100808_Hutt

Mt. Hutt is currently closed due to extreme avalanche risk after 1.2 meters of snow fell on the New Zealand club field since Thursday.

According to reports, a dozen or more avalanches occurred in the past 24 hours in and around the Mt. Hutt basin. Ski area manager, James McKenzie recently said that the avalanche danger is on par with the avalanche risk during the 2013 season, during which a slide wrecked a triple chair at the Canterbury club field.

Here is the report from nzski.com/mt-hutt

“Over the past 24 hours we have received over a 1.2m…. it’s crazy and awesome! Given the significant snow accumulation, natural avalanches are now releasing left, right and centre. Strong winds about the tops will further exacerbate the avalanche risk so we have decided to close the mountain today. Needless to say, we will throw every resource we have at getting the mountain open on Saturday.”

This gargantuan amount of new snow resulted in targeted avalanche control efforts by three snow safety professionals, who employed an “avalauncher” to mitigate risk. They hope these efforts will allow the resort to open on Saturday.

Such large amounts of early season snow is a boon for New Zealand ski areas, which almost guarantees good business throughout the rest of the winter season.

Snowfall Totals at Other NZ Resorts in the Last 24 Hours:

Corornet Peak: 40cm

Porters Ski Area: 100cm

Treble Cone: 65cm

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