Webcam from Fox Peak, NZ
New Zealand is having one of the worst ski seasons in living memory. Many ski areas have yet to open despite being nearly halfway through their season. Resorts like Fox Peak, Mt Olympus and Craigieburn have all said that they will be opening once conditions improve but things are not looking good. Like all bad ski seasons the problem is simple, no snow.
There are around 25 ski resorts in New Zealand ranging from international resort to small volunteer run club fields. New Zealand ski areas are spread across both North and South islands. They are known for their challenging slopes as well as having some of the biggest lift served verticals south of the equator.
The country’s first club fields opened in the late 1920s with the first ski lifts arriving a few decades later. Most of the commercial operations did not really begin until the period from the 1960s to 1980s with Snow Park NZ, which opened in 2002, being the newest operator.
Mt. Cheeseman
Roundhill Ski Area, NZ
Conditions are a bit better at the larger resorts around Wanaka and Queenstown where resorts are open with adequate bases. Here is a Treble Cone snow update from snow.co.nz, “The skiing on trail has been very good, with signature trails Main Street and Easy Rider in the Home Basin, plus Raffills Run and South Ridge in the Saddle Basin all open and groomed. Off-piste for advanced riders the snow cover on the Summit and upper Saddle Basin is lots of fun with a 130cm deep snow cover at the top of the Saddle Basin.”
Treble Cone, NZ
Cardrona, NZ