 Poster: A snowHead
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Sarge McSarge, Great pix - thanks and you live in a fabulous spot. The skiing looks really good. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Glad you like the photos. Skiing is pretty good but can be better with a bit more snow. We have had a couple of cms yesterday but not enough to make much difference. Snow fall on thursday went right around Queenstown and closed some roads between here and places north. Had a couple of hours on skis this morning and spent the afternoon walking the dog and not much else. Will be back with another update in a few days.
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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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There was a fair bit of new snow at the Remarkables today, but bad weather, should be pretty good when it clears up, it was snowing up there when I left at about 2.00 pm.
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How's Queenstown these days lads??
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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 sunny day down here. Last week we had a few light snow showers that amounted to 7cm over four days at Coronet peak. My last day on the snow was Thursday and the surface was becoming a little hard but not actually icy. We could definitely do with a top up. The weather has been really strange with a lot of south easterly winds which mean cold and dry for Queenstown and grey and wet in the east coast. No serious snow in the coming week by the look of the forcast.
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Time for an update. I have been a bit under the weather with a nasty head cold (not swine flu) so have not had much time on the snow. Until today it has continued fine and cold with no measurable amount of fresh snow. The snow surface of the local areas has stayed great but was polished buy some strong winds on the weekend. Today is warm and raining lightly and the forecast is for more rain today. It should just be cold enough on the mountains to give us snow rather than have the rain wash away what we have. Looks like there could be quite a bit of precipitation through to the end of the week so we are all hoping it stays cold enough. I will hopefully have a better report with good snow news in a few days.
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Well we finally have some new snow. Something like 15 to 20 cms on all the local ski areas over night and still snowing lightly. This should give us a nice fresh surface for a few days. I hope it does not get thrashed to much over the weekend as I am having next week off work and plan to ski most days. I hope to get to the Remarkables to give you all some new photos to drool over. 
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Although I did not get up on the snow yesterday a friend of mine said that the new snow at Coronet Peak was the wettest and heaviest he has ever skied. But the good news is that we have had another 5 to 15 cms overnight with colder conditions and the snow line is now down below 500m so it should have improved the conditions markedly. Even some light snow falling at home this morning. Looking forward to the weekend and coming week.
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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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I went up to Coronet this morning before work, think the snow was nice, but couldn't see a thing, so gave up after half an hour.
Heading to Remarkables in the morning, homeward has got to be worth a look now the weather has cleared. Had an epic powder day at Ohau a couple of weeks ago. I love Ohau  Reckon it would have been good today with the new snow, but it's a bit of a drive for a day trip. Canterbury sounds awesome too, 55cm last night at Cheeseman, spoke to a mate who was up there today, said it was really good.
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Been to Coronet Peak three out of the last four days. Good coverage after last weeks little falls but no powder left. On piste is great and most of the off piste is skier packed and lots of fun. It was snowing lightly when I left today so hope it keeps up. A bit of snow forecast over the next few days but nothing major. Quite a bit of avalanche activity in the backcountry lately so not a good time to go touring.
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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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Bring it on, may have to get a sneaky first tracks session in tomorrow before going to work
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You know it makes sense.
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Not as good as promised unfortunately. A couple of cms of wind blown snow on the upper mountain and what felt like frozen sleet on the lower half. Had a couple of runs and went home. Remarkables being higher got 5 cms. Same weather tonight but it looks like it will be a bit colder so maybe it will freshen up the surface. I will let you know how it turns out.
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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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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Had a great afternoon at Coronet once the weather cleared up, was still getting freshies out past Rocky Gully at 4.00pm. They got a decent amount of snow this morning, and more on the way. Could be worth a sickie or two this week
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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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A bit of bad news just come through on the TV. At least one person missing believed buried in an avalanche on the Greeengates area of Coronet Peak. Information is poor at this time but a full scale rescue is under way but it is now fully dark. I am a little surprised that it is in the Greeengates area as it is not particularly steep and historically has had very little avalanche activity. I can not recall anyone ever dying in an avalanche at Coronet Peak. I guess more information will come to light as time goes on. Not good news.
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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.
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He was buried 2 metres deep for at least two and a half hours so survival was very unlikely. It is reported that they did not have transceivers, shovels or probes. With the avalanche risk rated as high you have to be careful. The reports do not say how far beyond the boundary fence the avalanche occurred but I know that there are some quite steep slopes out there.
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On to a happier note. All the local mountains are reporting fresh snow over night. Treble Cone 20-30 cm, Cardrona 15cm, Remarkables 10cm, Coronet Peak 10-20cm. And it is still snowing. It also looks like more tomorrow. The snow depth graph for Coronet Peak shows for this time of the year we have half a metre more snow than any of the last ten years. The weather pattern has changed completely from the early winter situation and we now have a series of westerly fronts coming across from below Australia. They tend to move quickly over New Zealand giving us a quick blast of precipitation. At the moment they are cold enough to give us snow down to about 1000m which is below the lowest ski lifts. If this pattern continues we could be in for a record season in this part of the country.
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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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Sarge McSarge, hang11, Great pics, envy inducing but keep up the good work.
On a slightly off topic question whats the lake in your pics and do you know anything about the fishing in it?
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RPF, Glad you are jealous. 
Lake Wakatipu
15,000 years ago during the last ice age, a huge glacier moving from the north west carved out what is now Lake Wakatipu. The lake is relatively thin, but the mountains run straight into the lake, forming a deep canyon, 399m at its deepest point.
Lake Wakatipu is the second largest lake in the Southern Lakes District, covering 290 square km. At its widest point Lake Wakatipu is five kilometers wide, and the total length is 84km.
Maori Legend
The Maori legends state that the giant Matau was burnt to death in his sleep after he abducted a chief's daughter, burning a massive hole in the ground and melting the ice and snow of the surrounding mountains, forming the lake. The lake is a large "S" shape, like a giant, curled up and sleeping on its side. Matau's head rested at Glenorchy, at the north of the lake, and his feet south in Kingston. Queenstown sits on Matau's knee.
One of Wakatipu's mysteries is the rise and fall of the lake by about 12cm (5") every five minutes. Legend states that a Giant's heart is impossible to destroy, and causes this rise and fall, while science says it is due to fluctuating atmospheric pressures. But across the lake from the town below Cecil Peak is a little island visible only from up close, from above, or from a different angle. Some say Hidden Island is the still beating heart of the Giant Matua...
Not my info I found it on the net.
The fishing is OK, brown trout, rainbow trout and small salmon. Access to the shore is quite difficult in places so a boat really helps. On my best day out last summer I hooked eight trout in two hours. All from the boat. The location where the photos were taken is about 15 minutes by boat from town and not accessible by car. In fact there is only about 10km of road along the entire western shoreline. There is some very good fly fishing in the rivers that feed into the lake. Fishing on a couple of of these rivers is now restricted by a permit system to avoid over fishing.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Sarge McSarge, Great photos and the skiing looks fab. Thanks.
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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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Sarge McSarge, Cheers for the info I could do all year there sounds awesome. 
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RPF, Yes it is a great all year place. Fishing, sailing, hiking, mountain bike, climbing, hunting, snow, snow, camping, bars, cafes, etc. Quite a cosmopolitan population for NZ with people from UK, most of Europe, South America especially Brazil , US, Australia (yes we even let them in) and more.
On the snow front, I was up at Coronet Peak for a meeting this morning and although I did not manage to get my skis on I did have a good look at the conditions. Coverage is still great but due to some warm daytime temperatures and cool nights the off piste was pretty firm. Looked looked like the piste was fine due to lots of work from the grooming crew. Hope to up there in the morning.
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You know it makes sense.
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Very warm on the snow today so it was spring conditions with lots of soft granular snow and moguls growing really fast. Still a good day with short lift lines and lots of runs.
On the bad side of things another avalanche fatality yesterday. Same heli ski company as last month but this time it was a guide that was killed. One client also involved but he only suffered minor injuries. The dead guide was involved in the rescue of those buried in last months avalanche. This is very unusual in NZ as we do not have that many people in the back country during the winter so three fatalities is big news.
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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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Queenstown is a top place to live if you like fishing, I do
Without a boat, it's a bit sparse on Lake Wakatipu, where streams enter the lake is where I usually have a bit of success, usually catch at least one trout or salmon each time I go. Some of the smaller lakes, like Moke, Kirkpatrick and Dispute, which are near to town are very productive if you fly fish during summer, and the Mataura River is just down the road, which is IMO one of the best fly fishing rivers in the world.
Further South it just gets better, and then you get to the Catlins, and if you like surfing......that's a whole other story
Suffice to say I only end up cutting the grass and washing the car once or twice a year.
Snow was pretty sloppy today, looks like a bit more on the way next week.
I'm getting excited about fishing season starting, been busy tying flies in the evenings after work.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Sarge McSarge wrote: |
Very warm on the snow today so it was spring conditions with lots of soft granular snow and moguls growing really fast. Still a good day with short lift lines and lots of runs.
On the bad side of things another avalanche fatality yesterday. Same heli ski company as last month but this time it was a guide that was killed. One client also involved but he only suffered minor injuries. The dead guide was involved in the rescue of those buried in last months avalanche. This is very unusual in NZ as we do not have that many people in the back country during the winter so three fatalities is big news. |
And bad news, too. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Coronet Peak today = crap. Got up there at 7.45am for first tracks, total slush fest, had a bit of fun snowboarding over puddles, fell in one, gave up, went home at 10am.
Hopefully this warm spell will be over soon.
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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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Well the warm weather has continued on but just cold enough to freeze at nigh so the spring conditions continue. For a total change I have been up at the cross country ski area at the Snow Farm. Although I am not a cross country skier I have be working up there for the last few days as part of the NZ Winter Games. Plenty of coverage on the tracks and so far two good days of competition. 10km & 15km classic yesterday with freestyle sprints today. Tomorrow it is 10km & 15 km freestyle. The weather is looking a bit rough for the morning so fingers crossed. I will post some photos tomorrow if I get any that are decent.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Well the warm weather has continued on but just cold enough to freeze at night so the spring conditions continue. For a total change I have been up at the cross country ski area at the Snow Farm. Although I am not a cross country skier I have be working up there for the last few days as part of the NZ Winter Games. Plenty of coverage on the tracks and so far two good days of competition. 10km & 15km classic yesterday with freestyle sprints today. Tomorrow it is 10km & 15 km freestyle. The weather is looking a bit rough for the morning so fingers crossed. I will post some photos tomorrow if I get any that are decent.
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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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It's snowing, not the nice dry stuff, but the wet snotty stuff, however the forecast is showing loads more, up to a metre before next weekend, and it getting a lot colder, so once the wind drops, and the weather clears, it could be awesome conditions, first weekend in September. I'll probably head up to Coronet tomorrow, see what it's like, but the forecast isn't looking too pretty at the moment.
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Maybe I'll see you there. I am working as back up for the ski patrol through the weekend. I hope it does cool down a bit, I have had enough of the wet heavy stuff ( that is snow not what you are all thinking) Should be good to see the big air comp. I hope to get a few photos .
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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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I may well go up there on sunday to get some pics of the big air comp, got a mate coming down from Christchurch for the weekend, who is a keen photographer, and there should be an opportunity to get some good photos.
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Keep up the good work guys.
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FAQ
I was going to have a day in town tomorrow but maybe not. 
Your 'summer' is deffo preferable! 