[benandclare]

Hi All,

Are any of you CC guys and gals skiers/snowboarders? or anywhere else for that matter :yes
Was wondering how the transport to the skifields worked? Do you make your own way there or get bussed in from green valley so to speak.
We are just having a look at what vehicles we might buy when out there, thinking of camper van for when we go touring,( overflow beds for all the visitors who say they are going to stay!!) would this be suitable for ski weekends?
Cheers
Ben and Clare

[veronica]

hiya we ski but even more than that we have a ski and snowboard shop. whatever vehicle you get for going to the ski fields here just make sure its a 4X4 as the access roads are pretty hairy.
The skifields themselves vary from the small commercial fields to the club fields which can be quite primative. (rope tows and nutcrackers, and whats a pistebasher) Its all good fun though.
You can get busses from Chch and from methven but they have to be paid for, not part of a lift ticket like europe, and most people go skiing/boarding for the day.

[KerryS]

I have a Toyota Hilux Surf and this is fine for getting up to the skifields on the North Island. I generally go snowboarding at Turoa or Whakapapa on Mt Ruapehu, as these are pretty easy to do for a weekend from Auckland - and I imagine from Welly too.
Can't advise on the SI skifields, but personally I wouldn't want to drive a campervan up to the skifields in case the weather was a bit inclement, but I have seen people do so up here. The weather changes quite quickly and the roads can be quite slippery if it does snow when you are up there, and you should have chains just in case.

[Croft]

hiya we ski but even more than that we have a ski and snowboard shop. whatever vehicle you get for going to the ski fields here just make sure its a 4X4 as the access roads are pretty hairy.
The skifields themselves vary from the small commercial fields to the club fields which can be quite primative. (rope tows and nutcrackers, and whats a pistebasher) Its all good fun though.
You can get busses from Chch and from methven but they have to be paid for, not part of a lift ticket like europe, and most people go skiing/boarding for the day.

How are the access roads up to Mt Hutt (given that it's a commercial area)? We plan to be skiing there in June when we visit to activate our visas, so will only have a hire car - 2 wheel drive saloon most likely. I take we'll need chains? Would it be best to go to Methven and grab a bus from there?

How prevalent is the wearing of helmets for skiers on the slops in NZ? In Europe it's fast catching on, but I don't know whether to bring ours on our visit.

[Moorf]

Hopefully we'll have snow in June - sometimes the season doesn't get going until late July. Last year was the best snow in decades and we had a weatherbomb in June which left us inland lot snowed in for a couple of days, trouble is there was so much snow they had skifield probs too! :roll The year before (2005) was awful with hardly any good ski days.

We are just 1 hr from Mt Hutt. You can get buses from Chch, Darfield and from Methven, the drive up is pretty hairy, as Veronica stated. Buses might be your best route if you have a 2 wheel drive, and you'll more than likely need chains (which Veronica can rent to you ;)).

Mt Hutt is, imho, more like a club field. There are better places around Tekapo (Roundill) and further towards Arthur's Pass (Porters Height) altho many of them are mainly tows so it depends on your preferences. Mt Hutt and Roundhill have great learners areas, so does Porters but that, imho, is a bit more "raw" !

PM Veronica for more details, she runs a ski/snowboard shop and knows all the top tips and local info! :nice1

You can rent helmets so I wouldn't bother bringing any, people do wear them but not a huge percentage.

[Croft]

Hopefully we'll have snow in June - sometimes the season doesn't get going until late July. Last year was the best snow in decades and we had a weatherbomb in June which left us inland lot snowed in for a couple of days, trouble is there was so much snow they had skifield probs too! :roll The year before (2005) was awful with hardly any good ski days.

We are just 1 hr from Mt Hutt. You can get buses from Chch, Darfield and from Methven, the drive up is pretty hairy, as Veronica stated. Buses might be your best route if you have a 2 wheel drive, and you'll more than likely need chains (which Veronica can rent to you ;)).

Mt Hutt is, imho, more like a club field. There are better places around Tekapo (Roundill) and further towards Arthur's Pass (Porters Height) altho many of them are mainly tows so it depends on your preferences. Mt Hutt and Roundhill have great learners areas, so does Porters but that, imho, is a bit more "raw" !

PM Veronica for more details, she runs a ski/snowboard shop and knows all the top tips and local info! :nice1

You can rent helmets so I wouldn't bother bringing any, people do wear them but not a huge percentage.

Many thanks Moorf - I'll PM Veronica.

[benandclare]

Cheers too :) :)

[Big Puku]

We've skied at Ruapehu/Turoa and Mt Hutt - access to both was fine in a normal 2WD people carrier, although Mt Hutt's access road is unsurfaced so can be a bit bumpy (with some scary dropoffs if it's windy!) - you can rent snow-chains at the bottom of the mountains if needed though.

A campervan will be fine IMO; if conditions are really bad then you can always get the local ski bus as a last resort (if the fields are open of course).

BP

[benandclare]

I have a Toyota Hilux Surf and this is fine for getting up to the skifields on the North Island. I generally go snowboarding at Turoa or Whakapapa on Mt Ruapehu, as these are pretty easy to do for a weekend from Auckland - and I imagine from Welly too.
Can't advise on the SI skifields, but personally I wouldn't want to drive a campervan up to the skifields in case the weather was a bit inclement, but I have seen people do so up here. The weather changes quite quickly and the roads can be quite slippery if it does snow when you are up there, and you should have chains just in case.

WE drive a Hilux crew cab at work and its very rugged, has to be on the farm :yes , was wondering roughly how much a year it costs to run mpg, insurance and tax ?
With the camper van we had thought of the local bus option how much are they?

Was also wondering how the lift passes work, have looked at the main commercial sites and cant work out which would be the best way to ski say 10 to 16 times over the season , what do most folks do go for the weekend or just day trips?
Cheers
Ben

[Mal]

An excellent option for a pass in the Chch area is the Chill pass http://www.chillout.co.nz/

This gives you access to 11 ski areas in the central South Island (excluding Mt Hutt). There are several options available, full season, 3,5,7 or 10 day anytime (non consecutive), midweek etc. It's a great option for Chch based riders like myself, but a 3 or 5 day pass would be a good option to discover some of the small fields if you were passing through.

I had a 7 day pass last year (arrived mid-season) and really enjoyed the different flavours and terrains of the various club fields. These fields are not to everyones taste, but were a breath of fresh air to me compared to the massive motorway slopes of Europe. If your priorities are mountain restaurants, forget it. If you are more interested in uncrowded slopes and a friendly atmosphere, you'll love it.

You will need chains to get up to most of these, and 4wd + chains will allow you to get up the hill after heavy dumps when the access roads are closed to 2wd.

And on the topic ... there is the first snow of the year forecast for later this week in the Canterbury high country! Bring it on!

[KerryS]

WE drive a Hilux crew cab at work and its very rugged, has to be on the farm :yes , was wondering roughly how much a year it costs to run mpg, insurance and tax ?


Tax (or rego) is about $180 for the year, and you also need a WOF every six months on older vehicles, which is around $40. Insurance will be dependent on your previous history, obviously, but I pay about $400 fully comp for mine. I had to start from scratch with insurance when I came to NZ as I hadn't had my own insurance back in London - it was far too expensive to run a car under 25 there...
It costs around $70-75 to fill the tank, and I can easily drive around 500 kms for that.

It's been very reliable and hasn't needed any major work since I bought it.

[aberdian]

My brother in law was a ski instructor at Mt Hutt and the vehicle of choice for all of them was a Subaru Legacy - 4WD and goes like the proverbial off a shovel so you can leave it as late as possible to minimise the hangover before hightailing it for the mountain!

Ian

[Moorf]

Done the trip a few times in our Scooby 4WD Grand Wagon thingy (10 yrs old!) and agree, it handles anything you throw at it really well. :nice1

Welcome to the forum. Are you used to skiing at Aviemore or Glenshee? If so you'll be fine at Hutt :D (weathers better too!).

[aberdian]

Welcome to the forum. Are you used to skiing at Aviemore or Glenshee? If so you'll be fine at Hutt :D (weathers better too!).
Even worse, closest to us is the Lecht and nowhere compares with that. Thankfully :) I got a day in the weekend after the season had finished at Hutt 5yrs ago due to him instructing there - we went up for a look see and they were maintaining the lifts so we borrowed some kit and headed up - fantastic stuff!

Ah well, season's never even got started here this year.

[Croft]

Even worse, closest to us is the Lecht and nowhere compares with that. Thankfully :) I got a day in the weekend after the season had finished at Hutt 5yrs ago due to him instructing there - we went up for a look see and they were maintaining the lifts so we borrowed some kit and headed up - fantastic stuff!

Ah well, season's never even got started here this year.

Only just started skiing myself this year, and that was in Menuires in the French Alps. Massive ski runs (all levels), stacks of chair lifts and cable cars, restaraunts up the ying yang. The OH has experience in France, Germany and Austria. I understand that NZ could be a little different!!!!

[veronica]

yep. very different, think bowl type skiing. one or two lifts up and several ways down. the plus is there are several different resorts so you can choose different ones each time (day).

[Moorf]

... and lots and lots of tows here! I don't like 'em - some still even run with nutcrackers! :exit

For us, still can't beat the US snow but having so much nearby here in NZ is a great compromise! ;)

Oh yes, the Lecht - good snowboard park there if I remember, big halfpipe. (We lived just south of Perth).

[benandclare]

Top replies :yes :yes
Have only skied in the Alps since I learnt 7 years ago and took Clare to La Plagne this her for her to loose her snow virginity , so to speak, needless to say she loved it :laugh :laugh
With the Chilliout pass can you have 2 consectitive days in different resorts?
Ben

[Moorf]

Yep, the chillout pass gives you access to all 11 resorts at any time - you can find further details here, are you getting a 10 day pass to cover your hols?

http://www.chillout.co.nz/passes.asp

Due to the erratic nature of the seasons since we've been here, and having little time to get up the slopes (either that or being laid up with bad backs!) we tend to buy passes as and when we need them... just one/half day passes. Most people who ski regularly get in early for a cheap pass that lasts all season.

[Questor]

$399 earlybird for Ruapehu (watch out for lahars!) and $549 for Mt Cook

This is for season passes pf course :)

[benandclare]

$399 earlybird for Ruapehu (watch out for lahars!) and $549 for Mt Cook

This is for season passes pf course :)

What's a lahar?? is it a NZ hooray Henry ??:laugh :laugh


Ben

[benandclare]

ah spotted it now
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10429432
Ben

[nellyt]

Snow and Rock in the UK have their Easter sale on and to celebrtae getting a job offer on Thursday :raebanana we feel like going and buying ourselves some skis. Expect to be going to ChCh at end of June and hope to get to the slopes several times a year.
We used to be pretty good on skis until we converted to the dark side a few years back but we'd like to do both and don't fancy the thought of doing rope drags with a board.
Anyway..Do the slopes get piste bashed much? Is it easy to get off piste at the resorts? We're wondering whether to get just plain carvers or something a bit more suitable for powder?
Any thoughts anyone?

[stephenandjulie]

our boy george who is 9 wants to learn to snowboard any tips?

[Moorf]

our boy george who is 9 wants to learn to snowboard any tips?

Get him started asap and see Pete and Veronica ("Veronica" on the forum) in Chch for gear and advice :nice1

Many schools have a day out at the slopes - again, Veronica knows all about this.

Nice beginners run, with magic carpet, at Mt Hutt but I believe Roundill or Porters Heights are just as good, if not better, for learning.

Hopefully we'll get some decent snow again this year! It's nearly a year since the huge dump that had us snowed in for a couple of days!

Moorf

[K&CS]

My daugther who was 8 last ski season went snow boarding a few times last year with her dad at Mount Hutt and loved it. She was a complete beginner and had never skied or snow boarded before. She was actually the only child having boarding lessons - all the other kids were ski-ing. She can't wait to go again this year. 9 is a really good age to start. Just get him up there and he'll love it!

Kate