 Poster: A snowHead
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Before I start on the reports I will tell you a little about the area. Queenstown is located on the shore of lake Wakatipu in the South Island of New Zealand. Altitude 320m, latitude 45 degrees south. It does not snow much in town and you do have to drive to the ski areas. We have five ski areas that you can access from Queenstown so here are some details starting with the closest. These are my opinions and I have no financial interest in any of these businesses.
Coronet Peak 16kms/25mins from town, good paved road, OK beginners, good intermediate, good advanced, limited expert. Extensive snow making, great terrain lots of natural pipes and walls, some parts are like rollercoaster sking, popular.
The Remarkables 22kms/45 mins from town, 13kms unpaved road. Good beginners/intermediate, OK advanced/expert, great back country terrain.
“The Stash project – a Burton signature terrain park, the first in the Southern Hemisphere, adds a kilometre long feature packed “back-country park experience”. This complements the existing 150m FIS specification Parklife Superpipe, FruJu Beginner Park and UP & GO Terrain Park." This from their website
Tubing Park,
Cardrona 58kms/60mins from Queenstown, 34kms/35 mins from Wanaka. Great beginners/intermediate, ok advanced, limited expert. Good half pipe & park. Some good back country. Great place to take the family.
Snow Farm about the same distance as Cardrona (Just across the valley) Specialised terrain park. NZ's biggest park. Has an adjoining cross country area.
Treble Cone 26kms/35 mins from Wanaka (1 hour 35mins from Queenstown) 7 kms unpaved and fun road. Limited beginner, good intermediate, great advanced/expert, great back country. History of poor grooming but a great place to get off piste.
This season so far. Only Coronet Peak open as yet, their first day was the 6th June. I was up there yesterday morning (Monday 8th) and had a great time. Good coverage especially for this time of the year, with almost the whole area skiable. The piste was quite firm as the day before had been quite warm. The off piste was lots of fun with a light dusting on top of a hard surface. Another light dusting last night and today, just a couple of cms but I heard the surface was delightful. Some are saying that it is the best early conditions for 25 years. Lots more detail to follow. Please ask if you want to know anything.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sarge McSarge, can I ask what you mean when you say that the roads to some of these resorts are "unpaved"? Cheers
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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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Timberwolf, un paved=no tarmac. Just kms if fun gravel roads.
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kiwi1, thanks, it might have sounded like a daft question, but I guess it's just a shock to think that the main routes to these resorts are not tarmac roads. Guess you really have to want to get there....
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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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Timberwolf, Not a daft question. We also called them metal roads. I grew up on roads like that and still love them. Great fun when you know you're the only car on the road 
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Sarge McSarge, keep up the reports. Perhaps some photos? Good ski pornography over these summer months if nothing else.
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kiwi1, Sarge McSarge, Does anyone live or stay in the resorts or is it a case of travel out to them each day?
Thanks for the reports coupled with the low temps here at the moment it makes it feel like ski season.
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RPF, yes but it's not common. On Whakapapa there are a number of club huts for members to stay. Most of these are ski in/out. Mt Lyford, just inland from Kaikoura has an alpine village.
Most ski fields are serviced by ski towns like Queenstown (Remarkables, Corenet Peak), Wanaka (Cadrona, Treble Cone, Snowpark and Snowfarm), Methven (Mt Hutt), Ohakune (Turoa), National Park Village (Whakapapa) there are more but they are the main service towns. You stay in the towns and drive to the ski feilds in the mornings.
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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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Kind of a gray day today with lots of higher cloud. Visibility OK at Coronet Peak and snow conditions much the same as yesterday. No crowds.
Transport from town is NZ $10 return to Coronet Peak. The Remarkables is opening on June 20th and the bus is free if you buy your day pass down in town. $10 without the day pass so not to big a cost. As kiwi1, said there is very little accommodation on the mountains so all the life is in the towns. If the traffic is light it it 15 minutes from my house to Coronet so easy enough to drive up for a few runs then back to work for the afternoon.
snowball, I will get some photos for you all later 
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Tue 30-06-09 2:27; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| kiwi1 wrote: |
| Timberwolf, Not a daft question. We also called them metal roads. I grew up on roads like that ..... |
And so did I. A bit like snow can form into hard-pack 'waves' with the pistes close together, so can the gravel form into corrugations. Can make driving very interesting - or it did in the '52 Velox our family used to go around NZ in.
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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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Shouldn't this thread be in the Snow Reports section? Perhaps a mod could move it?
Very interesting Sarge McSarge, thanks! 
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You know it makes sense.
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Sarge McSarge, top photos and looking forward to your updates keeping us Euros sane thru summer! Any chance you could post in snow reports???
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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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Cool pic with the lights.
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Poster: A snowHead
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A bit of rain on the snow in the last couple of days but not enough to do any real damage. Hard surface this morning but softened to quite spring like conditions. Forecast is for a cooler change change Sunday evening with a possibility of a little snow Monday and Tuesday.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Fri 12-06-09 23:06; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sarge McSarge, thanks - keep up the good work, like the photos. 
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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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This is the Remarkables, I took this pic from Coronet this morning.
Snow at Coros was bulletproof first thing, but softened up a bit as the sun got on it. Nasty weather in town, but bluebird above the clouds.
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hang11, I was just about to add a similar photo but yours is better. You must have been up there quiet early by the look of the shadows. It didn't soften much so I am looking forward to some more snow.
This photo is looking from Coronet Peak towards Queenstown which is in the gap to the right of the hill in the centre of view. The fog filled the valleys for 70kms or more.
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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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hang11, Fabulous photo - thanks
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Great photos. I wish I lived there... as a fellow kiwi who has lived more of his life in the UK than NZ it makes me want to pack my bags right now 
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MorganW, I know the feeling. Just under 3 years and that'll me i reckon. Back home for good. 15years in the UK has been enough.
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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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5cm's of new snow this morning and now the weather is clearing. With the little bit of fresh and some serious snow making over the last three days the previous hard surface should be much improved. Great fun on the road from home to town this morning with lots of impatient idiots getting into difficulties due to the snow packing to ice after a few cars and nobody wanting to stop and put on chains. New Zealanders are not exactly the worlds smartest drivers. If you come here to visit be careful on the roads. 
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My wife managed to do a full 360 in the car this morning getting to work near Speargrass Flat I've tried to teach her how to put chains on the car, but apparently something so stupid could only have been invented by a man....
Looked great up at Coronet today. I've got the day off on Friday, so looking forward to getting up there.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Just got back from a morning on the snow and have to let you all know that it is far better than a few days ago. The hard base is covered buy a nice little layer of new/man made snow which has created a lovely soft feel. Still hard on the areas exposed to the wind. hang11, You have to love the way that us males are responsible. 
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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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I hope you mean that hang11, is weird and that I am wonderful. Hey hang11, just kidding. Glad that you are enjoying our input.
Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much  on Wed 17-06-09 21:53; edited 1 time in total
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You know it makes sense.
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Sarge McSarge,
The snow line still looks pretty high. Where is it at the mo? Also, I can't remember the Peak to base altitudes of CP and TRs ski areas - I don't suppose you know them?
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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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The base altitude of Coronet is about 1200m and Remarks is about 1600m. The photos we have posted are looking at the sunny north facing slopes where the snow line is quite high. There has been a snow fall since then and on the shady south aspects there is a thin cover down to about 600m. At my house at 420m there is a little snow lying on the shady areas.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Sarge McSarge, cheers (I thought it got down to 600m but it's been so long I wasn't confident that enough cobwebs had been dusted off.)
What are the peak altitudes for skiing?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The Remakables has opened today and although I am not up there the snow report is very positive. The weather has been very settled here with cold nights and sunny days. Excellent snow making conditions. At Coronet Peak they have been making snow about 18 hours per day and it has created a great surface.
flowa, The top of Coronet is about 1650m and I am not sure about the Remarkables.
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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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Another morning at Coronet Peak today with the valley full of cloud and beautifully sunny on the mountain. Still no new snow but the man made stuff is the best made snow I have ever skied on. No crowds, no lift lines, good surface, what more could you want (apart form powder). I gave a guy a ride up the mountain this morning and he had been boarding at the Remarkables for the last three days and gave me a very positive report on the conditions. So all in all its pretty good for this time of the year. I will try to remember the camera next time I am going up to play
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Well we now have Treble Cone and Cardrona open with good coverage and surface conditions especially for early season. Queenstown's winter festival kicked off last night with the usual down town fireworks and party. Our prime minister opened the festival with the good news that the government is giving a million dollars to the NZ Winter Games to support the event. The games will be the final qualifying event for the next winter Olympics for a lot of the alpine events. Bring it on. Still no new snow in the area but sunny and cold above valley cloud most days and the snow surface is staying fine especially where there is snow making. Hoping to get a couple of days on the snow next week.
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Glorious
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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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Cool pix.
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Good work Sarge
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FAQ
. In fact, on seeing the first photo of the Remarkables by 
