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...