Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Ski traverse of the Southern Alps, New Zealand

Now here is an epic winter adventure - the length of the Southern Alps by skis. Wowa go Eric


The Mounatin Scene reports

A QUEENSTOWN adventurer has become the first person to ski the length of the Southern Alps.

Erik Bradshaw, 43, skied 800km along the spine of South Island from St Arnaud, Nelson Lakes, to Fiordland.

The arduous journey took the businessman almost three months.

“Without doubt this is the hardest thing I have ever done,” Bradshaw says.

“Sometimes it was miserable; in a small tent coated in ice being flattened by a storm and knowing you’re a long way from home.

“But other times it was breathtakingly beautiful with towering snow-capped mountains, blue skies and amazing snow.”

Bradshaw survived skiing and climbing for 12 hours a day and camping in sub-zero temperatures at night.

This is only the second winter traverse of the Southern Alps, after Graeme Dingle and Jill Tremain in 1971. It is the first time on skis.

To complete the journey, Bradshaw had to make the best use of his Kiwi ingenuity – inventing new ski equipment.

This included a unique exoskeleton binding of carbon fibre and Titanium that fitted over a normal walking boot to transform it into a ski
boot with crampons.

Read the full story at the Mountain Scene .....

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Standing outside .. as you would

Standing outside .. as you would at way past 10 in the evening ... contemplating the last front to go through figuring well that's worth 4 or 5 cm and its now cold and clear ... when a far off whirring gathers pace and the peak made powder machines pour in to action

Check the lights

You got your first tracks ?


Friday, June 24, 2011

All the lights on

Oh we are loving that. All the lights on. Which means all the machines pumping. Which means maybe in the next few weeks we might get to slide around on some man made.

Chances of that ? My pick minimal.

Truth is I have almost got over the fact that mother nature has decided to delay our snow season this year. So that's OK. I'll get on with other stuff.

All i ask is that when she does decide to get cold and dump snow that she gets really mad ... and does it hard ... even if its in August. Or September. I don't mind I'm not going anywhere.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Don't bloody larf we need it !

Doesn't look like much but peer in to the darkness and you will see the lights of snow makers on. Which means they are making it.

Don't bloody larf. We need it. We are desperate.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Pumping the white stuff.

The big guns are pumping that white stuff. Go Hamish go.

Friday, June 10, 2011

skiing in june ?


"Snow-making could be in full swing in Queenstown this weekend, according to local weatherman David Crow.

Mr Crow said the temperature was expected to drop, allowing Coronet Peak to get its machines working."


so we might be skiing in June after all.....

Thursday, June 09, 2011

They're skiing in Oz, but there's no snow at home

Go on then! Rub our noses in it !

"Snowstorms and cold snaps allowed several New South Wales and Victoria slopes to open as early as May 20, with the added assistance of artificial snow.

While the snow bases at those resorts were small - 20-50cm - and changeable, the early snowfall has given Australian operators hope of a bumper season.

Some New South Wales skifields did not see natural snow until August 6 last year.

New Zealand operators, on the other hand, are yet to get the snowfalls needed to kickstart their seasons. "


Full article in the NZ Herald here....

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Yep thats what I'm thinking too

Weather forecaster Dave Crow predicts winter will not arrive in earnest until July. "It's just going to be late, I'm sorry to say."

Skifields held up by warm weather

Two quotes from the article below

"It's far from winter - the temperatures are very autumn-like. "

You bet we are all wondering around in shorts .....

and

"encouraged by recent snowfalls down to 500m in Victoria and New South Wales. "

Yeah for the ozzzies !! Not !!


Skifields held up by warm weather

The unseasonably warm weather which marked the 2011 autumn has continued into the first month of winter, frustrating Southern Lakes skifield operators as they gear up for the start of the 2011 season.

Coronet Peak had to scrap its plans to open over Queen's Birthday weekend, as mild temperatures meant it could not even use its snowguns to provide artificial snow for skiers and boarders.

"It's incredibly disappointing for the tourists, our season pass holders and our staff," NZSki general manager James Coddington said yesterday.

Wanaka's four skifields also do not have a snow base.

Between 10cm and 15cm fell at Treble Cone and Cardrona in mid-May, but the old adage "snow in May never stays" proved true.

Queenstown meteorologist David Crow said 2011 had been the second warmest autumn in 135 years of recording keeping, "which spells a very, very late Indian summer".

The warmest May was in 2007, to be broken by a late June cold snap.

NZSki operates Queenstown's Coronet Peak and Remarkables ski areas as well as Methven's Mt Hutt - all of which are bereft of the white stuff.

"It's far from winter - the temperatures are very autumn-like. It's incredibly unusual but as skifield operators the weather is one thing we can't control," Mr Coddington said.

However, he has been encouraged by recent snowfalls down to 500m in Victoria and New South Wales....

Read the full article here...

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Let the snow making begin



28 May and the snow making cranks up.

Boy we need it. Warm weather and brown mountains aren't conducive to the prospect of playing in the snow

Monday, May 16, 2011

Oh my god we are getting pelted !

Oh my god we are getting pelted ! Haaaalllpppppppppppp.

Check out this forecast run by our good friends in the earth sciences department of Victoria university - MetVuw.com




Now that's a piece of weather artwork sweeping across the country ....

Book mark this page to get a one click forecast with Surface wind, MSLP ( mean sea level pressure ) and rainfall

http://www.metvuw.com/forecast/forecast1.php?type=rain®ion=nz&tim=12

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Icing on the cake

The proverbial icing on the cake.

Now huey you can get really in to winter and start dumping some serious white stuff .

Pleaze.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

4th of June - I'll Be There - How About You ?

4th of June

Put it in your diary

I'll be there

Will you ?

Monday, April 18, 2011

Oh Yummy

"The Remarkables skifield reported 10cm of fresh snow this morning. "

Oh Yummy

Monday, April 04, 2011

Snow on the Peak



Snow on the hills and its early April. Looking good.

Whoze got their season pass then? My godson got a Treble Cone student season pass for $400. That's not bad going !

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

agggh hahahahahaha - pleasantly surprised - NOT

Last season, NZSki hiked the pass by $100 to $799. It is now almost three-times what it was when first introduced in 2001 for $299.





Prior to unveiling 2011 prices ( 30 December 1010 ) NZSki chief executive James Coddington told a local meeting that residents would be “pleasantly surprised”, while marketing boss Craig Douglas said the change "wasn’t major".

Wot a joke.

"Pleasantly surprised" - NOT

"Wasn't major" - NOT

Let's be honest they just want to make more money $$$$$$

Like any sensible sustainable business.

Trouble is the suckers are the loyal local customers.

Here are some more comments

WHY IT ISN'T GOOD VALUE
To be honest, it's a bit redundant even continuing this argument as NZ Ski's statement shows that they really don't give a stuff what people think, and that they clearly consider anyone who disagrees with their viewpoint is selfish, unappreciative and possibly even too stupid to understand how complex running a skifield is.

However, just for the record here are a number of reasons why $889 represents poor value for money for me personally (though no doubt I'm being single-minded and selfish).

- skiing the Remarkables is like skiing Bulgaria in 1992. The Shadow and Sugar lifts are old and slow, frequently stop, breakdown or cannot be operated in a breath of wind. The runs are short and mostly uninteresting. If you want to ski anything good you mostly have to hike to it. Frankly, you would have to pay me to ski the Remarkables.

Because of the above I'd be paying $889 to ski Coronet alone. Coronet is a nice mountain which I like a lot. However, it does not represent good value because.....

- In June the Greengates lift does not open except at weekends, even when there is sufficient snow to do so. Therefore, a fairly decent chunk of the mountain is unavailable.

- The same pretty much applies to Rocky Gully.

- Too many times areas of the mountain are closed off for training or races. This can last all day and has been a constant source of frustration as these runs of course tend to be the best areas. Coronet, whilst nice, is not large enough to sustain so much closure of good runs and still provide a good day.

But I guess my biggest problem with NZ Ski is that they have sucked all the fun out of skiing their mountains. I can't think of skiing their mountains without becoming angry. They also clearly think that they and they alone have driven growth in Queenstown over the last 10 years and that we'd all be lost and unemployed without them. Well, hello, there are 8 months of the year with no skiing and yet we seem to manage. How can that be....?


and whooze been to japan lately ??

NZS bosses talked about the growth of the Aussie market. They are at huge risk of losing that business to Japan. Day tickets at Niseko is a little over $55 , foods much cheaper and vastly superior to NZS offerings, and its all natural snow.
I and most of my friends have given away skiing in NZ and Aus in favour of the Japan pow.
Apart from airfares ,every part of my holiday costs is less in Japan. I love SLs but NZS are losing touch with their market.