[leslie]

hub was talking with american while skiing in italy last week. apparently big skier, guy says nz has some of or the worlds best skiing. his family love it and they go over periodically.

it just gets better and better...

[MikeandCez]

hi Leslie,
we've only skied aroung Queenstown and Wanaka but to be honest the skiing isn't up to the standards you find either in Europe or the US. Having said that we loved skiing in NZ. Difficult to explain why-it's different and a little like skiing up in Scotland

[Graham Barnes]

Agreed-
Have skiied on Ruapehu skifields; the largest in NZ. There's enough there for a day or two, but not much more than that. About 20 runs in total I think...and for some of them, caliing tham a genuine run is stretching the definition a bit.
Also not at all cheap, given the age of the lift system and the average quality of the pistes and lack of snowmachines. Daily passes equate to £22! :eek Expensive for what you get, particularly on a NZ salary. This compares to £25/day for the whole Three Valleys in Fance!!

But on the plus side...depending on where you live, they are very accessible, and have heavy, reliable snowfall. Lots of folks pop over for a quick weekend on the slopes.

Graham

[leslie]

i should imagine it to be a little rough around the edges? rough is kinda nice though - prefer to big euro resorts. my fave laid-back spot was wengen but the snow in recent years - painful.

did you find skiing in nz expensive or priced relative to whats on offer? best place? was it all boarders or more mixed interests and abilities??? we have been to thredbo in oz (during summertime) and imagine its good as an alternate to nz.

[leslie]

okay graham, you've covered the basics...

we are less up for a challenge than the sheer pleasure of it so perhaps nz will be fab. can do without the wait lines, icy cond's and 4 yr old mega-skilled boarders shooting past me every 10 seconds. there is something extremely nice about relaxing on a sunny terrace, drink in hand, as helicopters whir around you picking up the biguns. am practicing being old - if its worth doing its worth doing well...

does pricing mean few kiwis take it seriously? ie. who ski's?

[Graham Barnes]

Oh yes, I fully agree that you can't beat just being out there in the mountains, even if you're not an avid powder-hound. You'd like Courcheval then-I think I saw more people lunching there than skiing!

For example, has anyone else here skiied on Grouse Mountain overlooking Vancouver, Canada. They have a big gondola which takes you straight onto the mountain from the North suburbs.
Even though the quality of the pistes was distinctly average (we typically had a 10 minute window of good skiing between the snow being too slushy and too icy), the experience of night-time skiing under floodlights with the whole city lit up directly below you was absolutely unforgettable.

Taken a bit of time to get going-cheesy daytime pic on the 'help' thread.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v721/grahambarnes/2004_0405Image0017.jpg

In my experience, skiing in pretty popular in NZ amongst the 'middle-classes'. In particular, most people in NZ do live within a few hours' drive of one of the skifields, and so tend to squeeze in 1 or 2 days from time to time; i.e. they don't go away for a 'full week' holiday like we do in Europe. And of course, it will be cheaper overall because you're not paying for a flight and a week's accommodation.

[leslie]

so its not complete crap... should you bring your own gear or is it okay to rent?

night skiing was nearly the end of me - well, actually it was the equip manager that was nearly the end of me but it coincided most unfortunately with night skiing - but hear its great for racing/ jumping etc.

skiing canada always gets solid reviews but its really unpopular with canadians! i spent a summer in banff during my youth and it really really put me off and most long-term whistlerites complain about new wait times etc. maybe they just need to drink more...?

[Beach Kiwi]

New Zealand has some of the best skiing in the world, after all, we have 600 km of it called the Southern Alps! South Island skiing is the best, as the North Island only has a few volcanic peaks on which to ski.

http://www.cardrona.com/

http://www.whakapapa.co.nz/

http://www.nzski.com/

http://www.snowreports.co.nz/

[Graham Barnes]

One good thing about night skiing is that the floodlights show up the bumps in the slope really well.
I think there is a complete range. For example, Whistler is fantastic-even if they do seem to close their lifts almost straight after lunch! But I think it is a quite expensive past-time in Canada-the resorts tend to go for the upper-end of the market.

We stayed in Whakapapa village and found a few rental places. But most kiwis seemed to have their own kit.
Watch out for the keas though.....

[leslie]

re. canada

you haven't lived until you've done grey rocks in quebec. v old school small resort. has its own winter green houses so lodges are full of gorgeous blooms year round. big stone fireplaces. excellent xcountry. tiny runs though... you go there to chill/ retire, not be challenged. the antithesis to whistler.

[ruthyroo]

We've run into a lot of ex-ski instructors here in NZ, seems to be a popular way for young kiwis to fund their travels. General consensus (backed up by my OH who lived in Villars for a couple of years) is that NZ skiing is pretty 'rough around the edges' compared to the Alps / Europe... there's not the same opportunities to drop off in picturesque alpine chalets for raclette and hot choc / mulled wine en route, which sounds fantastic to me. From what I have seen of them NZ ski areas reminded me of Scotland's skiing - crappy old prefab / plywood buildings, only available food is chips, sausage rolls and coffee from a machine, and expensive - and the runs themselves are less diverse / extensive. Just my (non skier) impressions of the NI.

[Moorf]

Aha so you've been to Glenshee!! :laugh

[Beach Kiwi]

From what I have seen of them NZ ski areas reminded me of Scotland's skiing - crappy old prefab / plywood buildings, only available food is chips, sausage rolls and coffee from a machine, and expensive - and the runs themselves are less diverse / extensive. Just my (non skier) impressions of the NI.

It was like that about 30 years ago, but not now, especially in the South Island. Ski field operators are spending millions of dollars on making their operations world class, so that type of 'mom and pop' operation is only likely to be found on, well, mom and pop ski fields. ;) :mrgreen:

[ruthyroo]

:laugh Yep, Glenshee was at the top of my mind when I wrote that! We're off to do the Tongariro Crossing next weekend and staying in National Park - which I fully expect to match the architectural horrible-ness of Aviemore in summer with no snow to hide all the crappy buildings!!

Have only been to the Ruapehu ski area, so yep it's a very narrow experience of NZ skifields.

[Moorf]

Aviemore is awful.. white outs, ice and yes.. that awful cafe!! The new train is in operation now... :roll:

Veronica is the one to ask about skiing on the South Island as she and her hubby run Snowmania here in Chch :nice1 She's on a plane heading back to NZ as I type so don't expect an answer toooo soon ;)

[leslie]

ruthyroo - your descrip of nz sounds like early canada. its come a long way in a short time. canada also has its excellent 'ski patrol' which is similar to surf guard situ - its for avid skiers who will do anything to ski! dont think they are paid though???

lets be straight - in nz is ascension via poma-lift or do they have chair lifts? gondola?

[veronica]

I am back now. having a tad of a problem sleeping which is why I am sitting here at this time of the morning.

I have only skiied at Mt. Hutt here on the south Island but have viewed coronet peak by Queenstown and Whakapapa in the North Island. They aren't modern to European standards but they have pommas and chairs and a small pisted area, or groomed as it is known here. There seems to be plenty of backcountry skiing and apart from the commercial fields there are lots of Club fields. these are open to anyone and are very much (for the main part) mom and pop operations. They have rope tows and all sorts of lift systems that have been phased out else where but they are enjoyed by masses of people. So while the NZ fields are small by European standards there is plenty of variety.

[BGreen]

I had a days skiing on Coronet Peak last September and found the quality to be almost up to French standards. True there arent any super-fast 6-pack lifts or gondolas, but i dont think they need them.
We were there during half-term week and the queues werent huge (although the queues for hiring kit were!, get it in Queenstown and carry it up; cheaper, and no queuing!)
I think a good skier would get bored of the Coronet/Remarkables area in a week, but certainly enough to keep the casual skier happy.
This was taken from the bottom-station of Coronet Peak. T-Shirt weather!
http://image34.webshots.com/34/0/45/40/256004540KIXnOl_ph.jpg