Completely agree with you. It is also important to remember that not all chains are the same. Just because you may have had a set that you have been comfortable with in the past, don't assume they will all be the same. Lesson learnt....prepare for the unexpected.

Cardrona Opening
Yesterday I made the trek out to Cardrona for Opening Day. Again, Mother Nature put on a stunning day. Blue skies and some soft snow off piste. It was probably the busiest day I have seen at a mountain so far this season. in saying that, it was still quiet.

The mountain itself looks pretty good. Coverage was variable, with a few rocks popping up both on and off the groomers. The 'new' Valley View lift wasn't running due to the snow conditions, however it was still good to see the extra terrain that will be available once the conditions improve. For those unaware of the changes Cardies have made, check out http://www.cardrona.com/valley-view.html

The park is looking as good as always, with some work still to do on the pipes before they open.

All in all, it's great to have such good quality snow so early on in the season.





On a side note, Winter Festival kicked off last night (hence the delay in posting) with some fireworks and a massive party. Queenstown came alive and put on a great show. There were many sore heads around the place this morning, but there is no better cure for that than a bluebird day at the Remarks. The snow cover is holding up really well and some beginner fun boxes and a rail have been added on the Alta trail.

It looks like it may be another week or so before any new snow so fingers crossed it all holds up.

Bran, if it's your first time to QT/NZ and you're keen on some hints for fun lines feel free to PM me. (Your Cardies post reminded me of one of my faves) Chur!

Thanks for taking the time to do this blog, its an interesting read and a good addition to the site as a whole.

Nothing New

There is nothing really new to report from Queenstown at the moment. There has not been any new snow for a week now, however the temps have been really cold until today. Lots of frost, fog, cold temps and clear skies has pretty much been the order for the last week. Today has been a bit warmer with the snow from last week has finally starting to fall from the roof of our house.

A lot of the excitement has been in the center of town with the Winter Festival. Popped down to watch some of the dodgeball today, it was pretty good. A good mix of those taking it way too seriously and those taking the piss. Fun for all ages really.

It is looking like it may get a bit wetter later this week, lets hope it brings the white stuff.

These blogs are great ideas. Heading out to Q-town weekend and can't wait. The forecast is predicting blizzardy type conditions so provided we can land, Monday should see some good riding. But let's face it, all riding after a 6 month absence is good, very very good.

Hope you have a ball Pow Wow. The forecast did change a fair bit so unfortunately not the fresh you were hoping for.

Air New Zealand Rail Jam
Well, it's been a few days since my last post and really not a lot has changed in Queenstown. The weather has remained superb with Wednesday being an exception. Although a perfect day in town, winds caused a few lifts to close for the day.

With fine weather and no new snow, I have been sticking to the groomers to save my board the core shots from the rocks coming through to the surface. Most of my time over the past few days have been spent at The Remarkables in their beginner park. The team have made some nice additions which now includes 3 boxes, a rail, straight Ironing board and flat to down ironing board. The snow has been holding up really well and not softening too much even with the amount of sunshine we have had.

In town on Friday night was the Air NZ Invitational Rail Jam, held during Winter Fest for the first time. The event comprised of some of NZ's best riders (and free skiers) and was a really enjoyable night. A crowd of a couple of thousand were there and in the surrounding pubs to witness some good tricks on what looked like some difficult conditions. The run in to the features slipped lower and lower as the night went on which affected what the riders could manage. In the end Mahi Mains came away with the win in the snowboarding followed by Ben Comber and Nick Hyne. Byron Wells took out the skiing for those interested. A small edit of action from the night can be seen below.

Tonight is the first night of night skiing at Coronet tonight and also marks the end of Winter Fest . The mountains are in need of some new snow, with not much showing up on the forecast at the moment. Fingers crossed for some good falls soon.

Well Team,

Again its been ages since my last past. No new snow in Queenstown since the 23rd of June and my trips up the mountain have been few due to the massive amounts of visitors over for school holidays. The mountains have been crazy busy and snow cover gradually getting worse. The good news is, clouds have finally descended on Queenstown with a few spots of rain in the town for the first time in a long time. Fingers crossed we get some of the white stuff over the next few days.

Do you have any backcountry training/experience Bran?

If so, might be time to rent a splitboard (Alta rents them) and go for a hike over the back of Remarks. Won't be freshies, but its a fun way to spend a day on the hill.

Snow Gods, do your thing....
Another week has passed without any new snow. The last falls were on the 23rd of June, nearly one month ago. The forecast is telling me we are going to get some new snow this week, but no huge falls to get excited about. We really need some snow.

Thats the bad news, now for the good news.
1. School holidays are over!! With the mass of tourists now departed, it is time to claim back the mountains. I avoided going up as much as I could over the past 2 weeks due to the craziness that comes with people in holiday mode. Especially with the cover we have at the moment, it felt like way too many people confined to a few runs.

2. Although we haven't had new snow, the conditions and weather we have had has been great for the snowmakers and they have done an awesome job of keeping the base at a good level on the main runs.

I made the trip out to Snowpark on Saturday to check out the Electric Hip Attack. It was a great event and Snowpark looked amazing. Again, all credit to the snowmakers on ensuring the natural base has held up over the past 4 weeks. The hip attack consisted of 2 hours jam format heat with a 50 minute final. The event showcased some quality boarders and free skiers with way bigger ca-hones than yours truly. The atmosphere was really relaxed, as you expect from Snowpark and I am sure fun was had by all.

Some photos of Snowpark and from the event are below, I will post the link to all the photos from the day once I get to sorting and uploading them:












On a personal note, the past few weeks have been a week of firsts for me in the park. The Remarkables crew do a great job on their beginner features and seem to upgrade them to help patrons progress as the weeks go by. I hit my first flat down box a few weeks and can now add an up flat box and rollercoaster to that list. My boardslides are coming along nicely, and with the addition of the small kicker to the setup, my fs 180's are close to nailed. For those keen to know how the Dirty Dog Terrain park is going, A couple more kickers have been added (a 45ft and 35ft) as well as the numerous other features available.

That is all for now. I will hopefully have some better news to report soon.

Hey Brandon, awesome photos. SnowPark is looking great! You need to get a few photos into the photography contest. Click 'Boardworld Contests'.

Don't be discouraged by the lack of snow, Bran. When people are doing a trip to NZ, I tell them to not even think about booking until mid-August. Peak season seems to have shifted to later in August.

Good, I rock up in Queenstown on Sept 1!

Thanks Rider, I need to do some tidying up and then will definitely post some.

I'm not too concerned by the lack of snow, I think it is more just because of the start we had to the season, you always have high expectations. It seems that mother nature just didn't want to waste it on school holidays, had 10cm last night and some splutters forecast for this week so all good. The Remarks were good today and will be hitting Cardrona tomorrow. I hears it's in awesome shape.