The BOARDWORLD Forums ran from 2009 to 2021 and are now closed and viewable here as an archive

   

NZ snowboarding ?

wheres the best place in new zealand to go riding ?
how easy is it to get to ? / how is the resort etc
best time of year to go ????

 
Avatar

Best is a relative term. Tell me what you like and I’ll tell you where to go. I’ve ridden almost every resort, but am too lazy to post a review of all of them (yet).

Timing, I would say mid August to mid September. The earlier you go, the more chance of pow, the later you go, the nicer the weather will be.

Resort access can be anything from a 20 minute drive up a sealed road, to a 45 minute hike to the lodge while you gear gets carried up on a ghetto goods lift. All in all it’s dead easy as long as you learn how to fit snow chains.

 

http://www.snowparknz.com/

Visit that, in my opinion thats one of the best here.

 

Right now, NZ is pumping! Great cover in South Island resorts, not sure about North Island.

Queenstown is THE PLACE to base yourself for any first trip. You have access to so many mountains that you goto the one that suit you best. You also have a chance to Heli-ski from this region, and its decently priced thanks to the AUD-NZ dollar. After you get the first NZ experience you can then come back for more and even try out some of the club fields.

Normally Aug-Sep is best time. Late September can be good if you wish to avoid the crowds (although crowds in peak season are never as bad as Aussie resorts).

 

Cheers guys thanks for above . . .
I been looking into queenstown - Im pretty easy with where i go i just want “hassle free”
Not really to keen on 45 minute hikes etc - just want to land in NZ , get to the resort and ski for a few days

 

How “bad” do lift lines get in school holidays in NZ? I was really impressed with how short the lift lines were on my last visit, but I will be going in the school holidays for the first time this year.

 

I have experience in the travel industry and Queenstown is the best place to base yourself for first time skiers/snowboarders.

South Island Coronet Peak and Cardrona are the best suited to Beginners and then onto Intermediates

I got back a few days ago and there was a 5cm dusting
Coronet Peak is the closest to Queenstown

 
Avatar

Im going over to Queenstown in a few weeks. I know I want to check out Coronet Peak, Cardrona and the Remarkables. My package includes one other day lift pass but not sure what else to visit… Maybe Snow park or whichever of the above three are best.

 

I have one, possibly two days to head to the mountains around Queenstown in a couple of weeks grin

Will likely be mid week, and I am a beginner to intermediate rider (Have no worries with all the blue and most of the black runs I have tried at Buller confused ) Mainly interested in All mountain rather than the park…...anybody have any suggestions for which mountain would be best for the limited time I have there?

Looking at all the maps/cams, etc I am leaning towards the Remarkables but Cardrona seems to have a lot more snow. Distance isn’t a huge issue.