Sky News summer snow feature

Looking for ideas on where to board over the next couple of months? Check out my summer snow article on Sky News' lifestyle website, www.sky.com/living. Just click on the skier photo to read the story.

Niehues map for Treble Cone

Whistler aficionados will appreciate the style of Treble Cone's new trail map. It was designed by none other than James Niehues.

Past projects by Niehues have included trail maps for Heavenly and Vail in the USA, Lake Louise and Whistler Blackcomb in Canada, and Thredbo in Australia.

Treble Cone's season began today with excellent conditions. All lifts at the Kiwi resort were open, including the Saddle Quad, which opened up new terrain in 2005.

Check out the new trail map or visit James Niehues' website, www.jamesniehues.com, to admire his full collection.

Ride launches 2006/7 range

Two new women-specific boards are among Ride's recently launched 2006/7 range.

The Verona is aimed at "accomplished women who ride the entire mountain with style and opt for luxury performance", while Fever is a brand new freestyle board.

Also new for female riders are two women-specific high-back bindings, the DaLux and DaLux Lite.

Men haven't been forgotten. New this year is the Society, a high-end freestyle board.

Check out the new range on Ride's website www.ridesnowboards.com.

New Zealand snow keeps falling

Yet more snow storms have been buffeting New Zealand this week and it's been a bumper start to the ski season.

Another 35cm hit Mt Hutt yesterday, bringing the base up to 1.2m. The season's start has been described as one of the best for over 15 years.

Cardrona opened today with bluebird skies and beautiful freshies, while Mt Lyford had to postpone opening until tomorrow as the snow hadn't stopped.

The Remarkables also kicks off its season tomorrow and this year will be the location for New Zealand's first Burton Learn to Ride Freestyle Centre.

In the North Island, roads around Mt Ruapehu have been closed by snow and wind, with more dumps forecast over the weekend. Turoa's base has reached 1.4m and Whakapapa's has hit the 1m mark. Impatient skiers and riders may have to wait until Monday for the weather and roads to clear.

Treble Cone opens on 27 June, with most other Kiwi resorts opening by 1 July.

Might be worth checking out the latest Air New Zealand deals...

Tignes snowpark open

Tignes' snowpark opened this week, which is great news for European freestylers if the likes of New Zealand and Chile seem a little too far afield.

Check out the French resort's neat range of pipes, rails and jumps on the Snowpark map.

As you can see from the map, it's not all about the hardcore stuff. There's a beginner's halfpipe and a designated Easy Zone with smaller jumps and rails.

Tignes has plenty of other summer activities too. There's a top class mountain bike park, or you can try your hand at paragliding, golf, hiking, canyoning, rafting...The list goes on. There's also a swanky new 5000 sq m aquatic centre.

The Grande Motte glacier stays open for skiing and riding until September, meaning there's only a short break before the winter season kicks off again in October.

Find out more at the official Tignes website.

Queenstown Winter Festival

Queenstown, New Zealand, celebrates the start of the winter season with its annual winter festival which begins on Friday.

There are over 60 events, from old favourites such as the Speight's Dog Derby and the Mardi Gras Parade, to the new Stolichnaya Expression Session, in which New Zealand's top boarders and skiers will show the crowd some style.

The highlight of the festival for girlies will be watching Queenstown's finest strutting their stuff at the Top Bloke Finale on Sunday 2 July.

The Lindauer Queenstown Winter Festival runs from 23 June to 2nd July.

South American season begins

South America's ski season is underway and the snow conditions are looking good.

Chile's Valle Nevado opened yesterday, followed by fellow Chilean resort Portillo today. Las Lenas and Catedral in Argentina also kick off their seasons today.

Catedral has installed six new lifts, including a quad cable car and a triple chair, as well as a drag lift taking advanced skiers to an off-piste area. The resort now has 39 lifts.

Portillo has added one new lift, Vizcachas. It is running themed weeks this winter, including a Chilean Wine Week from 5-12 August.

Coronet Peak now open

'First on the chair' T-shirts and Lindauer bubbly were handed out to four eager locals at today's Coronet Peak opening.

Ski area manager Duncan Smith said: "It was an awesome morning, and everyone was smiling."

The Coronet Express, Meadow Chair, magic carpet and handle tow are all running. Greengates Express and the Rocky Gully T-bar will open later in the month.

The snow guns are blowing and more snow is forecast, so signs are that this could be a good season.

Coronet Peak to open on Thursday

Queenstowners will be rushing for first lift this Thursday when Coronet Peak opens for the season.

The Kiwi mountain was disappointed to miss its original opening date of Saturday 10 June, but 27cm of fresh snow in the past two days have bolstered the base.

Temperatures are ideal for snowmaking too, and the machines are pumping out powder, meaning conditions are looking good for opening day.

Winter storm dumps on NZ's South Island

It has been puking it down in New Zealand's South Island today. Both Mt Hutt and Treble Cone have reported dumps of 85cm!

Mt Hutt had a successful opening weekend, but with its upper mountain base now at 100cm, the next few days are promising to be sweet.

Treble Cone plans to open on 27 June. Look out for the new permanent terrain park.

Check out the latest Mt Hutt snow report.

More Aussie and Kiwi mountains open

Perisher Blue may have beaten them to it, but fellow Aussie resorts Mt Buller and Thredbo were hot on its heels. Both opened officially today, as did Mt Hutt, in New Zealand's Canterbury region.

Mt Buller (www.mtbuller.com.au) has kicked off with a winter festival over the weekend and has launched a new automated snowmaking system. The snow levels don't look up to much at the moment though. The website says two lifts are open, but the snow report lists a base of 0cm and the webcam suggests a distinct lack of snow.

Thredbo (www.thredbo.com.au) looks a more promising option, with light snow currently falling and possible blizzards forecast for tomorrow.

Mt Hutt (www.nzski.com) was able to open from summit to base, thanks to a 20-30cm base. The Summit Six chair, Exhibition Quad and beginners' terrain park are all open.

Coronet Peak (www.nzski.com), near Queenstown, has been less lucky with the weather and has had to postpone its opening date, originally intended for today.

Perisher Blue opens early

Thanks to a 30cm dump last week, Perisher Blue beat the other Aussie ski hills by opening two days early today.

Cold temperatures since the snowfall have meant snowmaking cannons have been put to work, adding an extra layer to the natural base.

Find out all about season opening events and check out the latest webcam pics on the Perisher Blue website. I've added it to my links on the right hand side.

Surfing the crud in Whistler

Just back from a week in Whistler, BC. It was the last week of the winter season and Angus (my husband) and I treated ourselves to some end-of-season slush.

This year Whistler Blackcomb received nearly 12m of the fresh stuff, with a record 469cm in January alone.

Temperatures may have risen by the time we arrived, but the snow was sticking nicely and the base was still a respectable 170cm. A few determined riders were even making it down to the gondola midstation.

It's a brilliant time to go if you want to practise a few freestyle tricks. The lifts were quiet, and the Habitat Terrain Park under the Emerald Chair was still open, with a good selection of kickers and rails to suit all levels.

We moved pretty fast on the slush on our first day, but a couple of hot days meant conditions deteriorated, and the slopes were looking decidedly mucky.

Top tip: get your board tuned up with some super spring wax. By the end of our last afternoon, my board was black and my speed had reduced to about 1 mile an hour.

Whistler mountain wrapped up its winter season on 4 June, but Blackcomb has just opened for summer glacier skiing and riding, complete with a half pipe for the public, thanks to all that snow.

There are a few camps running over the summer. If you want to head up on your own however, the glacier is open daily from 12pm-3pm until 30 July. A one-day pass costs $47, or if you're heading out for the summer, earlybird season passes are available until 11 June for a bargain $299 (usual price $349).

More soon on the Whistler mountain bike park and other summer activities in the village.