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New Zealand 2026
- Thread starter AJM
- Start date
AJM
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Well the 2026 season continues on its tumultuous journey here in Canterbury but DH and I did manage a gap in the warm, wet and windy traffic and managed a date day on Tuesday up at Porters, which sadly is looking pretty grim in places but hey skiing is skiing although I am longing for seasons past when we had lots of lovely soft fresh snow and were spoilt for choice on which run we were going to do next.
With the lack of available terrain (either melted out or rock hard ice, we even saw the patrollers cramponing down Bluff Face !) Mc Nultys was the run of the day and I lost count of how many times we did it and for the first half it was great until it got skied and blown out by the wind, then it was an icy luge and time to head down the lodge.
Anyways here's some date day pics for your viewing pleasure
My pretty pink Blazes complete with matching bindings !! Note the lack of snow below !!
Run number ???? down McNultys with the gleaming ice above , thank the good Lord for grooming !
DH was the Insta poster boy that day for Porters, early morning run down Easy Street.
More McNultys laps , sorry about the blurriness, DH isnt known for his camera skills
A classic rural Kiwi image enroute home , that folks is bales of wool trucking on down the highway
Despite the weather we're hoping to get a few more days in and are heading down to Tekapo in a couple of weeks so fingers and toes crossed the ski areas down there can hang in long enough
With the lack of available terrain (either melted out or rock hard ice, we even saw the patrollers cramponing down Bluff Face !) Mc Nultys was the run of the day and I lost count of how many times we did it and for the first half it was great until it got skied and blown out by the wind, then it was an icy luge and time to head down the lodge.
Anyways here's some date day pics for your viewing pleasure
My pretty pink Blazes complete with matching bindings !! Note the lack of snow below !!
Run number ???? down McNultys with the gleaming ice above , thank the good Lord for grooming !
DH was the Insta poster boy that day for Porters, early morning run down Easy Street.
More McNultys laps , sorry about the blurriness, DH isnt known for his camera skills
A classic rural Kiwi image enroute home , that folks is bales of wool trucking on down the highway
Despite the weather we're hoping to get a few more days in and are heading down to Tekapo in a couple of weeks so fingers and toes crossed the ski areas down there can hang in long enough
For those unfamiliar with NZ skiing (that includes me), here's an overview of future plans. SRG is a small group of people based on Colorado who have skied around the world. Started doing videos that are decent introductions to resorts about five years ago.
June 2026
June 2026
AJM
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We're still hangin on down here although some have had to pull the pin due to conditions not being exactly stellar ..... stupid wind and rain !!
Porters is trucking along but the bottom half of the local bump took a hit with the above mentioned wind and rain the other day but it was saved by a 25-30cm top up at the tail end of the storm which meant that Tuesday was a much awaited powder day
Yours truly sucks at powder and esp the heavy dump we got but it didnt stop me getting first tracks .... badly executed tracks but first tracks non the less. I was disappointed they didnt use footage of me waling my way through it for their insta story to show that "beginners" could ski it
Lots of fun and smiles all round but by crikey that stuff was exhausting to ski, one turn in and I knew I was going to have a rough time of it !! Now I'm no quitter but after 3 runs what I thought would get easier to ski once it had been cut up only got heavier and heavier so I wisely removed myself back to the relative safety of the groomers for the rest of the day.
With the promise of the upper slopes being groomed overnight it was back up yesterday to enjoy the fruits of the groomer driver efforts only to discover that it was hard and fast and I'd brought up the wrong tools for the job .... see below pic !!
A quick scoot back to the car and the carvers were brought out and it was back to regular scheduling.
DH had a couple of runs with me then headed out backcountry with a mate before we met up the lodge and celebrated a great couple of days on the planks
With more snow falling as I type it looks the next few days could be great !
The wrong tools for the job and me literally hanging on by my toenails but I was the insta poster girl for the day
DH out on his mission and still taking calls !!
Looking up at Crystal Valley (the next one over from Porters) from the lodge with the wind starting to pick up.
My new favourite thing ..... my Subi which has proven to be total team player on our access roads although I do get a bit precious with her and all the darn mud she gets coated in !!
Porters is trucking along but the bottom half of the local bump took a hit with the above mentioned wind and rain the other day but it was saved by a 25-30cm top up at the tail end of the storm which meant that Tuesday was a much awaited powder day
Yours truly sucks at powder and esp the heavy dump we got but it didnt stop me getting first tracks .... badly executed tracks but first tracks non the less. I was disappointed they didnt use footage of me waling my way through it for their insta story to show that "beginners" could ski it
Lots of fun and smiles all round but by crikey that stuff was exhausting to ski, one turn in and I knew I was going to have a rough time of it !! Now I'm no quitter but after 3 runs what I thought would get easier to ski once it had been cut up only got heavier and heavier so I wisely removed myself back to the relative safety of the groomers for the rest of the day.
With the promise of the upper slopes being groomed overnight it was back up yesterday to enjoy the fruits of the groomer driver efforts only to discover that it was hard and fast and I'd brought up the wrong tools for the job .... see below pic !!
A quick scoot back to the car and the carvers were brought out and it was back to regular scheduling.
DH had a couple of runs with me then headed out backcountry with a mate before we met up the lodge and celebrated a great couple of days on the planks
With more snow falling as I type it looks the next few days could be great !
The wrong tools for the job and me literally hanging on by my toenails but I was the insta poster girl for the day
DH out on his mission and still taking calls !!
Looking up at Crystal Valley (the next one over from Porters) from the lodge with the wind starting to pick up.
My new favourite thing ..... my Subi which has proven to be total team player on our access roads although I do get a bit precious with her and all the darn mud she gets coated in !!
AJM
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Nothing like a pink pair of ski's on the roof to distinguish it from all the other black Subi's
Rashika
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We actually have some passes we bought at the black Friday sale in 2024! and couldn't use last year so have to use this season and this is the day lol and my son has been begging to go somewhere else from mt hutt and tbh I'm glad not to be going to MH today, it will be crazy busy.
I did however have a fabulous day there on Wednesday 9th ( due to a lucky work day switch), perfect weather (no wind for once), small queues, great snow, and the entire mountain open, even the bluffs! Not that I will ever get there. Lol
Rashika
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
And a great day was had at porters!
Now my feet are a little sore from riding the tbars all day, but the weather was superb and the snow was lovely, from nice winter to soft spring snow. There were Q's especially at the top t, but they eventually got less after lunch. The boys headed to the bluffs for a run, said it was good but the entrance was a little icy and dicey with rocks as well. Sundance was just perfect for me and mcnaultys was fun as well.
Did get a few small rocks especially heading down to easy Street, but hopefully nothing too severe (I've yet to look). Easy Street was a laugh, bouncing from soft spring mounds to mounds, it was testing me to do it right and I seemed to manage that passably well according to my partner.
Fab day up there, well worth the trip.
Few pics to show off the kiwi mountains!
And I wasn't the only one with sore feet at the end of the day, even the teen was complaining, and sitting down on the job... Although when do they not?!
Now my feet are a little sore from riding the tbars all day, but the weather was superb and the snow was lovely, from nice winter to soft spring snow. There were Q's especially at the top t, but they eventually got less after lunch. The boys headed to the bluffs for a run, said it was good but the entrance was a little icy and dicey with rocks as well. Sundance was just perfect for me and mcnaultys was fun as well.
Did get a few small rocks especially heading down to easy Street, but hopefully nothing too severe (I've yet to look). Easy Street was a laugh, bouncing from soft spring mounds to mounds, it was testing me to do it right and I seemed to manage that passably well according to my partner.
Fab day up there, well worth the trip.
Few pics to show off the kiwi mountains!
And I wasn't the only one with sore feet at the end of the day, even the teen was complaining, and sitting down on the job... Although when do they not?!
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AJM
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I was up there as well
Super busy day and I gave up around lunch time due to knee issues (supposed to be doing a trail run event next weekend and thought I'd better not push it too hard !) and those queues at the top were doing my head in.
The skiing was superb though.
Easy street was a heap of fun on the way back to the car !
DH would definitely agree with entrance to Bluff being spicy, because of the abovementioned knee issue I gave it a pass although I was looking longingly at everyone else enjoying it.
One poor guy tomakawked/cartwheeled/slid down most of the face and had to be heli'd out, hope he's ok. My sons girlfriend saw the whole thing unfold and it didn't look good.
I think Bluff took a few prisoners yesterday with a lot of people heading out there who really shouldn't have been there but once you're in you're in and the only way is down, lots of tears and slides etc so I'm glad I didn't join the casualty list.
Sundance was skiing really well and the line down the skiers right of the top T Bar was great fun
DH has headed off backcountry today while I give my knee a rest then I'm hoping to head to back up tomorrow (Monday) then its off down to Tekapo next Friday for the Trail Run and hopefully some skiing at Roundhill or Dobson enroute.
Magnatude
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Welcome to the NZ Ski Divas, Ruby! Also a Mt Hutt skier, though I think I've only made it up there once this year. Hopefully will get a few days in before it closes in October.
My youngest daughter and I made it up to Porters yesterday (Monday) for a bit of a last hurrah, given that it might have been their last day (unless tomorrow's storm comes in colder than expected), and also because she still had two of those Black Friday passes, also from the end of 2024, and it was possibly our last chance to use one. She has a chronic illness and doesn't often have the energy to ski (once a year, for a couple of hours, generally), and I was shaking off the last of whatever flu has been going around this winter, so we took it easy, and only skied for a couple of hours, if that.
We did head down Bluff Face for our second run, at my daughter's suggestion. It was actually pretty nice -- firm, chalky snow mostly. But it was a bit hairy at the entrance -- icy in the shade on the corner right before the entrance, and a rocky traverse at the top of the face, just after the entrance, which was tricky to negotiate. The rest of the face still has great snow cover though, with little danger of core shots at least until you get to the bottom section.
But the snow off the chairlift (which is the bottom lift that accesses the T-bars on the rest of the mountain) was definitely getting well worn by lunchtime, with waves of slush that were increasingly transparent, through to the scree below. I can understand why they might end the season if this storm doesn't deliver. Still, halfway through September seems crazy early to be closing.
I'll try for Mt Hutt later this week, and probably at the weekend with family as well. Snow cover there still looks great.
AJM
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
How did I miss you on Monday ???
It was a fun day but I pulled out at lunchtime, I've got a trail run this coming weekend and what with my knee issue and a case of over doing things I wanted to quit while I was ahead.
Did you see patrol blowing bubbles up on Sundance ? They were pretty cool and were drifting down the liftline as I rode up.
After the weekends fun and games on Bluff I kept well away but the Leaper was good and I had a sneaky poke into Night Snake before tackling the slush puppies on Easy Street.
Despite having a pass to Hutt I still havent made it over the river but maybe next week all going well.
DH has had some good storm riding days there this season.
We're hoping to get a day in at Roundhill on Friday and try for either Ohau or Dobson on Sunday ... fingers crossed.
I agree it does seem super early to be closing but I guess if they lose Easy Street then its game over but I do remember way back when there was a T Bar where the chair is now and many a season we had to walk up to Tower 3 and load from there then walk back down to base when they lost the snow at the bottom.
Its been a topsy turvy season thats for sure.
AJM
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Welcome to the gang @Ruby_Gray , I generally ski at Porters as its just up the road from where I live so its nice and easy to get to plus we've (the family) all worked there at some stage or another and have a great relationship with it.
DH tends to go touring a lot and also hits up the Clubbies whereas your truly dosent have touring gear and also a tricky back which makes riding rope tows a bit of a no go these days although I am hoping to have a Mt Olympus day and just test it out on their baby tow and I'll see how it goes from there.
I grew up skiing at both Temple Basin and Mt Hutt and only recently discovered the joys of Hutt again.
I'm looking forward to getting a few days in there before the end of the season and to use my pass which so far has just been a donation to NZSKI !!!
Rashika
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
lol and I did actually look for some pink blazes (and a black subi) but never saw them, ah well next time, probably next year. And no I didn’t see the bubbles, although we did chat to some guys who were promoting some kiwi made poles, with screwdrivers on the bottom, called ‘screw you’ poles, interesting.
Slush puppies… lol that’s a great term for it!
Wel’ll be back up at mt hutt on Saturday as usual, kinda wish it was Dobson instead as it’s their last weekend this weekend, but it gets expensive when paying for lift passes for all of us ( rather than using the season pass). Then maybe Tuesday, maybe, although I have cupcakes to make for my partners birthday so I might have to do that instead.
School hols the week after so probably make it up Monday and Friday, with the youngest, at least that’s what he wants.
Hey ruby grey… I think I’ve seen your posts on the rideshare group? We also do mt hutt and first tracks, saturdays usually. We are on C6 skis, the distinctive green bases, say hello if you see us
AJM
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I've got fingers and toes crossed for both Roundhill and Dobson this weekend but it looks like that pesky wind might be showing up again. If its open we're going wind or not !!
And I just might get a day in at Hutt next week all going well.
Porters pulled the plug today so I'm super glad I made it up on Monday which turns out was their last day after all.
A memory turned up on FB of my Son skiing at Craigieburn on this day back in 2014 and boy was there a LOT of snow and I meant a LOT.
Magnatude
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Also very glad I got that last day in at Porters on Monday. I think I remember that snowfall in the Craigieburns. Over a metre in one storm, I seem to recall.
Mt Hutt was closed today (Saturday) because of wind. It can absolutely howl up there, and it is just as scary on that exposed road as it is on a chairlift up there, when it's blowing.
I sneaked in a few runs there yesterday, which was a fab bluebird day, but a lot of people (Rakaia Saddle carpark was full when I left at 1.30), with the usual human (ie teenage boys mainly) cannonballs on Fascination and the runs below it. Plenty of snow, but the off-piste wasn't super-soft by the time I left. Mid-Towers was hard work. Fingers crossed it'll be open tomorrow.
Mt Hutt was closed today (Saturday) because of wind. It can absolutely howl up there, and it is just as scary on that exposed road as it is on a chairlift up there, when it's blowing.
I sneaked in a few runs there yesterday, which was a fab bluebird day, but a lot of people (Rakaia Saddle carpark was full when I left at 1.30), with the usual human (ie teenage boys mainly) cannonballs on Fascination and the runs below it. Plenty of snow, but the off-piste wasn't super-soft by the time I left. Mid-Towers was hard work. Fingers crossed it'll be open tomorrow.
AJM
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Did you get up yesterday (Sunday) ? We were at Dobson and it was rock hard so was wondering if Hutt suffered the same fate ?
Rashika
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We managed to get in there yesterday, for first tracks as well ( started in the 8 until they got the 6 open by about 8.20) and actually it was pretty good, grooming was good, still mostly firm but was starting to soften by the time we had to leave. ( Had a music show to go to in the afternoon, which was fab to see my oldest solo on the drums, playing rope - foo fighters)
And yes the car parks were full, but no priority day so we made it up ok
