 Poster: A snowHead
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Any snowHeads around the Queenstown area of NZ's south island between July 4th and 10th?
I'm planning to ski Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Cardrona if time and weather permit. Will be there with Mrs Moosepig, who's a complete beginner, so skiing companion appreciated for when she's in lessons!  It'd be good to meet up with any snowHeads who happen to be around.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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go on, just rub it in why don't u? 
Urgh, how long is it till Winter?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Mentioned before on another thread.
I can never understand how the kiwis let Queentown develop into the tacky tourist dump it was in 1990 so I cant imagine what its like now. As for the skiing on my visit. The remarkables were well quite Un-remarkable. Coronet & Cardona were disapoiting. The best of the bunch around there was Treble Cone. Best I found on the South Island was Mount Hutt . If you can afford it the best skiing NZ offer is via Helicopter.
Well, Im going back there are 15 years to see if its got any better 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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moosepig, have fun! Am v. jealous, as I'm not back there until xmas, by which time the snow will have just finished melting. Sigh.
Say 'ullo to my Mum if you happen to pass Morrinsville...
Yes, as clouds in NZ don't stay still longer than 4nanosecs, let alone 4days, would be a bluddy miracle if you arrived to find the slopes in the same condition as the 26th/30th photos....
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Wed 1-06-05 20:21; edited 1 time in total
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stanton, with any luck it's undergone the same revival in the late 1990s as the rest of the country.
Although first things first NZ doesn't actually have "resorts" of any kind and, even as a (very loosely defined) ski "resort" town, Queenstown is an anomaly for NZ in that it's residents are exclusively exotic tourists. New Zealanders who work in Queenstown don't live in Queenstown, they live outside it and commute in to work in the town, or up to the slopes. Kiwis living north, say in & around Christchurch, don't bother with Queenstown and commute up to Mt Hutt. North Islanders don't as a rule bother with the South Island slopes (they ski Ruapehu - the ski "towns" servicing those slopes are traditional rural NZ towns without any of the awfulness of Queenstown).
So Queenstown is what it was/is precisely because of foreign tourists.
In terms of quality of prepared pistes I've never noticed a big difference in NZ c.f. Europe. However sheer mileage is always going to be an issue throughout NZ simply because the population base has never grown sufficiently to support signficant expansion of existing ski fields. For that to happen either NZ prohibits emmigration & birth control thereby overnight quadrupeling population levels above the existing 4million residents on a land mass the size of GB and nearly as much snowcover as the Alps, or the entire European ski market moves to NZ for the season. Given that's not going to happen in our lifetime, heliskiing (of which there is LOTS) is plentiful if you're finding limited enjoyment on the prepared pistes.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Looking good according to this snow report from Natives
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moosepig, ooooh yes. Much cavorting and drinking then. And the Lions? I forget whether you're booked in for the matches.
Sorry 'bout the rant re: Queenstown, but I'm feeling rather patriotic right now.
Plenty of on-piste action around Queenstown. Total prepared trails for each ski field is about the same as a middling to smallish French resort - although as per the USA a few chairlifts feed a large number of different trails. No doubt you'll have worked out by now that if by some miracle you eventually did manage to exhaust the whole of Cardrona/Remarks/Coronet/Trebble Cone's charms, there's still Mt (s)Hutt outside Christchurch, and Turoa/Whakapapa in the North Island.
The novelty of NZ never wears off
kuwait_ian - blasphemer. You mean www.snow.co.nz, don't you?
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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How about TVNZ - happy with them, Manda ????
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The southerly snap that has swept across parts of the country may have caused headaches for some, but it is all good news for the South Island's skifields.
Complete with a $7 million makeover Mt Hutt's season starts on Saturday, being the first of the South Island's fields to open.
The makeover on Mt Hutt includes new trails and a six-seater chairlift that will give skiers a 1,400 metre ride to the top of the skifields in just five minutes. |
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Manda,
Im sure the scenery has not changed but as for the town itself are you agreeing with me ie; Queenstown is a Shithole ?
As for Kiwis comuuting to Queenstown to work its much the same in the States like the towns of Aspen & Telluride hardly any workers live in town they have been forced out down the valley's upwards to 100 miles to live 
Back to NZ. I skied the North Island as well & the year I went the North Island had the best snow in years and the snowpack was much better than the South.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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stanton, your manners are appalling, particularly for someone who's never lived in the country....
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Thu 9-06-05 15:25; edited 1 time in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Manda wrote: |
| stanton, your manners are appalling, particularly for someone who's never lived in the country.... |
Why are you surprised? New Zealanders don't have a monopoly on bad manners (despite their efforts).
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Manda,
I have not "lived" there but I have been there a few times to ski and based on my ski travels around the globe IMHO Queenstown has just gone over the top with the tourist tat/hype. OK, it may of changed & improved in the last 15years somehopw I doubt that judging by the amount of TV Holiday/Travel shows we see on our TV.
I will judge for myself when I get back there this season 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Coronet Peak had record crowds for their opening.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3311059a11,00.html
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| Coronet Peak staff handed out glasses of bubbly to the 50 or so people in the queue when the lifts were opened 15 minutes early. |
Nice touch. Might have been even more people up there had low cloud not closed Queenstown airport for the whole day affecting 10 flights. Good luck with your travels, moosepig.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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kuwait_ian damn damn damn. I'm stuck here in Southampton.
Sigh. 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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moosepig, now you're really making us jealous. 
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You know it makes sense.
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But what about Southampton SKI Show?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Manda,
If its any consolation. I thought Mt Hutt, Whakapapa & Turoa were excellent 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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stanton, I think so too but I'm an (ex-) Jaffa, so I would do.
moosepig, nearly there! to go!!!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Just the one sleep to go, and I'm off to go and get it right now
If any snowHeads do crawl out of the NZ woodwork in early July, PM me and I'll hope to meet up with you.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Hello from Singapore!
Big recommendation to anyone flying anywhere down here - Singapore Airlines business class. It's totally and utterly fab! A 12-hour flight has just whizzed by, worth every last penny. I'm actually looking forward to the 7+ hour flight to Sydney now! Oh, and the business class airport lounges are the dog's nads, especially the one at Changi. And only about 2.5 times the price of a cattle class ticket!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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moosepig, I was going to ask what an earth possesed you to post at this time of night but then saw where you were. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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FAQ
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goes off into a hump, muttering something nearly distinguishable about blimmin Poms, grrumph]
