Good things come for those who wait. After a very slow start to their season, which included a brief mid-season closure, Mt. Hutt bounced back in a big way over the weekend. The New Zealand ski resort recorded 70 cm (nearly 28 inches) of snow from the storm, but rain also fell, meaning that it was difficult to dig out.
The mountain was closed on Monday due to avalanche risk and necessary snow clearance but reopened on Tuesday at 10 am with the Nor’west Express, Magic Carpet, and Sunkid conveyor belts. The Summit Six reopened in the afternoon.
While this wasn’t the glorious soft powder skiing that you will find in Japan and Utah, it’s a base builder storm, which is what New Zealand and Mt. Hutt needed.
The official Tuesday snow report from Mt. Hutt is below:
Mt Hutt will open at 10am with the Nor’west Express and conveyor lifts – delay today to allow our groomers time to finish trail preparation. We’re currently de-icing the Summit 6 and will provide our next status update at 8am. The access road will be open from 7am. Staff transport departing between 7-7:15am.
The snow surface is rain affected so the best skiing and riding will be on the main trails to begin with. Our patrollers will be undertaking terrain assessments over the next few hours and might need to undertake avalanche control work in Towers and elsewhere so please respect all closures.
Firm conditions off the groomed trails – the top layer is supportive and edgeable but there is a punchy/weaker layer below this so please ski and ride with care.
Image/Video Credits: Mt. Hutt, Joel Wilson
