New Zealand — The newest chairlift in New Zealand is one step closer to opening for skiing and riding.
On June 28th, The Remarkables held its ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Shadow Basin chairlift. The opening ceremony included a special appearance from New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. However, it should be noted that it hasn’t yet opened to skiers and riders, as The Remarkables didn’t have sufficient snowfall last weekend to open it up for shredding.
This past offseason, The Remarkables replaced the 38-year-old Shadow Basin chairlift with a new Doppelmayr detachable high-speed six-pack. The old fixed-grip quad chairlift had a ride time of eight minutes and twenty seconds. With this new chairlift, Shadow Basin now has a ride time of 3 minutes 53 seconds. The uphill capacity has increased by 60%, going from 1,500 to 2,400 people per hour. The new chairlift has a vertical rise of 374m (1227 feet), going further up the mountain than the old chairlift. The new Shadow Basin gives access to 47 more hectares (116 acres) of terrain than its predecessor, including a new 183m (600.4 feet) Cushion Trail and a 363m (1190.94 feet) expansion to the Calypso run.
In addition, snowmaking has been added to Shadow Basin for the first time ever. They’ve added 18 snowguns to this terrain pod.
It does sound like the new Shadow Basin chairlift will open to skiers and riders soon. The Remarkables just received 50 cm of new snowfall and are teasing an opening of Shadow Basin in the near future.
Update 7/4: It did indeed open this week, as The Remarkables announced earlier today that Shadow Basin is now open to the public. Due to the limited snowpack, they recommend that only expert skiers and riders take on this chairlift right now.
Image/Video Credits: The Remarkables
