Skiing in NZ vs US

[AJM]

So this just popped up on my Fb feed from Unofficial Networks so for those of you interested in what skiing in NZ is like compared to the US check out the video. Its pretty spot on in my opinion.

The Differences Between Skiing In New Zealand & North America

SRG Skiing's video details their recent trip to Middle Earth.

unofficialnetworks.com

 

[marzNC]

I like SRG videos in general. He is well traveled in the big mountains of N. America, has skied in Europe, and is thoughtful in his Insider Guides. He seems to be from Colorado. He clearly has not skied in Vermont (bar down is by law) or North Carolina (100% snowmaking coverage at small hills).

Important to remember his bias because when he says "North America" he is essentially thinking about destination resorts in the Rockies where total snowfall is generally well over 200 inches every winter. That is noted early on. However, the term "North America" is used throughout the video. The resorts that are considered for the comparison are those large resorts that open by mid-November and stay open until mid-April, mainly Ikon/Epic destinations. These resorts are the ones with a “village” with base lodging and night life. However, there are plenty of smaller resorts that are in the USA that cater more to day trippers than people doing a 1-week ski vacation.

 

[AJM]

I like SRG videos in general. He is well traveled in the big mountains of N. America, has skied in Europe, and is thoughtful in his Insider Guides. He seems to be from Colorado. He clearly has not skied in Vermont (bar down is by law) or North Carolina (100% snowmaking coverage at small hills).

Important to remember his bias because when he says "North America" he is essentially thinking about destination resorts in the Rockies where total snowfall is generally well over 200 inches every winter. That is noted early on. However, the term "North America" is used throughout the video. The resorts that are considered for the comparison are those large resorts that open by mid-November and stay open until mid-April, mainly Ikon/Epic destinations. These resorts are the ones with a “village” with base lodging and night life. However, there are plenty of smaller resorts that are in the USA that cater more to day trippers than people doing a 1-week ski vacation.

He defintely focused on South Island ski areas and missed all the clubbies and smaller ones focusing on Queenstown, Wanaka and a couple of Canterbury fields ie Hutt and Porters.
My comment re "spot on" was aimed at the NZ side of the equation, he got a lot of it right but some we're way off such as his comment about NZ being mainly either beginner or expert ....... not sure where he got that info from !! What is true though is that there does seem to be a lot more people taking up the sport over here so he's right in a way in that the green terrain is pretty packed but there are still a whole heap of us out there that are waaay off the expert level. What Kiwis are good at is skiing "funky" snow ... today I went from skiing powder to chowder to ice all in the same short run .... makes us very adaptable skiers.
His comments about park skiing here as well were a bit off, Cardrona has a world class park that top international athletes come over and train in plus we've produced a few prettty good Olympic level park and pipe skiers over the last few years ... just sayin Mr SRG.

 

[VickiK]

Lots of good & interesting info in that video. While it's unlikely I'll being skiing, NZ is on my bucket list.

This article was in my last Westways magazine: https://www.ace.aaa.com/publications/travel/international-destinations/new-zealand-van.html (enter a US zip code e.g. 91206 to access)

I always see e-bike tours in NZ on my Facebook feed.

 

[AJM]

Lots of good & interesting info in that video. While it's unlikely I'll being skiing, NZ is on my bucket list.

This article was in my last Westways magazine: https://www.ace.aaa.com/publications/travel/international-destinations/new-zealand-van.html (enter a US zip code e.g. 91206 to access)

I always see e-bike tours in NZ on my Facebook feed.

What a great article ! There are some fantastic cycle trails over here that take you through some stunning landscapes .... go on treat yourself xx

 

[Rashika]

That was a cool video, nice to see a whole lot of places I haven’t been to yet too!

 

[freeskigal]

I found NZ to be pretty rough haha. We went with this pro skier Tom and he shoved us on top of Mount Olympus, to ski a super narrow steep couloir after climbing some gnarly terrain without any ropes or crampons. That would hardly be possible in the US! But it was an exhilarating experience.

 

[Rashika]

I found NZ to be pretty rough haha. We went with this pro skier Tom and he shoved us on top of Mount Olympus, to ski a super narrow steep couloir after climbing some gnarly terrain without any ropes or crampons. That would hardly be possible in the US! But it was an exhilarating experience.

Geepers Olympus is a big ask! Think I'm a long way there yet, I like having a chair to relax on between ski runs

 

[AJM]

I found NZ to be pretty rough haha. We went with this pro skier Tom and he shoved us on top of Mount Olympus, to ski a super narrow steep couloir after climbing some gnarly terrain without any ropes or crampons. That would hardly be possible in the US! But it was an exhilarating experience.

Let me guess Tom Dunbar ?? He's a friend of ours and was my sons freeride coach for a while ..... I stopped looking at the footage from when he was coaching my then precious 9yr old as some of the terrain he was getting those kids onto terrifried the heck out of this Mom !! He's an amazing skier thats for sure, I think he scored a perfect 10 at Verbier back when he was pro ..... he now farms and makes honey.

 

[freeskigal]

Let me guess Tom Dunbar ?? He's a friend of ours and was my sons freeride coach for a while ..... I stopped looking at the footage from when he was coaching my then precious 9yr old as some of the terrain he was getting those kids onto terrifried the heck out of this Mom !! He's an amazing skier thats for sure, I think he scored a perfect 10 at Verbier back when he was pro ..... he now farms and makes honey.

Yeeees exactly that's the guy haha.

 

[AJM]

Yeeees exactly that's the guy haha.

Tom loves a good couloir

 

[scandium]

I found NZ to be pretty rough haha. We went with this pro skier Tom and he shoved us on top of Mount Olympus, to ski a super narrow steep couloir after climbing some gnarly terrain without any ropes or crampons. That would hardly be possible in the US! But it was an exhilarating experience.

Olympus can be an adventure for sure!