Sunday at Porters before the school holidays, which was fun, but it was before the T-bars opened (just the chairlift and learners lifts operating) so skiing the same run got pretty old by lunchtime. Weirdly the snow quality on piste was really good, and the whole mountain looked very white, but apparently it was superficial and the groomers were sinking into rocks higher up. We haven't been up since the upper mountain lifts opened.
Although it's hard to believe, with the gloomiest day imaginable in Christchurch today, it's apparently warm up at Porters, with rain in the forecast. :(

I only had the early opening day at Porters then last Monday which I think was the best day this week, yesterday was really weird as it was sooo warm but it was super icy maybe the freezing level stayed low and a friend of ours whose in the industry said it was because the air was so dry yesterday compared to the dampness we've been having so who knows what caused it.
I've got a Hutt pass as well this season so as soon as the school holidays are over I'll be heading there for sure, DH has had a couple of days and said it was great.
Praying for more snow !!

 

[AJM]

Fossils? What kind, and where?

They're shells so nothing too exciting but fun to find. Just down the bank towards the river by the cattle stop past the quarry and then if you go up the bank on the other side of the road there are some slightly different ones ... they're only small and embedded in the rocks but bigger ones have been found. Its pretty cool.

 

[Magnatude]

They're shells so nothing too exciting but fun to find. Just down the bank towards the river by the cattle stop past the quarry and then if you go up the bank on the other side of the road there are some slightly different ones ... they're only small and embedded in the rocks but bigger ones have been found. Its pretty cool.

That is very cool. Such a long way from the coast, and up high, so not where you'd expect to find shells. Mind you, it is right in NZ's main divide faultline. Similar to the Wasatch in Utah, where I once did a nature tour with a local park ranger, who revealed there were sea creature fossils in the rocks in the Devils Castle area, which is very high up (3352m/10,000ft or so at the summit). I believe the Great Salt Lake was once an ocean, or part of one?

I learned quite a lot more about local wildlife on that tour than I care to remember! A story for another day.

 

[SkiBam]

SO SO nice to read about ski conditions and skiing! Seems like a distant memory to me now in the middle of summer (we might call it monsoon season here - never seen such heavy rains!) though I know (hope) I'll be back on snow in just over four months. Enjoy your season!

 

[AJM]

SO SO nice to read about ski conditions and skiing! Seems like a distant memory to me now in the middle of summer (we might call it monsoon season here - never seen such heavy rains!) though I know (hope) I'll be back on snow in just over four months. Enjoy your season!

Hopefully we can report back in and let you know that we're having an incredible season but at the moment everything is very damp ... fingers and toes crossed that we get some more snow soon

 

[AJM]

That is very cool. Such a long way from the coast, and up high, so not where you'd expect to find shells. Mind you, it is right in NZ's main divide faultline. Similar to the Wasatch in Utah, where I once did a nature tour with a local park ranger, who revealed there were sea creature fossils in the rocks in the Devils Castle area, which is very high up (3352m/10,000ft or so at the summit). I believe the Great Salt Lake was once an ocean, or part of one?

I learned quite a lot more about local wildlife on that tour than I care to remember! A story for another day.

That sounds similar to the Castle Hill Basin which has been underwater a few times apparently, always cool to find them.

 

[AJM]

So this was today, Porters was the only ski area open in Canterbury and DH scored it ..... I made the unfortunate decision to stay home due to the wind , kicking myself now

 

[scandium]

So this was today, Porters was the only ski area open in Canterbury and DH scored it ..... I made the unfortunate decision to stay home due to the wind , kicking myself now View attachment 25119

ooft. That is BEAUTIFUL. Top of T3?

 

[AJM]

ooft. That is BEAUTIFUL. Top of T3?

Yup top of T3 and DH was the first one down, the Ops Manager is a bit of a ninja with a camera and got this shot which he emailed through to me.
It looks soooo good and DH said it was primo snow, still lean in other areas but this spot got loaded.

 

[skibum4ever]

Day 3 didnt go as planned, the snowpack was bullet proof so it was a few laps of the carpark catching up with folk before we finally decided to pull the pin and headed down to look for fossils off the access road !!
I did catch up with a friend who's just got back from Wanaka and he said the snow is soooo much better down there, more like true winter snow than the damp unpredictable snow like substance we've got, so if anyones thinking of heading that way its sounds like its a good option.

We skied in New Zealand and Australia quite a few years ago.

But the jingle that says "Ski Wanaka...". is still stuck in my head.