Thursday, June 21, 2007

Snowpark NZ opens tomorrow

Freestylers and freestyle wannabes are waxing their boards and fine tuning their edges in anticipation of Snowpark NZ's opening day tomorrow.

When your jumping's on the shaky side (or just plain non-existent), New Zealand's giant terrain park is the place to go to crank it up a gear.

And this year they've added new snazzy on-slope apartments (see pic), so you don't need to make the commute from Wanaka.

Dates for this year's Snow Girls NZ camps are:
5-8 July
30-31 July
1-4 September

Photo credit and further information: www.snowparknz.com.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Mt Buller world first: snowmaking with recycled water

For a country in its sixth year of drought, blasting artificial snow is going to be controversial.

But Mt Buller in Australia has found an innovative use for its waste water and is becoming the world's first resort to use recycled water for snowmaking.

Phil Nunn, the resort's chief executive, says the new development will increase snowmaking capacity by 30 per cent and is expected to ensure 80 per cent of the village's waste water is reused.

Read the whole story on the Mt Buller website.

Photo credit: www.mtbuller.com.au

Monday, June 11, 2007

Coronet Peak open; Mt Hutt to follow

Coronet Peak, in New Zealand's South Island, opened today, just a couple of days behind schedule.

Snowmaking machines have been going full blast, thanks to consistently cold temperatures over the past few days, and have covered the Big Easy and M1 trails.

If you're a beginner, this should be enough to keep you happy, but intermediate and advanced skiers and riders will quickly tire of endless revolutions on the M1, which really does match up to it's British motorway namesake in terms of traffic.

Meanwhile, Mt Hutt is expected to open on Wednesday (13 June). Terrain will be limited, but park junkies will be able to hit a couple of rails or boxes (not sure which yet) from day one.

Photo credit and more information: www.nzski.com

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

New Zealand snow update

Yippee! Winter has arrived in New Zealand and the main resorts are building up to their opening days. Here's a run-down of the latest news from the main ski areas:

Mt Ruapehu (Whakapapa and Turoa): Cooler temperatures have brought fresh snow to higher elevations. With the freezing level expected to drop, conditions should be ideal for snowmaking and more snow is forecast over the next few days. Turoa has installed a brand new snowmaking system, a smart new Alpine Chalet and, best of all, a new chairlift - the High Noon Express. Turoa opens on 16 June. More info from www.mtruapehu.com.

Mt Hutt: The Canterbury field received a 25cm dump on Saturday and snowmaking is underway. Opens on 9 June.

Coronet Peak: The snow guns are blasting, but the base is still low. Opens on 9 June.

The Remarkables: This is the place to go for coaching. The mountain is introducing Afternoon Burton Freestyle Sessions (daily 2-4pm), 6 Saturday Freestyle sessions (every Saturday) and, for the girlies, the Burton Girls on Edge Camp, with instruction from New Zealand's top female coaches. Opens on 23 June. More info on Mt Hutt, Coronet Peak and The Remarks from www.nzski.com.

Treble Cone: Natural snow has fallen and snowmaking is underway. Opens 26 June. More info from www.treblecone.co.nz.

Cardrona: Snowmaking has begun and more snow is forecast. Opens 22 June. More info from www.cardrona.com.

Don't forget, the annual Queenstown Winter Festival kicks off the season in style and runs from 22 June to 1 July.

Photo credit: www.mtruapehu.com