Buckle up take 2 - as I see there's a fair amount of information about Canterbury fields on here, but none about the Central Otago ones which are my usual stomping grounds!
To those in the know, where is the best snow in NZ?
The South Island for sure. Canterbury or Central Otago. However, where the best snow is on any given week varies due to the factors
@AJM mentioned and overall it is more like the typical East Coast snow that people from the US describe. The snow is WET here.
From what I have seen it seems like there are like a lot of private clubs on the South Island? Anyone know how that works?
There are two different types of field really - commercial fields and club fields. Club fields are basically your indie/grassroots fields, not like a fancy 'private club'. Usually they are mostly or at least partially volunteer run, usually entirely reliant on whatever mother nature gives, no ski hire, often a hike up from a dodgy road - but uncrowded, cheaper and often have excellent access to ungroomed/backcountry.
Commercial fields - there are two main companies in the South Island, NZ Ski which runs Mt Hutt (Canterbury) and the Queenstown fields The Remarkables and Coronet Peak OR Real Journeys which runs the Wanaka fields Cardrona and Treble Cone. Even our commercial fields are quite small compared to big resorts overseas (there are restrictions due to conservation/national park reasons) and a 'big' field is anything that has more than 2 chairlifts!
I don't recommend Coronet Peak if you are coming from the Northern Hemisphere to ski as it is nicknamed 'concrete peak' for a reason - yes, it has one of the only fully sealed roads, but it also has the lowest altitude, most solid snow, and generally the worst cover. The Remarkables is more reliable for good snow, and a good intermediate groomer mountain if you don't mind a bit of a choke point at the bottom of the lifts (and narrower runs than Cardrona), but most of the 'expert' terrain is ungroomed + accessed by either hike or long traverse. They also have "Home Run" which takes you down a couple of bowls out the back of the Shadow Basin, and you need to get the bus back up (or get picked up with all your gear on the way down). I have had some of the best snow days there so am biased!
Cardrona is probably the busiest mountain by far, accompanied by the fact that it has successfully marketed itself as the best place for families and beginners to learn to ski (big ski school, childcare, etc.) particularly if you are starting out as a non-skiier. I believe it is the biggest in terms of multiple places to eat on the mountain, available lift-accessed terrain and it is a favourite among many of my colleagues, however I personally think the steeper terrain sucks compared to The Remarkables or Treble Cone. There are more groomed steep runs, and beautiful wide intermediate spaces, and I would definitely recommend it for learning to ski.
Treble Cone is my favourite of them all, although I have never quite made it down some of the really good looking stuff there and probably need better skills to really appreciate the mountain. It's super simple - just 2 lifts in two basins - and the best views of anywhere. There are a million different ways to get down Saddle Basin as well as the chutes (disclaimer: have never managed to go down the chutes myself - but they have come highly recommended by a number of people I have skiied with) and the snow quality there is generally very good. I haven't been since 2019 for a number of reasons, but if I go back to NZ to ski this year it will probably be first on my list.
What mountains have good vibes?
All of them if you ask me - but the vibes are different in each place.
Anything anyone wants to share?
There is no such thing as on-mountain accommodation in any of the commercial fields save for Cardrona which has apartments that book out 1-2 years in advance. Most fields are at minimum a 30-60min drive from even the closest accommodation. You will need a car, or to take the bus up. And yes, the roads are scary. People have died on them from underestimating them.
Our season is fairly short - July is "relies on snow guns" and October is when everything closes. August/September are usually the more reliable months. Also, for the love of all that is good DO NOT GO IN JULY OVERLAPPING SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS.
